Starring: Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, Tim Roth, William Hurt, Tim Blake Nelson, Ty Burrell
Written by Zak Penn
Directed by Louis Leterrier
Synopsis: On the run from the US government, Dr. Bruce Banner tries to find a way to cure himself of his destructive split personality, The Hulk, before it can cause too much damage.
Visuals: Being in production the same time as Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk is the only MCU film that can't claim to be influenced by it. Does this mean it was able to make its own visual style? Sort of. The first act of the film, taking place primarily in Rio De Janiero, has a cool look and feel to it. This act contains the first "Hulk" sequence of the film, wherein the big green guy is kept in the shadows, and his attack is seen from the point of view of the mercenaries chasing him. This allows for some cool work with light and shadows, building the suspense of The Hulk before revealing him. It also greatly helps hide the fact that the effects suck. The Hulk never really looks like he's there. The film's climax, which features him fighting another big CGI guy looks especially cartoony. It's also a shame that the visual style falters after leaving Brazil. The rest of the film is either bright and bland, or too dark and murky. Either way it fails to be memorable.
Audio: Musically, this film recycles its main theme from the television series of "The Incredible Hulk." This is actually a great idea. It is a very good track of music, and cues the viewer into the fact that this film is more an adaptation of the show than the comics. While this decision may not be for the better, the score does its job of helping the viewer to know the tone of the film.
Cast: Now, though the Hulk as a character has continued through the MCU, Edward Norton has not. When it came time to make The Avengers, he was replaced with Mark Ruffalo. Was this an improvement? Yes, mostly. Ruffalo brings an everyman quality to Bruce Banner that aids him in working within the ensemble casts he has been a part of. That said, Norton still capably carries this film. Though it's hard to imagine this Bruce Banner standing out amongst the Avengers, he serves as a likable and flawed protagonist on which this smaller scale film can anchor itself. It's just a shame that the Hulk doesn't share Norton's face or voice, as that would help connect the two alter egos in future films.
Norton still gives the strongest performance in the film. William Hurt is fine as General Ross, notably the only main cast member of the film to ever return to the MCU. Liv Tyler and Tim Roth really drag the film down, though. Of the two, Liv Tyler's Betty Ross makes the greater negative impact. She has a ton of screen time in the film, more than any other MCU love interest, and speaks with an odd vocal inflection that quickly becomes grating. She speaks every line with some mixture of baby voice and whining, which kills any chemistry she might have shared with Norton, and makes her scenes occasionally a chore to get through. Tim Roth's Emil Blonsky/Abomination is the standard bad comic book villain. He seems to take the characters origins as an excuse to scenery chew and avoid nuance. The result is a character that becomes a boring cartoon character well before he becomes... a boring cartoon character.
Writing: This is the aspect of the film that breaks the most from the MCU formula. As mentioned before, the storyline is based more on the late 70s tv series than the comics. As a result, the more "Superhero-y" moments feel disjointed from the primary narrative. The first act in Rio fares the best, giving Banner's efforts at remaining hidden a cool focus, and properly using a Jaws-like approach to build up the Hulk without showing him. The later acts of the film drag on, though, with one note side characters taking up a lot of screen time. This is also the time where the divorce between the film's television and comic leanings becomes more pronounced and troublesome. As has become a Marvel calling card, The Incredible Hulk also makes many efforts to include humor into the proceedings. Unfortunately, these efforts feel slapped on top of, rather than properly integrated into, the script, and largely fall flat.
Directing: Though he never went on to direct another MCU film here, Louis Leterrier actually handles his role here capably. Though there is a tonal disconnect, he has fun with the action and suspense beats. The firs appearance of the Hulk and an action sequence on a university campus are both fun examples of the terrifying and imposing nature of the Hulk. It's a shame, then, that the final act gets caught up in poor CGI and too-dark visuals. He crafts some cool visuals and scenes, but ultimately struggles to properly bring the film together as a whole.
Verdict: The Incredible Hulk certainly is not a complete train wreck of a film, and is actually quite a bit of fun early on. Unfortunately it tries to be too many things at once, and as such falls apart at the end. Still, it does manage to feel quite a bit different than the rest of the series that would follow, and is a vast improvement from 2003's attempt at the character. Still, it's far from required viewing, and is mainly notable as an early diversion, from a time before Marvel found their identity.
Grade: 5.5
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