One would think in this society that loves to rehash plots and stories, that the MCU's take on one of the darkest and most tragic of all of the superheroes would have been something worthwhile. But the story of the Hulk had been in cinematic purgatory since Ang Lee completely wrecked the role in 2003. Nevertheless, there was a bit of optimism with regards to 2008's The Incredible Hulk. After all, you had a well above average actor in Edward Norton playing Bruce Banner, and a team that had already succeeded with Iron Man was more than willing to add onto their incredible legacy. And, I was not disappointed in this movie. To be perfectly honest, though, the story did seem to lack some kind of gusto and the gravitance about it that Iron Man had. This film is probably why Hulk will likely not get his own movie and will instead be relegated to Avengers movies only.
Plot: In an effort to recreate the formula that was used to make the "super soldier" serum created for Steve Rogers during WWII, scientist Bruce Banner believes that the key to the serum is in gamma radiation. But the plan backfires and exposes Banner to uncommon amounts of gamma radiation. This forces him to become a massive green monster called The Hulk whenever he gets angry. Banner is forced to disappear from the US Army and his beloved Betty Ross.
Despite his best efforts to hide and contain his anger, Banner is followed to Brazil by General Ross and his SWAT team led by Emil Blonsky, who is ultimately injected with the same serum Banner is in an effort to destroy the Hulk. Bruce returns to his university yet is continually pursued by Blonsky, who craves the limitless power the Hulk has and is willing to do anything he has to to acquire it. This puts Banner in a difficult situation, as all he wants to do is return to his life with Betty and regain control of his life. But how can he and Betty be together, when he is a merciless rampaging killing machine?
What's Bad?: There isn't too much that is bad, per say, with this movie. My only serious issues with this story are surprisingly Edward Norton and the design of the Hulk. He really didn't feel or look the part of the Hulk or Bruce Banner to me. And it stands to reason that I wasn't alone, as he would ultimately be recast by Mark Ruffalo, who has since been acclaimed for his performance as the scientist turned berserk killing machine.
The Hulk's design in this movie also rubbed me the wrong way. Unlike The Avengers Hulk, who looked like the perfect mold of Mark Ruffalo as a CGI monster, this Hulk is much more of a George Lucas style CGI monster. It lacks the kind of effects and interesting depth the Hulk gets in the later movies.
What's Good?: The rest of the movie did do enough of a job explaining to me the backstory of the muscle behind The Avengers. And unlike other characters in The Avengers, his backstory is pretty much all you need to know about him. The rest of the storyline for the Hulk is pretty much him trying to keep in control of his anger. And that's okay with me.
Overall: While in no way detrimental to the overall flow of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I can understand the studio's disappointment in the overall receipts for The Incredible Hulk. Marvel did need a bit of shakeup, as it was no longer the sweet innocent company that unleashed Iron Man on us earlier that same year. Gone were the likes of Edward Norton and pretty much all hope for another standalone Hulk movie, unless Marvel decides to go with the whole "Planet Hulk" storyline after Age of Ultron. It's a good film, but a big letdown after the first film. Luckily, Marvel had three other super heroes to unleash on us before hammering in The Avengers.
Final Grade: 81 or B-
Next: Iron Man 2
Then: Thor
Later: Captain America: The First Avenger
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