Throwback Thursday Review: 'The Incredible Hulk'

Sorry for the delay on this week's review, but I've had a busy week and am looking at a busy weekend ahead of me. This week I'm reviewing The Incredible Hulk, since that's one of the few Marvel Cinematic Universe movies I've yet to review, and because Hulk will factor into next week's Thor: Ragnarok. The next few Throwback Thursday reviews will be over Thor: The Dark World, Murder on the Orient Express (1974), and Batman (1989) to tie into the releases of Thor: Ragnarok, Murder on the Orient Express (2017), and Justice League. In the meantime, I'll do what I can to make some progress on the delayed Throwback Thursday Reviews of Inception, Stand By Me, The World's End, The Shining, the It miniseries (1990), Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Risky Business (1983), and the Triple-R for Interstellar. 

'The Incredible Hulk' Review

The Incredible Hulk follows scientist Bruce Banner as he searches for a means to cure the gamma radiation that mutated his cells in a laboratory accident. After the incident, Banner possessed the ability to turn into the Hulk, a raging green monster, anytime he got angry. Meanwhile, Banner has General 'Thunderbolt' Ross and the U.S. Government on his tail, who intend to reverse-engineer his condition to create an entire army of gamma radiated super soldiers. 

I'm just going to come straight out of the gate and let you know The Incredible Hulk is my least favorite entry in the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe. I doubt this surprises those who have read any of my Marvel Cinematic Universe Films Ranked lists, because The Incredible Hulk finished dead last each of the three times I ranked the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies. So, why is it that I don't really like the movie?

Well, for starters, it's woefully generic and incredibly boring. Louis Leterrier directed the film, but failed to really give it a pulse or any semblance of energy. The cinematography, editing, and score are all by the numbers, and the entire film feels dreary and dour, with virtually no charisma or levity to keep it afloat. It's really no wonder Marvel decided to team the green giant up with Thor to set off some sparks in the upcoming Thor: Ragnarok. The entire time we're essentially shadowing Banner as he's on the run. There's the occasional acceptable action sequence, but nothing of interest.

There are certainly good MOMENTS, but they are fleeting, few, and far between this slogging beast of a movie. The action sequences are kind-of cool to watch because you're watching two monsters beating the tar out of one another, but there's nothing notable about the fight that enables it to stand apart from any other super-powered smackdown.  

Even the visual effects seems off, as Hulk and Abomination looked more like video game characters than tangible, hulking monstrosities. I know the effects are from 2008... but if the effects in 2008's Iron Man can hold up to today's standards, then it shouldn't be a stretch to say The Incredible Hulk's should as well. I'm simply not a fan of the character designs for Hulk or Abomination at all for that matter. I realize the two are supposed to look ridiculously ripped, but I think their veins are excessively accentuated (if that makes any sense). Also, it bothers me that Hulk has his trademark shaggy hair, yet his hair is shorter and styled completely differently every time he reverts back to Bruce Banner... That criticism probably leans more towards Edward Norton, but I don't see why the vfx team couldn't have factored Norton's appearance into the Hulk's aesthetic either.

The reason I think a solo Hulk film has yet to work is simply that it's about a man who desperately doesn't want to change into the Hulk. When you consider the framing that screenwriter Zak Penn had to work around, then the script's not too bad. However, the story loses focus in its mad scramble to get Banner from Point A to Point B. There's scarce explanation as to how Banner possibly managed to cross international borders without alerting authorities, and there are plenty of logical inconsistencies in how everything fits together.

None of this alleviated by the film's bland central romance either, because the actors have absolutely no chemistry with one another. Edward Norton is an okay Bruce Banner because he succeeds in translating the darker sides of the character with his take on PTSD and the inherent need to repress his abilities, but he fails to imbue the character with any charm whatsoever. Therefore, you're not really invested in him as a person much at all. Liv Tyler on the other hand, could not have possibly put forth a more insipid performance. Her character is just so... vanilla. There's absolutely no substance to the character in the screenplay, and it really shows when Tyler fails to make anything out of it.

If there's one redeeming factor though, it would be William Hurt's General 'Thunderbolt' Ross. Hurt's really the only one among the cast that makes the most of the material given to him, imbuing Ross with a uncompromising gruffness and determination. His motivation's are wonky, but the character as a whole leapt straight off the comic pages.

Meanwhile, Tim Roth also does what he can with Emil Blonsky's resolute hunger for power. However, there's really not much opportunity for Roth to dig beneath the surface level of his thinly-sketched character, and it all falls to the wayside when he becomes Abomination and the film becomes a conventional CG-smackfest.

The Incredible Hulk should have been a smashing success, but instead wound up being one of Marvel's most forgettable franchise installments because it failed to break convention.

Film Assessment: D+