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+

Marvel Cinematic Universe Films Ranked (Revisited)

With the release of Doctor Strange as Marvel Studios' fourteenth film I felt it might be fun to go back and revisit my ranking of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Note: This list changes constantly but this is my current stance on ranking the MCU.

Previous rankings: Marvel Cinematic Universe Movie Ranking & Marvel Cinematic Universe Movie Ranking (Revisited).

14. The Incredible Hulk- The Incredible Hulk is pretty bland. Nothing really is particularly noteworthy or memorable and even Marvel Studios tries to bury in under their expanding catalogue.

13. Thor- Thor, as I said in my review, is really cliché. The fact Thor is stopped of his powers for most of the running time makes it a slog to sit through. Loki really overshadows Thor, a constant struggle for the franchise, and the only redeeming factors about it are some of the technical elements and the spot on casting.

12. Thor: The Dark World- Thor: The Dark World is a generic Marvel movie for about the first half ,but there's a flurry of great sequences followed by a generic third act finale. It has some really funny moments and really only ranks above it's predecessor because it didn't take away Thor's powers and gives Loki more to do.

11. Iron Man 2- Iron Man 2 is a mess, but admittedly an entertaining mess. There's a little too much going on as Marvel sought to set up The Avengers but Robert Downey Jr. remains a delight as Tony Stark and the action sequences are pretty cool.

10. Iron Man- Iron Man kicked it all off and really this is where on my list that the films listed jump from "watchable" to "great" and everything from this point higher is a film that I really adore. Ranking this list was only a matter of deciding which one I liked more and why. Really my only issues with Iron Man is that it doesn't hold up quite as well as some of the other films I have ranked higher.

 

9. Captain America: The First Avenger- Captain America: The First Avenger is a delightful period piece and war film. I love how it explores the character of Steve Rogers, his origin story, and features one of the MCU's few actually great romances as well.

8. Iron Man 3- Iron Man 3 is an underrated movie. People weren't expecting Shane Black to bring his distinct directorial style into the MCU and as a result I think people were caught unawares by his creative decisions. I really like how Iron Man 3 explores the character of Tony Stark and think people whine a little too much about the Mandarin twist and the fact he's not in the armor for most of the runtime.

 

7. Guardians of the Galaxy- Guardians of the Galaxy is out of this world fun, but I think it has some flaws that many people choose to overlook in favor of relishing the moment. It's not so much that I think Guardians is a bad film that it's in the middle of this list, but rather that I've enjoyed a lot of the succeeding MCU entries a little more.

6. Ant-Man- Ant-Man is one of Marvel's more underrated films. The scale, stakes, and scope are all appropriately small and it's one of Marvel's funniest films to date. 

5. Avengers: Age Of Ultron- Avengers: Age of Ultron really wowed me with my first viewing but over time has began to crack so that I see some of it's faults. It's still an entertaining film with some great action and memorable moments, but they lose some of their luster and awe after successive viewings. 

4. Doctor Strange- Doctor Strange is what I'd consider Marvel's most daring experiment yet. The psychedelic visuals are a wonder to behold, it effectively brings real magic into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and every department brings their all. 

3. The Avengers- The Avengers is always an entertaining spectacle. Upon rewatching the film I've decided that the first act is a little slow to assemble the Avengers but that's just the nature of film, things take time and the buildup won't be nearly as interesting once you've seen it before. However, The third act is always exceptional to watch and I can't help but smile at the shot pictured above followed by sequences of the Avengers fighting off an army of Chitauri.

2. Captain America: The Winter Soldier- Captain America: The Winter Soldier is thrilling from beginning to end. The action sequences are spectacular and every moment has me on the edge of my seat, regardless of if I'm watching from home. 

1. Captain America: Civil War- Captain America: Civil War is my personal favorite MCU entry for a multitude of reasons. One, it has the most emotionally-charged third act finale of any superhero film to date that effectively subverted expectations and built upon the events that had occurred in almost all of Marvel's twelve previous films that led to this conflict. Two, it has some of the best action sequences I've ever seen in almost any film to date. Three, it managed to bring in two new characters and balance the dauntingly large ensemble cast to where every character had their moment to shine but never stood on the toes of Tony Stark or Steve Rogers. Everyone in each department brings their A-game and it all amounts to one of Marvel's best films to date that holds up upon revisits.