FILM REVIEW - The Incredible Hulk

By The Masked Medic

So before Marvel had acquired all the rights to their characters, they were obviously letting different companies produce each of their films. However, when they began to try and form a coalescent universe, it seemed that these companies were happy to oblige.

The second film in the MCU tells the story of Dr Bruce Banner, whose experiments with gamma radiation leave him with an indestructible alter-ego. But when the US Army, led by General Thaddeus Ross, wants to use him as an asset, he flees, leaving the General to administer a new super-soldier serum on a hotheaded marine, named Emil Blonsky. All the while Banner just wants to find a cure to fix what he thinks is a massive problem.

I had seen the earlier, and not connected, Hulk film, starring Eric Bana, but I felt that this version, played by Ed Norton was a little better. Norton really captured the essence of this terrified scientist, whilst his Hulk was far more relatable. His nemeses played by William Hurt and Tim Roth, as General Ross and Emil Blonsky respectively, both did quite a decent job.

Although I found the acting to be pretty good, I think the overall plot was a little bit weak. Was it a good film to introduce us to the Hulk? Yes. Was it good enough to be a standalone film without being part of a connected universe? I’m not so convinced. Obviously, Norton couldn’t have been that good if Marvel were happy to recast him.

Since this was 2008, I was willing to excuse some of the CGI. The Hulk scenes weren’t so bad, but some of the CGI in the final fight scene were a little bit disappointing in places. The cinematography otherwise was sufficient. Overall, not a bad film to watch if you want to know who the Hulk is and how his power-set fits into the rest of the MCU, but it could’ve been better!

Rating:

• Story: ★★★

• Acting: ★★★½

• Cinematography: ★★★½

• Music: ★★

• Enjoyability: ★★★