Rotten Tomatoes: 67%
Director: Louis Leterrier
Screenwriter: Zak Penn
The Incredible Hulk is the second film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and I am probably alone in enjoying it much more than the first, Iron Man, mainly because the story was more natural and contained, and Edward's Norton's Hulk is a far more compelling and intriguing character than Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man. While in this film, we've also got a proper villain portrayed fantastically by Tim Roth, as a soldier who slowly loses his mind and control of his body after being injected with the Hulk's blood. Another origin story, this feels fresher and has a much more interesting character at its core, despite many similar problems to Iron Man.
This film also makes itself pretty unique by starting in what is essentially the middle of the story, showing Bruce Banner's transformation into the Hulk and subsequent refuge from the U.S. military in one short credit sequence and then jumping straight into the meat of things. We follow Edward Norton as he seeks to find a cure for his affliction while being hunted by the military, as he also attempts to control his ability to transform. Enter "Mr. Blue", a mysterious scientist who tries to help him, but who as we find out has got slightly insane with the advancement of science that Hulk could give him. Kudos must also go to to the Marvel team for not making the incredibly obvious and predictable choice of choosing "Mr. Blue" as the main villain.
The film is also beautifully shot, especially during the opening scenes in Brazilian favelas. Battles do occupy too much of the film's running time, but are all enjoyable enough, while the final climax is silly but did get a laugh from me. The main problem I had with this film was its failure to delve into the paradox between Banner and his alter ego the Hulk, and it felt in places like it deliberately shied away from a "Jekyll and Hyde" relationship between the two, which is a shame.
All in all though, Hulk is an enjoyable film and it is a shame that Edward Norton didn't reprise his role for The Avengers.
3 ½/5 Stars
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