Rebel Film Review: The Incredible Hulk

Marvel's "Phase Two" officially kicked off recently with the release of Iron Man 3, so naturally I wanted to see the film (I had wanted to since seeing Iron Man 2!), and even more naturally I wanted to review it immediately after. But even though I've seen it I've held back on the review, as difficult as it's been. It felt as if it'd be a travesty if I didn't first review all of its predecessors before I got to it, and the more I think about it the more I agree! So next up in my review series of Marvel's "Phase One" saga, we are reminded who we shouldn't make angry and the reasons why:

!SPOILER ALERT!

!READ ON AT YOUR OWN RISK!

Directed by Louis Leterrier

Running Time: 112 minutes

Scientist Bruce Banner is living in the shadows, scouring the planet for an antidote. But the warmongers who dream of abusing his powers won't leave him alone - nor will his need to be with the only woman he has ever loved, Betty Ross. Our brilliant doctor is ruthlessly pursued by the abomination, a nightmarish beast of pure adrenaline and aggression whose powers match the Hulk's own, and a fight of comic-book proportions ensues, threatening New York city with total destruction! - Synopsis

We can't talk about the Hulk without first QUICKLY touching on Ang Lee's 'Hulk' film from back in 2003. Which despite being a relative success in terms of money and mixed to positive reviews from critics, was almost universally panned by fans. This leads us to this film, The Incredible Hulk, which is a REBOOT and in no ways a sequel that is tied to the first film. Maybe I'll also do a side review of Ang Lee's 'Hulk' at some point, but for now we'll focus on the task at hand.

The films opening credits are met with a flashback sequence that quickly explains the entire "Bruce Banner/Hulk" origins. General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross (William Hurt) meets with Dr. Bruce Banner (Edward Norton), the colleague and lover of his daughter Betty (Liv Tyler), regarding an experiment that is meant, Ross claims, to make humans immune to gamma radiation. The experiment fails and exposes Banner to huge amounts of gamma radiation, and the Hulk is born. This theme, as well as many others within this reboot, not only tied in very well to themes both established in the popular 1970s live-action TV series and the comics, but also what would later be other Marvel films - part of an operation Ross hopes will restart Dr. Abraham Erskine's failed "super soldier" program that created Captain America.

The film finally starts five years later with Banner already isolated and on the run from the U.S. Military, hiding Rocinha, Rio de Janeiro, where he is attempting to create a cure for himself. This is an unusual take on a reboot film. To (almost) completely skip the focus characters origins in a first film is relatively unheard of, yet at the same time I think that's where the films initial strength lies. By doing this it allows us to forgo the sometimes tediously slow paced beginnings and jump straight into the thick of the developed action, and for those who are new to the character the opening credits fill them in on the core details of the origin story, so they're not isolated and in the dark.

Through what comes across as a series of unfortunate events, a section of the U.S. Military run by General Ross discover Banners location and moves in to capture him, and this is when we are introduced to the films main antagonist. Emily Blonsky (Tim Roth), an ageing yet extremely experienced and praised soldier, is part of the team that are tasked with capturing Banner, which looks possible until the inevitable happens and the Hulk bursts out from within the fugitive scientist; it is their failure to capture him, and his jealously at the Hulks strength in comparison to his own ageing body, that starts the obsession that quickly develops Blonsky into the films antagonist.

A lot of emphasis is placed on the tension surrounding Banner being constantly on the run from the near obsessive General Ross, and later, the strain that has on his relation with his daughter - Banner's love interest. But it's the details surrounding the Hulk, rather than his Human counterpart, that really stand out to me in this film. Every time Banner "Hulks out" there is a lot of focus on how drastic a thing it is, and not just because of the rampage the Hulk almost always inevitably goes on. Banner quite literally has to restart his life each time he transforms, always finding himself in a strange new location as the Hulk often makes insanely large leaps into neighbouring states or countries, near naked and in need of new clothes, and in need of a new lab to once again begin his search for a cure.

This is further emphasised by heart monitor that Banner wears or the "days without incident" counter that gives the audience a sense of time-frame and how important it is for Banner not to transform; even when the Military are chasing him through the city you can see that he's consciously aware of his heart-rate, trying not to transform even though the Hulk could help him to escape very easily.

Time progresses and Bruce is once again in America searching for the data from the original experiment, Blonsky has been injected with a low dose of a rehashed version of the "Super Soldier" serum, the soldiers are closing in on Banner, and the first confrontation has all but been set up. The CGI for the Hulk wasn't terrible, in fact I felt that the definition on the Hulks muscles were particularly excellent, the but in a post-Avatar world it falls short. However, it's the sheer size difference when the Hulk goes up against Blonsky that really helps redefine the scale of how we perceive the Hulk. This is the first time we fully see the Hulk, both visually and for what he really is. 

There is a scene shortly after the confrontation where the Hulk is hiding with Betty in the mountains, and a thunderstorm scares and angers him. He aggressively throws a boulder at the sky, standing between the storm and Betty and holding out a protective arm. Here you really get a sense of how much of a primal force the Hulk actually is, yet with some soothing words from Betty the beast calms right down and simply sits next to her silently, which flips the coin and shows you just how much of Banner still plays an active part while transformed. You get a real sense of Jekyll and Hyde within the character, though far more intertwined with each other.

But things in the story rapidly move towards the final climax of the film. Banner tracks down Mr. Blue, Professor Samuel Sterns (Tim Blake Nelson), who has been helping Banner to formulate a cure for his condition, which has now been perfected enough for testing. The cure works, causing the Hulk to revert back to Banner from a controlled episode. However, the army close in and capture Banner, Blonsky forces Sterns to inject him with Banner's gamma infused blood, and when it mixes with the rehashed "Super Soldier" serum already enhancing Blonsky, the resulting creation is an "Abomination".

During this scene, when Banner is potentially being cured, we finally see the transformation that Banner undergoes when he turns into the Hulk. Previously it had been done while obscured by smoke or shadows, but this time we see it fully while he's strapped onto a table. It's only now as we visibly see and hear the Humans bones cracking, breaking and resetting to form the much larger Hulk, that we truly get some concept of the physical toll that the transformation has on his body and how much it must truly effect Banner each time it happens.

But finally the Hulk has an adversary that is on equal grounds, if not slightly superior to him, rather than countless numbers of unnamed soldiers with guns that we know won't even slow the Hulk down. This is an important part in the characters development, as it's when we really first seem the film attempt to fully establish the idea of Hulk as a (anti)hero, which is by no means easy. But by giving the now potentially cured Bruce the choice between living a normal life with the woman he loves, cured of the Hulk and re-embracing the Hulk within to stop the Abomination and save innocent people? This allows the character to step up (or rather literally fall down, in this case) and make the self-sacrifice needed to become that hero (this is further touched upon in the very final scene of the film, which - looking back post-Avengers - does tie in quite remarkably).

The final climax is everything that we want and expect from a Hulk film, as is the film in general when you break it down; an all-out action explosion that reboots the characters from the film in the clearly unified Marvel film universe, with links to both Captain America and Iron Man present within the film (including a after credit cameo from none other than Tony Stark). I would say that the CGI isn't perfect, that the acting can be somewhat one-dimensional (though that isn't always a bad thing in this film), and that watching it again after seeing the Avengers doesn't help me settle with Norton as Bruce Banner any more (I now can't help but prefer Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/the Hulk). But you don't go and see The Incredible Hulk for a dramatic and serious love story, you go for the destruction, for the anger, and to see Hulk smash! And the film certainly delivers in that respect.

3 Rebel Symbols out of 5!

Possibly the weakest link in ongoing saga, especially post-Avengers. But if you're looking for unbridled destruction and high-octane battles between monsters, The Incredible Hulk is right up your street.