The Incredible Hulk (Marvel Comics Movie Review)

Plot
A classic comic-book tale about a doctor who searches for an antidote to his exotic condition, which causes him to transform into a hulking, green monster when under duress. Drawing closer to finding a remedy, Dr. Banner becomes sidetracked as he's pursued first by the military and then by a rival monster known as the Abomination.

Jason’s Thoughts
The Marvel Cinematic Universe started off with a bang with Iron Man. Unfortunately, that momentum didn’t carry over into the second offering of the MCU with The Incredible Hulk. With that said, this reboot was leaps and bounds above Ang Lee’s Hulk, which was released five years prior to this version.

The Incredible Hulk features a different take on the origin story, which is breezed upon during the opening credits. From there, we see Bruce Banner searching on the run and searching for a cure for his condition. On the way, he comes across General Ross and Emil Blonsky, who uses a combination of Banner’s blood and a super-soldier serum to become Abomination.

The overall story did a decent job trying to convey the internal struggle of Bruce Banner in trying to control the monster inside of him. The special effects were also well done and the Hulk looked more like the Hulk instead of Shrek, as he did in the 2004 version.

With a character like the Hulk being the star, you come into a film like this expecting huge action scenes, and those were delivered. There are two huge battle scenes that take place during the movie - one on a college campus and the other on the streets of Harlem - and they are both a visual treat.

Edward Norton does a decent job as the part of Bruce Banner, however, I feel that the true standout of the film is Tim Roth as Emil Blonsky. Roth, who is one of my favorite actors, steals most of the scenes that he is in, whether he tries to or not. If you watch closely, you also get to see a few cameos with, of course, Stan Lee, and Lou Ferrigno. Cameos such as these are becoming a common thing with comic book movies.

I also enjoyed certain nods to the comic books, such as the purple pants Betty Ross picked up for Bruce Banner, due to the fact that they were large and stretchy. The tie-in at the end with Robert Downey Jr. reprising the Tony Stark character was also a nice touch and puts the Hulk into the shared universe.

Is The Incredible Hulk really incredible? Not quite in my opinion, but it was a tight action movie that had some bright spots scattered throughout.

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