--Bruce Banner, The Incredible Hulk
I finally got around to watching The Incredible Hulk, one of the two original MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) films. Released in the same year as the successful and popular Iron Man, it, unfortunately, remains a fairly underrated movie at times. It did a very admirable job of helping set the stage for phase one of the MCU in general, with references to Nick Fury, SHIELD, the Super Soldier program responsible for Captain America, Stark Industries, and an appearance by Robert Downy, Jr.'s Tony Stark at the end. I greatly enjoyed the fact that, unlike many later MCU movies, it didn't try to cram one-liners and cheap comedy into scenes of brawls and gunplay. Bruce Banner's first transformation into the Hulk is shown in an opening credits scene, leaving the rest of the movie free to tell a much more unique superhero tale.
The Incredible Hulk is quite distinct in tone from many superhero movies that followed; instead of being an origin story narrative laced with gratuitous comedy, it is a solemn story about a person living as an outcast among his fellow humans--having obtained his ability long ago--who learns that he can harness his superhuman strength for benevolent causes. Thank God for the graver, less comedic tone!
Much of the acting really works, with Edward Norton and Liv Tyler offering excellent performances that showcase their characters well. I didn't know until recently that Arwen made an appearance in the MCU! Liv's character Betty Ross gets to show some physical and emotional aggression that some female love interests in the MCU never display, with her character even going so far as to disown her father to his face. She had more to do than many other love interests in the interconnected series formed since 2008. Ed Norton balanced portraying a sensitive protagonist trying to keep others from harm with portraying a character who can channel superhuman physical abilities expertly. In fact, his performance was spectacular, far exceeding what I expected. Although occasionally the movie tries to show Banner's/Hulk's personal struggle with his condition (like the cave scene), none of it compares in depth to the thorough depiction of Wolverine's existential struggles in Logan. Other characters like General Thaddeus Ross (William Hurt, who reprised his role in Captain America: Civil War) were also acted finely, although they receive less screen time and development--but some of Tim Roth's earlier lines as Emil Blonksy, later to become the villain Abomination, didn't strike me as professional or realistic.
Some of the CGI still holds up well. A few particular scenes showcase detailed animations for the Hulk and Abomination, like a scene with Betty and Hulk in a cave and, of course, the climactic ending fight between the movie's two titans. On that note, despite only having three action scenes, The Incredible Hulk handles its action spectacularly while also refraining from sprinkling gratuitous explosions or brawls throughout the story.
Craig Armstrong's soundtrack also struck me as standing out far more noticeably than the soundtracks of many other MCU entries. I don't recall particularly noticing the soundtracks of other Marvel movies while watching them (though Iron Man did use the Black Sabbath song of the same name to great effect in its ending credits). I actually thought that pieces like Hulk Smash (at least the second half of it) were rather beautiful for a Marvel soundtrack, and I have never once thought that while listening to soundtrack pieces from other Marvel movies. I have a link to that piece below. Yes, appreciation of music is subjective though the quality of it isn't, but I'm just reporting my reaction to it.
https://open.spotify.com/track/1pdKEwnypBep3veN8TSedn?si=C6ztv98R
Story
As usual, expect spoilers below.
Bruce Banner, who already became the Hulk (this is not an origin story) due to participating in an attempt to resurrect the World War II Super Soldier serum from Captain America, resides in Brazil, where he works in a bottling factory and takes breathing classes to help control his heartbeat. When his heartbeat reaches 200 beats per minute, his high pulse triggers his Hulk form. American General Thaddeus Ross learns of his location due to a mistake in the factory, sending a team of soldiers led by the Russian Emil Blonsky to tranquilize and extract Banner.
Bruce communicates online with a figure who identifies himself as Mr. Blue in an attempt to discover an experiment process that could reverse his gamma radiation condition. He escapes Blonsky's attempt to capture him, with Blonsky receiving a small dose of the Super Soldier serum to boost his combat abilities and physical endurance. Banner reunites with his past girlfriend Betty Ross--daughter of General Thaddeus--gets cornered and fights off US military forces at Culver University, and kicks Blonksy's body into a tree with great force during the fight. Blonsky ends up recovering due to the effects of the Super Soldier serum injected into him before.
Betty and Bruce locate Mr. Blue, otherwise called Dr. Samuel Sterns, in New York, where he administers a successful test that triggers the Hulk transformation and uses an antidote to return him to his human form. Shortly after, Blonsky and General Ross apprehend Bruce and Betty, transporting them away in a helicopter. Sterns had replicated a sample of Banner's gamma radiated blood sent to him from Brazil, and Blonsky demands to have it injected into him, despite the presence of the Super Soldier serum within him. Blonsky becomes the Abomination, with a brutal fight between him and Hulk ensuing. Hulk defeats Abomination, flees, and displays some mastery over his transformation before Tony Stark finds General Ross, explaining that he is helping assemble a team--the Avengers.
Intellectual Content
The physics of Banner's transformation to and from his Hulk form raise the question of where in the world all that additional mass comes from and goes. Although the overall tone of the movie is more grounded in realism than Marvel films like Spider-Man: Homecoming or much of Age Of Ultron, I still wonder about the physics behind the Hulk. But the real intellectual question pertains to how his pants stay on every time he switches to Hulk form even though Blonsky lost his when he became Abomination! How does that happen??
Yes, since the movie doesn't have much intentional philosophical substance (it could have really explored Banner's existential identity struggles a lot more), this time this section holds my sarcastic questions about Hulk's pants and mass changes.
Conclusion
One thing I appreciated about The Incredible Hulk was the absence of jokes during combat, a thing that helps highlight the far more grave, realistic tone of the film. I thought that the tonal uniqueness works in its favor. After all, almost every movie to come afterward in its universe relies on roughly the same style of comedy, with the MCU doing little to vary its style or abate its primary problems, like the general lack of development granted to most of the villains and love interests in its movies.
When fixing an electrical problem near the beginning of the film, Bruce says "I can make it work for a little while, but you need . . .", his boss finishing by saying "A new factory." The days are arriving when some people have started to think similar things about the MCU. If more MCU directors made movies with distinct and more serious tones, perhaps some people would lose their reluctance to watch yet another MCU movie.
If only this one had received a sequel! Alas, it stands as a well-crafted and acted introduction to the Marvel universe.
Edit (11/18/17): After watching Thor: Ragnarok, I now see that the current MCU Banner/Hulk has very little in common with the Norton portrayal of the character. The Incredible Hulk is a serious film with very talented acting on Norton's part, but Ruffalo's Banner in Ragnarok is often played for laughs, having little to none of the gravity of Norton's version. Ruffalo's Banner is an entirely different character.
Content:
1. Violence: The Incredible Hulk only has three action scenes, but despite the absence of blood with some exceptions, the fighting is far more physically brutal than in any of the other MCU movies I've seen.
2. Profanity: A few characters use infrequent profanity.
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