Out of all the MCU movies, it seems as if ‘The Incredible
Hulk’ is the one that is most regularly forgotten. It has the least amount of fallible
continuity and connectivity to the rest of the franchise to a point Marvel
literally recast the titular character for his next appearance in ‘The Avengers’.
As much as I would love to be the contrarian and proclaim it as an underrated gem,
it isn’t.
Ultimately ‘The Incredible Hulk’ contains a lot of redeeming
features that prevent it from being a bad entry in the franchise, but it lacks
any distinguishing aspects that would mark it as a worthwhile instalment. When
you look at it in the larger expanse of the MCU it holds little relevance so is
hardly worth revisiting, and as a standalone film there’s still little value to
it. That being said it does boast a lot of intelligent and conceptually
interesting ideas.
It’s only natural for a character like Bruce Banner that his
solo outing serve as a character study, given that his powers are intrinsically
linked to his own emotional state. ‘The Incredible Hulk’ makes a point of using
Banner’s progression through the movie as a recurring motif. It starts off
promisingly here but soon unravels due to two setbacks. Firstly Banner’s arc seems
predictable from the outset, rarely defying expectations and never developing
any of his emotional turns beyond their most basic level.
The second issue is how the development within ‘The
Incredible Hulk’ is paced. The emotional arc is completely disconnected from
the central plot, so they don’t feel as if they are complementing the other as
much as they are halting each other’s progress. None of Banner’s development
advances the plot, whilst the plot never enforces his arc. In that sense the
film not only falters as a character study, but also as an action movie. Though
the comparison between action scenes and musical numbers is a trope, it’s an accurate
one. None of the fight scenes in ‘The Incredible Hulk’ advance the characters
so they feel like a secondary feature.
The result is a sense of dissonance throughout the film that
harms its structure and pacing. ‘The Incredible Hulk’ can’t help but feel like
two conflicting movies rather than a seamless narrative. It’s not as if achieving
that seamless narrative is impossible either since Marvel literally did just
that with the processor to this film. In ‘Iron Man’ the decisions of the
titular character have real consequences for the plot whereas in ‘The
Incredible Hulk’ it seems as if ether one could unfold even if the other didn’t
exist.
But as I stated at the start of his review, there are plenty
of redeeming qualities to ‘The Incredible Hulk’. One of them is Edward Norton’s
performance which, despite not being a stretch compared to his best
performances, does a great deal to convey the inner turmoil that is constantly
boiling over. While Mark Ruffalo’s performance would tap into Bruce Banner’s
more deep-seated psychological issues, Norton’ painted a portrait of a man
whose constant emotional management seemed to actually be straining him on a psychical
level. There’s a great world weariness to his portrayal of Banner.
The narrative doesn’t really allow the rest of the cast to
stand out all that much, but they are all effective with what they are given.
Tim Roth’s Abomination may not be the most memorable villain in the Marvel catalogue,
but when he is on screen he gives the character a sense of presence that
creates a genuine sense of threat throughout. The fact that his transformation into
Abomination is linked with the injures he sustained from his encounter with the
Hulks one the rare instances n the film in which the characters and narrative actually
seem to complement one another. But there’s still not enough depth or motivation
for the conflict to feel truly earned.
Perhaps another reason for the conflict between the film’s
protagonist and antagonist is that their fight scenes are far from the best
directed action scenes in the MCU. CGI is obviously an essential part of
bringing the Hulk to life, but director Loiuis Leterrier can’t quite render
with any dexterity. His visual style doesn’t possess much variation either, so
even if the set pieces of each fight are interesting the way they are presented
never feels purposeful. The geography of each action scene is always a little
unclear as well, so the scenes never quite flow in the way a truly invigorating
action scene should.
Much like it’s tirle character, ‘The Incredible Hulk’ is at
odds with itself and never seems to work as a cohesive whole.
Result: 5/10
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