Review: The Incredible Hulk (2008)
The angry green man returns.
★★
As of right now, in 2024, there has only been two "Hulk" films released. Ang Lee's Hulk and this one. Which is supposedly a sequel to the 2003 film. But I donno, it seemed to me that it felt like a standalone film that borrows elements from the 2003 film. More on that later. With these two "Hulk" films you either prefer the 2003 film or the 2008 film. Where do I stand in that debate? I stand with the 2003 film. I preferred Ang Lee's direction and storytelling, even though it wasn't accurate to the comic books.
The first film had a certain charm to it by telling a simple story. The sequel, falls flat on so many levels by making it long, boring, and dragged out. Why say if it's a sequel if it was made to disconnect itself from Ang Lee's Hulk? It's like the filmmakers hated the previous film and decided to give what fans wanted. More action and less development. The "Hulk" in this movie is just a brute. His relationship with Betty Ross (Liv Taylor) was lacking, and he's a character that just disconnects from the audience.
The plot is also very hard to follow. There's too much action. Way to much. It makes it hard for me to breath and actually get an idea of what the hell was going on. It ignores the exciting aspects of Hulkdom and spends far too much time in, dare I say it, noisy and dumb action sequences. It's clear that Banner's tragedy—caused by the Hulk-inducing chemical in his blood—is the true tale. But no one would ever produce a movie about Banner if he never became the Hulk. And if the Hulk had never been Banner, he would have been a one-dimensional, Godzilla-like monster who rips things apart with great force. And that's how I feel about this adapation of The Hulk comics. If you're adapting a superhero comic into a film, you have to give the character some development. Not constant action. But if you prefer action over development, that's perfectly legitimate.
The Ang Lee version was brilliant in that it turned the Hulk story into a series of parent-child conflicts: Betty Ross (Jennifer Connelly) was horrified by her father, the general (Sam Elliott), and Bruce Banner (Eric Bana) suffered at the hands of his father, a scientist who created the Hulk genes and passed them down to his child. You have to remember that Hulk's powers aren't a gift. It's a curse. He only turns into The Hulk whenever he's angry. Bruce never asked for any of this. I know Ang Lee's Hulk differs from the comics, but shares a similar message regarding Hulk's powers being a curse.
This may sound like a minor nitpick, but this film made the stupid decision to say Bruce Banner would become the Hulk if his heart rate increased. I thought he only turns into the Hulk when he becomes angry. An increased heart rate doesn't mean he's angry. Let Bruce Banner have fun with Betty Ross. My heart rate goes up when I'm working out, like cardio on the treadmill, or weight lifting. Does that make me angry? Cause according to this film, it means I might turn into the Hulk. Also, you must be relaxed in order to make love; being furious would make things more difficult and complex. Anger can cause stress and make it harder to establish an emotional connection with your partner. Before making love, it's best to settle down and address disputes.
I know a lot of people love this movie, especially those who found Ang Lee's Hulk too talky, or dare I say, too thoughtful. and that's totally fine. I sadly didn't enjoy this movie. I found it to be all mindless fun, I suppose. But I suppose the post-credits scene makes this film enjoyable. Just once.