Comics To Film: The Incredible Hulk (2008)

Cast: Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, Tim Roth
Director: Louis Leterrier
Country: Action | Sci-Fi | Thriller
Genre: USA
Official Trailer: Here

Editor’s Note: The following review of The Incredible Hulk is apart of Umar’s ongoing series entitled Comics to Film.

It feels obvious that Louis Leterrier’s The Incredible Hulk was made out of a reaction to Ang Lee’s Hulk if one has watched both films. Both were made for about the same amount of money, did relatively the same at the box office, and were received by fans and audiences with just as much mixed feelings. However, Leterrier chooses to reinvent the Hulk franchise by going in an opposite direction than Lee, in that he will focus primarily on the excitement and action of the character rather than the emotional and psychological depths. To put it simply, Lee dealt with the reason why the Hulk is who he is, and Leterrier deals with how Hulk battles those around him.

To put it simply, Lee dealt with the reason why the Hulk is who he is, and Leterrier deals with how Hulk battles those around him.

The film’s credits give the audience the back story leading up to the film, where scientist Bruce Banner, played by Edward Norton, is exposed to gamma radiation in an experiment and is turned into the monster known as the Hulk. This sequence seems to rely heavily on the audience having some understanding of Ang Lee’s film as an unofficial source. We are then transported several years where Banner is living in South America, under the radar so as to avoid General Ross, played by William Hurt, who is searching for him, trying to find a cure. An accident at the factory he is working at causes Banner to be detected by Ross, who immediately sends in a team, led by Tim Roth’s character Blonsky, to retrieve him. Their attempts are futile when Banner unleashes the Hulk to escape.

When Banner returns to his human form, he returns to the America to find his old research hoping to find the answer to how to reverse his condition. As a result, Banner reunites with his old love Betty, played by Liv Tyler, and she begins helping him to retrieve the data and find a cure. Unfortunately, Ross and Blonsky are close behind, with Blonsky taking a serum to give him an edge in fighting the Hulk should it appear again, but it begins to change his behaviour negatively. Banner and Betty meet up with Dr. Sterns, played by Tim Blake Nelson, but are caught by Ross before they can truly get rid of the Hulk. At the same time, Sterns gives Blonsky another serum to turn him into something more powerful than Banner, named Abomination, which results in Banner choosing to become the Hulk again to stop him.

The film, which was written by Norton and Zak Penn, used a very interesting way of physically showing, and making the audience relate to, Banner’s struggle with suppressing the Hulk by showing the martial arts and breathing techniques he uses. This creates tension in the mind of the audience, and would build up right up to the point where the Hulk finally reveals itself. Leterrier does an excellent job of keeping the entertainment and action at a pulse pounding level by giving it a very realistic feel with the different tactics of Ross and Banner at their game of capture and survival respectively. However, there is no duality or psychological exploration on why the Hulk is the way it is or why it manifests the way it does; it is just a creature that has some passing connection to Banner. The film briefly touches on the subject, but is immediately shifted to a chase scene. There seem to be plenty of character moments, but they seem incomplete, as if scenes have been cut in order to keep the fast pace of the film going. This works well for those who are looking for adrenaline rush, but for those who wish to see more characterization, it makes the film seem like a disappointment.

Leterrier chooses to keep his attention and focus on making the action scenes more interesting. Even in the scenes when the Hulk is on screen, and not Norton, Leterrier keeps it from falling into a typical shooting and explosion event, leaning on more smart traps and strategies on the part of the military on how to subdue an unstoppable force like the Hulk. The ending fight scene, which is probably the main attraction for audiences, will not disappoint with its interesting, entertaining, and brutal showcase of a true battle between monsters.

Norton does a wonderful job conveying the loneliness, desperation, and all-round dire situation Banner lives with everyday. Only through Norton’s performance can one see a clear difference between Hulk and Banner…

Norton does a wonderful job conveying the loneliness, desperation, and all-round dire situation Banner lives with everyday. Only through Norton’s performance can one see a clear difference between Hulk and Banner, with Bruce being modest and clever and Hulk being created out of fear or anger, shown by an increase in heart rate, into a creature of pure rage. The old comic book idea of the Hulk being a physical entity of Banner’s suppressed rage and unresolved childhood traumas has been replaced with this simpler version. The cave scene in the middle of the film wonderfully visualizes what the Hulk really is: a Caveman or Alpha Male who must protect his woman, and he needs to prove this so completely that he yells and challenges a lightning storm just so he does not appear weak.

Hurt’s General Ross was well portrayed as a desperate man, like Norton’s Banner, trying to capture the Hulk at all costs and make it him a weapon. This obsession has taken over him so completely that he cares very little for his own daughter. Tyler, on the other hand, seemed to be only the female damsel meant to be saved or calm the hero down without any real depth or charisma. Her interactions and relationships with everyone seemed to be limited, almost like she was supposed to be the pretty face on screen. It seemed that most of her lines consisted of saying either ‘No!’ or ‘It’s ok.’ This lack of depth in character gave very little weight to her relationship with Hurt’s Ross, which felt like a genuine loss of character development.

Roth and Nelson’s performances were wonderful but short. Roth quickly and effectively shows how Blonsky’s power hungry nature begins to take over him once he receives the serum, which is very clever foreshadowing for the Captain America film, that leads him to becoming the main villain. Sterns’ strong curiosity, and borderline anarchist ways, was amusingly portrayed by Nelson, and while his performance was short it was both comedic and engaging. Lou Ferrigno’s cameo was both funny and endearing, as were all the other small nods to the comics and TV show.

Ultimately, The Incredible Hulk was a fun and enjoyable movie, but it felt like there were holes in the plot. The acting was done well and the characters conveyed what they were meant to, but what was disappointing was the depth of the story and characters, which only went so far, and seemed like it was suppose to go further but did not. Almost like when someone is on the cusp of saying something profound, but chooses to remain silent instead. Thus, Incredible Hulk could have been so much more had they chosen to focus a little bit more on character development than the action.

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Umar Shameem

When I was 6 years old, my mother showed me the 1978 Superman movie. I watched that maybe 1000 times by the time I was 7. Ever since I have loved movies, and comic books. Fast forward 20 years, a couple film courses, several thousand comic books and over 2000 movies, and you get me. I continue to watch films of all genres and read comics. It is apart of my identity and it is something I love and hope to be able to continue loving and enjoying until the end of my days.

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