The Incredible Hulk [Blu-ray]

I was watching the MARVEL movies in order of creative intent and when it came to the Hulk, I couldn't watch it on Disney Plus because it is a Sony production. So, when the Hulk came up on the watchlist, I rented it from Amazon Prime. Now for the movie....The cast was filled with perfect picks. First off, Edward Norton. I thought, what??? Then, I looked up Bill Bixby from Hulk's past AND they were SPOT ON. He looks like Bill did when he played the Hulk and they amusingly cameo'd Lou Ferrigno as a security guard. Liv Tyler was a great female lead and William Hurt being her father the mislead military man with an agenda. That character has been done to death in movies but the connection to her and the Hulk was very interesting. Tim Roth winding up being the villain lead was surprising because I thought he would be a much deeper character than they gave him the opportunity to be. I think his portrayal of the role was well played but the writers didn't give him the depth that I feel they should have. They should have given him the chance to realize his role and become a good guy considering his role in the military. He should have been more evolved than they wrote him to be. Overall, I really liked the movie, the cast and the action. It was entertaining. My husband has now started the same journey with the MARVEL films and I wound up renting it again and watching it with him. It was still very good the second time around. I recommend it!

I do not wish for my review to sound biased or one-sided, but I still enjoy this film all these years later. I saw the 2003 Hulk, and although it has one or two good moments, the desert scene imparticular, it fell short. Dry story and an overly exaggerated and neon Hulk. I've seen the Avengers, and Mark Ruffalo just does not capture the struggle of being Bruce in my opinion. Here, our movie starts of with Ed Norton portraying the titular character in Brazil (picking up where the 2003 story left off). He poor, depressed about not being able to go home, maintaining a very low profile to avoid the public eye at all costs; I felt for this version of Bruce Banner. I did his best to stay calm, but when push came to shove and then pushed some more, Hulk pushed back!!! The creators of this film said they wanted their Hulk to have a giant, green linebacker look, and it works! Hulk is intimidating, powerful, above all angry, and I still get chills hearing him speak for the first time from the shadows. I would have preferred for Ed Norton to continue this role, but alas, Hollywood. The story for the film is not overly complex. It runs like a long episode of the old tv show. Bruce is trying to stay away from the army, he slips up, and they go after him again. The movie is excellent by itself but definitely ties into the early days of the MCU. If you have never seen this film, I highly recommend it! Lastly, love the steelbook comic book design. Check it out in the photos.

This 2008, interesting "re-boot" of the Marvel Comics character comes across as a sequel to an origin movie that was never made! Pretending that Ang Lee's interesting but bonkers "Hulk" movie never happened, director Louis Leterrier's colorful comic-book saga brings us a kinder, more identifiable Bruce Banner in the form of Edward Norton. Intentionally channeling the Bill Bixby series more than its predecessor, this "Hulk" finds Banner on the run in South America, still trying to find a cure for his transformations into the Big Green One. Circumstances, of course, get in the way, with the military -- including General Ross (William Hurt) -- in hot pursuit of Banner, going so far as to send a newly Gamma-infused soldier (Tim Roth) into the fray in order to stop the Hulk from causing further damage. Banner, meanwhile, seeks help from old love Betty Ross (Liv Tyler), who hasn't spoken to her military dad since Banner's accident, as well as a scientist (Tim Blake Nelson) who hopes to provide a serum to help our hero at least control his transformations. Loaded with effects and chase sequences, this "Incredible Hulk" is a lot more faithful in spirit and execution to the Marvel Comics -- as well as the old CBS series -- than its predecessor, no question. In-jokes and references for fans abound, from a quote of Joe Harnell's series theme to Lou Ferringo's cameo and vocal performances of the Hulk's dialogue as well (there's no mistaking Big Lou's "Hulk SMASH!" line). The Zak Penn script (which Norton rewrote, though without final credit) doesn't aim to be anything other than a basic, straight-ahead action movie, but the set-pieces are well-executed and the final brawl between the Hulk and the Abomination -- with splendid Rhythm & Hues effects -- is something that kids and comic book fans ought to find perfectly satisfying. The performances are all fine, and although one wishes there was more of a human element to this "Hulk" (something that Norton lamented was lost in Marvel's final cut, and could possibly be rectified by an extended DVD this fall), it's still an entertaining summer fantasy that finally does the Incredible one justice on the big screen.

Just finished watching this and I have to say they did an AWESOME job of making this movie!! In most action films during the action the viewer gets blur and poor views of the action where you know mayhem is going on but you can't make it out and wish for a better camera shot and sometimes slow motion so you don't miss the action. In this film they did a really good job of letting you see the action. More importantly, the story was well done, the casting was perfect and the acting was top notch all around. VERY WELL DONE!! If you're a nit-picker over thinker type, there are two tiny little story (flaws??)... what happened to Mr Blue after he got exposed (was another monster created?), and how could the military possibly have taken care of the bad guy after Hulk beat him down ('cause you know he has the amazing ability to recover and the military didn't seem to have a way to make a dent in him much less hold him) But BOTTOM LINE: If you're into this type of movie, you will LOVE this one!!

Great movie

Picked up this copy of the Incredible Hulk for my MCU collection. One of the few films I hadn't seen before, I initially went in unsure of how the film's quality was going to be. I actually quite enjoyed the film, especially for a phase 1 film. It felt like a old fashioned superhero film. Unlike the rest of the MCU, Bruce Banner is portrayed here by Edward Norton, and he does a great job giving Bruce a soft spoken yet tortured personality as a man of science who wants to rid himself of the monster lurking inside. The rest of the supporting cast is pretty good too; Liv Tyler (also known for her portrayal as Arwen in Lord of the Rings) portrays Bruce's lover Betty Ross, and she does a good job portraying a woman who is sympathetic to Bruce's plight and is willing to give up so much to help him. It's a shame that this is her only MCU appearance. The late William Hurt portrayed General Ross, one of the antagonists of the film, and while his character isn't exactly "deep" he accurately depicts the character as seen in the comics: a man who will do anything to get the Hulk locked up in US custody. While he does eventually return for future MCU films, this is unfortunately the only time his character interacts with Bruce Banner. Tim Roth portrays Emil Blonsky, the film's primary antagonist, and he does a fine job. His descent throughout the film as he wants to get stronger and stronger to match up against the Hulk, eventually leading to the creation of the Abomination, is depicted well. He's a loyal soldier who wants to be even better, yet eventually his increased intake of gamma radiation drives him to want to be the strongest one period (even if he has to tear apart the world to prove the point). Tim Roth has since come back to portray Emil Blonsky in the She-Hulk series on Disney+, but his character there is very butchered compared to his appearance here. Plot is largely straightforward. Bruce tries to live a quiet life in seclusion while trying to find a cure for the monster inside him, but he's eventually found out by the US Army. They try to apprehend him, but after a long chase where he tries to keep himself in check Bruce ends up becoming the Hulk; this gives Blonsky a first taste of the power of the Hulk, and Ross backs off for now. Bruce decides to return to the US in hopes to find the data the originally turned him into the Hulk, thinking that it can help cure him, and ends up reconnecting with his lost love Betty Ross. After getting what he needs and trying to get out of town, the pair get cornered by the US Army and Bruce transforms into the Hulk again to protect Betty. Ross and Blonsky's efforts to stop the Hulk is foiled, for him needing to protect Betty gave him the strength to overcome all they threw at him, and he escapes with Betty. Bruce and Betty end up traveling to New York to meet someone Bruce has been in correspondence with to help find a cure, and while the process seems to work they end up arrested by the US Army. Blonsky ends up infusing himself with Bruce's blood and becomes to mighty monster, the Abomination. Bruce is forced to revert to the Hulk once more so that the Abomination can be stopped, and a mighty battle ensues in the streets of Harlem. Hulk ultimately triumphs over his foe and then returns on the run. My biggest complaints about the film are the quality of the CGI in a few shots (Avatar it is not), though most of the Hulk CGI was actually quite decent, and the final fight scene is a bit short. Other than that I would highly recommend this film to fans of superhero films, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and anyone who just wants to enjoy a good story. One large thing to note, however, that drops this product review from a 4 star to a 3 star is that the digital code that comes with this blu-ray+digital bundle is now expired and cannot be redeemed. I was unaware of this prior to purchase, and I had to take it up with Universal Support to find out. The film also seems to be delisted from certain digital storefronts (such as ITunes), and no replacement code could be provided. Just be aware of that to save from any potential disappointment.

I will admit to being fairly new to the world of Marvel comics--I grew up on the DC TAS series primarily and a few other scattered DC series. As such, I really cannot compare this Hulk to other Hulks, the old Hulks, or anything like that. This is the review of one used to superhero stories, just not this one. I had no interest in the Hulk until I watched the Avengers. I very much loved Dr. Banner so I wanted to watch his movie that led up to the Avengers. Personally, I was very impressed. It is an old plot line and not just to the Hulk (as the other reviewers are assuring me). All superhero plot lines are old. They are all variations on a theme, well a few themes. Themes which we love to hear and watch and read and enjoy seeing reworked into ways which surprise us and make the stories new again. Admittedly, the Hulk was fairly predictable as a whole, maybe a bit more so than normal. But what would a fairly decent person do if he could turn into a green rage monster?--hide, try to control it, stay away from people he loved, etc. Everything else followed. We all knew that much of the plot coming into the movie and knew the movie was going to be about that. You don't even need a trailer to know that. Some of the details were predictable too. How these details occurred, the people involved in the details, their struggles, etc. is what made the movie amazing. It was simple, but it was a beauty to watch (allegorically--there are plenty of ugly looking things in that movie to go around :P ). I thought the simplicity of it was part of what made it so great. (And it was not an action movie with no depth, but a lot of explosions--it was not that sort of simple, rest assured.) I would say that if you need a movie to thoroughly surprise you, then you probably won't like this film. If you want to enjoy a solid superhero story and do not have the aforementioned prerequisite, you will probably love it.

The Incredible Hulk is an exhilarating entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) that showcases the early stages of a franchise finding its footing. This film provides an intriguing exploration of the Hulk's character, played masterfully by Edward Norton, capturing the internal struggle and raw power of Bruce Banner. The action sequences are breathtaking, delivering intense moments of destruction and showcasing the Hulk's incredible strength. While some may argue that the film lacks the cohesiveness and clear direction that later MCU films possess, it is precisely this sense of experimentation and exploration that makes The Incredible Hulk stand out. It's fascinating to see the MCU in its earlier stages, where the studio was still finding its voice and deciding on the path for its interconnected universe. This film sets the stage for future developments while also providing a thrilling standalone experience. Overall, I give The Incredible Hulk a solid five-star rating for its engaging storyline, impressive performances, and its significance in the broader context of the MCU's evolution.