MCU Rewind #2 - The Incredible Hulk - Review
Directed By: Louis Leterrier
Rating: PG-13
Rating: PG-13
Starring: Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, William Hurt, Tim Roth
MCU REWIND REVIEW EXPLANATION: In these reviews, I will be going back to all the Marvel Cinematic Universe Films that have been released to date, reviewing each one in a retrospective manner. Expectations and background will detail how I felt about the film before the repeat viewing. This review will contain spoilers for these movies. You have been warned.
Previous Rating: 7.0/10
MCU REWIND REVIEW EXPLANATION: In these reviews, I will be going back to all the Marvel Cinematic Universe Films that have been released to date, reviewing each one in a retrospective manner. Expectations and background will detail how I felt about the film before the repeat viewing. This review will contain spoilers for these movies. You have been warned.
Previous Rating: 7.0/10
Expectations/Background: Out of all the MCU films, I was looking forward to watching this film the east. Let me say that I remembered nearly nothing about the last time I saw it. I had no idea what this movie was about, and to be quite honest, I was kind of scared - was it just me? Maybe I had missed something. But regardless, I went into this film with as open of a mind as I could, and prepared myself to for what this film had to offer.
The Movie: Now I remember exactly why I forgot about this film. This film is so utterly forgettable, boring, and bland. 3 things that you do NOT want your movie to be. Honestly, sometimes it's better for your film to be laughably bad (we'll get to you, Iron Man 2) because this film was BORING.
Positives: Every good thing about Iron Man is something that this film does "okay" but nowhere near as great. Edward Norton is fine. He's watchable. Is he charismatic? No. Is he likable? Not... not particularly. But he's not bad by any stretch of the imagination. Liv Tyler's chemistry with him is fine. It's not bad, it's not good, it's fine.
Technically, this film is alright, and it holds up. There is nothing that stands out, sure. Bt there's nothing really that stands out as bad either. It''s paint by the numbers, it's boring, it's bland, but there's nothing that I can point out about it as a GLARING weakness except for a couple things (more on them later).
The conflict between Hulk and Banner was interesting, I will say, and I do think that they should have focused on it a lot more. I did like the idea of the heart rate/pule monitor as the signal of when Bruce was about to Hulk out. I also did like how they skipped the origin story in its entirety and just focuses on the present day.
Again what can I say. Nothing great... but nothing to write home about.
Negatives: I can say much of the same for this section as I did for the last section. There are a few things that I would label as "bad". For example, the CGI. I understand that this film was made 10 years ago today, and that the effects of the Hulk have evolved for the better, but there are some shots in the film that are laughably bad. Hulk looks like a weird mix of green veins and abs, and it just looks so video-game-like. It bothered me a lot less than I remembered, but let me say that it did bother me quite a bit when Hulk was on screen.
Another thing that I don't remember hating as much as I did was Samuel Sterns AKA Leader. I have NO idea what he was doing in the movie, because his performance in the movie was OUT OF THIS WORLD AWFUL. Every single second he was onscreen I was reminded of characters like Jar Jar Binks. Seriously, what was he doing?
There are some scenes from the villains (more on them later) that seemed very "comic book villainish" but again, this film was made many years ago so it gets kind of a pass (although the Dark Knight was released in the same year).
And the final battle between the two behemoths was incredibly CGI heavy. Was it entertaining? I suppose so. It was actually much more violent than I last remember, but it wasn't "good" by any stretch of the imagination.
As I kept reiterating though and what I will continue to reiterate - this film is BORING.
Positives: Every good thing about Iron Man is something that this film does "okay" but nowhere near as great. Edward Norton is fine. He's watchable. Is he charismatic? No. Is he likable? Not... not particularly. But he's not bad by any stretch of the imagination. Liv Tyler's chemistry with him is fine. It's not bad, it's not good, it's fine.
Technically, this film is alright, and it holds up. There is nothing that stands out, sure. Bt there's nothing really that stands out as bad either. It''s paint by the numbers, it's boring, it's bland, but there's nothing that I can point out about it as a GLARING weakness except for a couple things (more on them later).
The conflict between Hulk and Banner was interesting, I will say, and I do think that they should have focused on it a lot more. I did like the idea of the heart rate/pule monitor as the signal of when Bruce was about to Hulk out. I also did like how they skipped the origin story in its entirety and just focuses on the present day.
Again what can I say. Nothing great... but nothing to write home about.
Negatives: I can say much of the same for this section as I did for the last section. There are a few things that I would label as "bad". For example, the CGI. I understand that this film was made 10 years ago today, and that the effects of the Hulk have evolved for the better, but there are some shots in the film that are laughably bad. Hulk looks like a weird mix of green veins and abs, and it just looks so video-game-like. It bothered me a lot less than I remembered, but let me say that it did bother me quite a bit when Hulk was on screen.
Another thing that I don't remember hating as much as I did was Samuel Sterns AKA Leader. I have NO idea what he was doing in the movie, because his performance in the movie was OUT OF THIS WORLD AWFUL. Every single second he was onscreen I was reminded of characters like Jar Jar Binks. Seriously, what was he doing?
There are some scenes from the villains (more on them later) that seemed very "comic book villainish" but again, this film was made many years ago so it gets kind of a pass (although the Dark Knight was released in the same year).
And the final battle between the two behemoths was incredibly CGI heavy. Was it entertaining? I suppose so. It was actually much more violent than I last remember, but it wasn't "good" by any stretch of the imagination.
As I kept reiterating though and what I will continue to reiterate - this film is BORING.
The Villain(s): William Hurt plays the stereotypical "military officer with an agneda" He was fine. Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth) was fine for what he was and to his credit, he wasn't the worst part of this movie. There are things that he says and he does that are questionable, but not particularly awful. The villains were fine, they were serviceable but they were BORING.
The Verdict: I believe that many people give this film a bad rap - this film isn't awful by any stretch of the imagination. This is not the worst quality MCU movie, nor is it my least favorite (stay tuned for the next two). But again. This film is forgettable, boring, bland, and a whole lot of nothing. I would not recommend seeing this at all. Letter Grade: C-. Number Score: 6.0/10
Should I Skip?: Yes - this film is not necessary AT ALL to see as long as you have a basic understanding of Hulk's origin story.
TLDR: Bruce Banner becomes the Hulk through gamma ray experiments. He fights the Abomination who survives, and goes on the run, not to be seen again until The Avengers.
9-10: Nearly Perfect
Should I Skip?: Yes - this film is not necessary AT ALL to see as long as you have a basic understanding of Hulk's origin story.
TLDR: Bruce Banner becomes the Hulk through gamma ray experiments. He fights the Abomination who survives, and goes on the run, not to be seen again until The Avengers.
**IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER**: Letter grades and Number grades do not mean the same thing. Just because I give a film an A does not mean it gets a 9.5 or above. They do not line up like a traditional school grading system To see specifics, see below.
A- to A+: Amazing
B- to B+: Enjoyable, but Flawed
C- to C+: Redeemable in some cases, but heavily Flawed
D- to D+: Nothing but Flaws
F: A Failure of a Film
8-9: Very Good
7-8: Good
6-7: Okay
5-6: Average/Mediocre
4-5: Apparently Flawed
3-4: Heavily Flawed
2-3: A complete and utter mess
0-2: A Failure of a Film
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