Big spoilers here…it’s pretty early in the MCU and you probably know what happens anyway.

                The Incredible Hulk is an okay film that doesn’t really stand out. It’s just there. Considering the titular character and the lead actor playing him (Edward Norton),the film being nothing special has to be considered as a big disappointment.

The film is made up of three stories. First of which is about Bruce Banner and his search for a cure to the gamma ray radiation that’s plagued his body. If this film does one thing right, it’s the opening sequence which brilliantly kinda-sorta references the previous Hulk film released in 2003. That scene gives us a great visual of just why Banner feels like he has to hide and how much pain he feels in regards to hurting anyone. But after that, his entire story arc is as follows: hide, get found, run, fight, hide, get found, run, fight, suddenly possibly unable to turn into Hulk, suddenly is needed to turn into Hulk, does so and fights. In between we see him working on his breathing exercises and working on his determination to make sure his heart rate doesn’t hit 200. It’s a good story, but not exactly a compelling one and unfortunately Norton isn’t able to shine in this role.

The second story is General Thunderbolt Ross’ goal to recapture Banner. William Hurt’s performance as Ross is my favorite part of the film as he effortlessly can go from a calm, even fatherly figure to someone barking orders and commanding an army to take down the Hulk. Unfortunately, Ross’ story is quite simplistic too, as he tries to capture the Hulk, fails, attacks again, argues with daughter, then eventually is forced to align himself with the Hulk. It’s so systematic that it’s just not that compelling.

Ross plays a big part in the third story which had the highest upside but turns out to be the biggest dud. Ross helps solider Emil Blonsky gain abilities to help him battle the Hulk. While Blonsky’s character starts off strong and has a compelling battle with the Hulk during his super speed and agility phase (where the Hulk shows off perhaps his best moment: kicking Blonsky into a tree, “killing” him), his arc takes a really disappointing turn as he becomes Abomination, a big monster that leads to a monster vs. monster confrontation. Iron Man did it better with a suit vs. suit battle to be fair.

There’s also the love interest for Banner, Liv Tyler’s Betty Ross. While it’s not bad at all, once again she can be described as “just there”. I was honestly more interested in her interactions with her father than Banner overall.

When a film called The Incredible Hulk fails to stand out, that means it’s failed to meet expectations. It’s the Incredible Hulk! It should probably have been the most over the top Marvel film ever. Perhaps the Hulk just isn’t the type of character to have a whole film dedicated to him.

Pros:

+General Ross is a strong character for the most part. At least in the first two acts.

+There’s nothing really bad about the film, but…

Cons:

-Nothing particularly good either.

-Abomination is a disappointing route to go for Emil Blonsky.

A decent film with no real stand out moments. Well, except when Tony Stark shows up at the end.

Grade C+