Unfairly dubbed the black sheep of Marvel's Cinematic Universe

Rating: 6/10 (25 July 2018)

In a few decades, cinema-goers will look back and dub these times the golden age of superhero movies. Of course, they are still going strong, but 2008 was the year it all really kicked off, with three key movies in the genre, two of which helped kick off Marvel's Cinematic Universe. The year saw one of the very best superhero films, The Dark Knight, although for a comic book adaptation it keeps its feet very much grounded. Nolan's movie will always be loved, and so it should, but elsewhere Marvel were planning on doing something never before achieved by a major studio: to truly bring a comic-book universe to life. Iron Man came first, and was a bigger hit than anybody expected, propelling Robert Downey Jr. from a risk with heavy personal baggage to one of the highest paid actors in the business. This was followed up by The Incredible Hulk, a film now with a reputation as Marvel's runt of the litter. Yet, despite the fact that Edward Norton was eventually replaced by Mark Ruffalo as mild-mannered scientist Bruce Banner, the black sheep label is incredibly unfair.
The origin of Banner and his alter-ego the Incredible Hulk was attempted back in 2003 by acclaimed director Ang Lee, and while his desire to literally bring the panels of a comic-book to life was admirable, Hulk was an absolute bore, failing to add any dimension to its central character and struggling to bring the Jade Giant convincingly to life with special effects that simply weren't advanced enough at the time. Director Louis Leterrier's 2008 semi-reboot sort-of accepts Lee's introduction, and starts its life with Banner already living with the unexpected effects of his exposure to gamma radiation. Hiding out in Brazil away from the clutches of General 'Thunderbolt' Ross (William Hurt), Banner is searching for a cure, spending his downtime working in a bottle factory and keeping his heart-rate below 200 beats per minute to keep the angry brute inside of him at bay. Ross views Banner and his powers as property of the U.S. government, and wants him captured in order to harness his abilities to create an army of unstoppable soldiers.
It's a simple premise, but one that compliments the character. Ang Lee tried to find deeper themes in Banner's story, but it just didn't work, and when Hulk finally smashed, it either came far too late or was shot in darkness. It doesn't take long for the transformation to take place in Leterrier's movie, and when notorious Royal Marine Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth) shows up with his army pals, the special effects don't disappoint (although they are dated by today's standards), allowing Hulk to smash and batter with coherency. It isn't all brainless action however. When Bruce inevitably leaves his hideaway to return home, he reconnects with his former flame Betty Ross (Liv Tyler), who also happens to be the General's daughter and dating nice guy Leonard (Ty Burrell). It's here Banner hopes to connect with his contact 'Mr. Blue' and cure his affliction, while side-stepping various attacks by General Ross and an increasingly powered-up Blonsky. While I prefer Ruffalo, Norton is an excellent Bruce Banner, and it's fun to wonder what could have been had he stayed in the role, although it's difficult to imagine him trading quips with Chris Hemsworth on an alien planet. The Marvel universe seemed to go on ignoring its existence before Hurt's Ross turned up again 8 years later in Captain America: Civil War, but its importance in the creation of this now-massive world shouldn't be underestimated. I still remember the goose-pimples as Tony Stark swaggered into that mid-credit sequence