The Forgotten MCU Movie!

Rating: 7/10 (9 March 2020)

Contrary to popular belief, The Incredible Hulk is very much a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe or the MCU. The fact is that this is the lowest earning movie within the MCU and not had not been received well by critics and audience alike. A lot of people choose to ignore the existence of Ed Norton's Hulk which is why this movie could as well be called the "The Forgotten MCU Movie". In my opinion, this film was far from being a complete disaster and did manage to hit a lot of right notes. For example ,the portrayal of Bruce Banner's adversaries and his struggles to keep the Hulk at bay should be appreciated. Ed Norton ,being the commendable actor he is, did a good enough job playing Bruce Banner. We even get to see Hulk at his peak power while battling Abomination ,which we have yet to see with Mark Ruffalo's Hulk. So why did the movie not work? Before the final battle which would peak the interest of any movie watcher, the rest of the film is fairly conventional and predictable and the plot doesn't have a lot to offer besides showing Bruce running away from the military and fighting tanks and soldiers.
Still, a couple of mentions about S.H.I.E.L.D and a Tony Stark cameo in the end confirm that it was intended to be the second installment in the MCU, right after the release of Iron Man. Ed Norton wasn't interested in playing the character for long and that is why Mark Ruffalo was brought in and the rest is history. Nonetheless, The incredible Hulk is still one of the better Hulk movies ever made and is entertaining enough to be a good watch.