The Hulk (film)

**The Hulk** is a 2007 superhero film set in the Marvel Media Franchise, the sixth film in the universe. The film stars Ryan Reynolds, January Jones, Sebastian Stan, Bobby Cannavale, Linda Cardellini, Samuel L. Jackson, and Kevin Costner and was released worldwide on September 7, 2007. The film ran 100 minutes and grossed $585.3 million on a $150 million budget.

## Plot

Bruce Banner was an ordinary med student in 1997. He was dating Betty Ross, his best friend since high school and daughter of General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross. He was also good friends with Rick Jones, Emil Blonsky, and his cousin Jennifer Walters. The five were good friends until suddenly General Ross revealed he has broken through on an experiment that uses elements from the super-soldier program from fifty years ago. Bruce decides to go under the experiment, however it turns him into a giant, green monster. Betty calms him down and discovers that he will transform into the beast when he gets angry. Bruce leaves New York City and disappears for a decade, much to the dismay of Betty, Rick, Emil, and Jennifer who have been searching for him for years. One day, in Miami, the monster reappears, prompting Betty and the others to travel there with General Ross, where they find Bruce in his green state.

Ross gives Bruce the name, Hulk, and captures him. Bruce awakens in a New York City government base. Also there is the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., a government agency, Nick Fury. Betty reunites with Bruce and he is overjoyed to see her. Rick blames Bruce for ruining their lives for ten years searching for him. Bruce tries to apologize but Rick leaves, while Emil fears Bruce will kill one of them. Jennifer is caught in between fearing and loving Bruce. Betty tries to convince Rick to return while Emil reveals to Jennifer he plans to kill Bruce. When Jennifer gets in the way, Emil shoots her, causing her to lose a great amount of blood. Bruce gives his blood to Jennifer in a transplant to save her life. A manhunt begins to find Emil. However, Emil finds the creator of the Hulk serum and gives it to himself along with a sample of Bruce's blood. However, the mixture turns him into an "abomination".

Jennifer's skin turns green along with her gaining superhuman-strength, just like the Hulk. Bruce apologizes to her, due to her condition not transforming her into a beast, as she retains her memories and personality, but it is permanent. Emil, now being called Abomination attacks the base, though Hulk and Jennifer protect it. Rick, who is also a cop, manages to clear the streets of Harlem as Hulk and Abomination fight each other. Betty gets Rick back on their side while General Ross contains the fight. Finally, Hulk manages to lure Abomination into a cleared zone where missiles are launched. Emil is killed in the blast, while Hulk leaves the city in the chaos, upsetting Betty, Rick, and Jennifer. General Ross promises them he'll find Bruce. Fury offers Betty a job at S.H.I.E.L.D., though she denies the opportunity.

## Cast

* Ryan Reynolds as Bruce Banner/The Hulk
* January Jones as Betty Ross
* Sebastian Stan as Rick Jones
* Bobby Cannavale as Emil Blonsky/Abomination
* Linda Cardellini as Jennifer Walters
* Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury
* Kevin Costner as Thunderbolt Ross

## Production

The film entered active development in 2002, when Marvel announced their intent to develop films centered around Iron Man, Black Panther, Spider-Man, and Hulk. In March 2005, an outline had been created by Marvel, centering around Bruce Banner becoming the Hulk and fighting the Abomination. In June 2005, a release date of April 13, 2007. Louis Leterrier was hired as director, while Zak Penn was hired to write a screenplay. However, after troubles arose while casting the main role and while Penn was writing the script, and the film was pushed back to September 7, 2007. By December 2005, Ryan Reynolds was cast as Bruce Banner, while filming was scheduled to begin in December 2006. Throughout 2006, January Jones, Sebastian Stan, Bobby Cannavale, Linda Cardellini, and Kevin Costner were cast as Betty Ross, Rick Jones, Emil Blonsky, Jennifer Walters, and Thunderbolt Ross, respectively. Additionally, Samuel L. Jackson signed on to reprise his role as Nick Fury from *Iron Man*. Filming began on December 15, 2006 and finished on April 2, 2007.

## Reception

### **Box office**

The film grossed $256,393,010 in North America and $328,956,000 in foreign areas for a total of $585,349,010 worldwide.

### **Critical reception**

On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes the film had an approval rating of 70% based on 207 reviews, with an average rating of 6.8/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "*The Hulk* overcomes questionable special effects and succeeds largely on the strength of Ryan Reynolds's mesmerizing performance and the fresh take on the tired, old character." On Metacritic, which assigns a rating to reviews, the film has an average score of 65 out of 100, based on 37 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

### **Accolades**

The film was nominated for three Academy Awards: Best Sound Mixing, Best Sound Editing, and Best Visual Effects.