The first time I witnessed Hulk’s character was when I watched Hulk (2003) on TV. It was during my school days, and I wasn’t really into Marvel at that time, but I liked the movie very much. Fast forward to when I saw “The Incredible Hulk” on TV, and I knew that the old one paled in comparison to how the Hulk is depicted: a creature of pure rage.
Of course, advances in technology when it comes to filmmaking and the presence of a reference point in the old movie must have played a big role in giving the new one a better quality. But the fact that Marvel saw this movie as a cog in the larger machine of the MCU made for a much, much better film.
Unpopular opinion: Edward Norton’s Hulk is better than Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk, but Mark Ruffalo is a better Banner than Edward Norton!
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD. DON’T READ FURTHER IF YOU DON’T WANT TO KNOW HOW AWESOME THE MOVIE IS OR WANT TO AVOID DEETS ABOUT OTHER MARVEL MOVIES!
Banner vs Hulk: The Eternal Fight Within
One of the most interesting things about this Marvel superhero movie and the character in general is how Bruce Banner’s consciousness is in a constant struggle with Hulk’s consciousness. Hulk is always trying to take over Banner, and the simple, intellectual human is always trying to keep him at bay, succeeding most of the time. This actually shows Banner’s mind is stronger than Hulk’s consciousness in a way.
As the movie begins, we see Bruce Banner (played by Edward Norton) trying to control the monster within. To manage his expenses, he works as a daily wage labourer at a soda bottling plant in Brazil. He’s living a quiet, peaceful life away from the incessant chasing by the military and General Ross (played by William Hurt), who just wants the power of the Hulk to advance his country’s defence capabilities.
Banner constantly wears a digital watch that can track his pulse rate. Whenever the watch starts beeping rapidly, he stops doing whatever he’s doing to prevent his big and green alter ego from surfacing when his pulse rate touches 200. Although, we hope that happens more often and we get to see some smashing!
The Incredible Hulk is Anger Personified
If one glare, along with teeth pressed together, could make your soul leave your body, that glare is completely owned by the Hulk. I can almost feel his anger through the screen when I see those green eyes with a face that screams rage. That’s what the Hulk’s supposed to be: a creature that puts the fear of death just by looking at you (in a certain “I’ll kill you!” way).
Whether it’s the time at the soda bottling plant in Brazil where Emil Blonsky (played by Tim Roth) faced the Hulk and got his angry look, the failed capture of Banner at Culver University where General Ross got his angry look, or when he fights the Abomination (Blonsky) in the climax fight, a single glare (complemented at times with a mighty roar) is more than enough to make the other person run back to where they came from.
And the ROAR! Oh! Can’t even begin to describe how powerful it is!
Is Hulk the Problem or the Solution?
The tussle between Banner and the Hulk can be thought of as a person having split-personality disorder, the difference being that Banner’s second personality makes him unkillable. Even though Banner thought of Hulk as a thing to get rid of with the help of Dr. Samuel Sterns, aka Mr. Blue (played by Tim Blake Nelson, whose very passionate acting in the film impressed me a lot), the truth is that the Hulk is there to protect him (similar to ‘The Beast’ personality of James McAvoy in “Split”).
Since the Hulk is Banner’s alter ego, emerging as a result of the abuse he suffered at the hands of his father in his childhood, his primary role is protecting Banner from harm. So, while the world and Banner himself think of the Hulk as a menace, he’s really there to keep Banner safe from the world and its dangers.
Banner finally realised this and became the ‘Smart Hulk’ in “Avengers: Endgame”, with Bruce Banner (played by Mark Ruffalo) combining his intelligence with Hulk’s strength. Rather than seeing the Hulk as a hindrance, he saw him as an enabler and, thus, got the best of both worlds.
Read my review of Iron Man here.
The Incredible Hulk is a Child at Heart
The funniest thing and very endearing, really, is the fact that the Hulk is really a child at heart.
When General Ross tries to capture him at Culver University and his daughter, Betty (played by Liv Tyler), walks up to the Hulk and calls out to Bruce, he actually calms down and listens to her. A few moments later, Hulk hits the gunship shooting at him, and as it crashes down, he surrounds Betty with himself to protect her.
After she faints and Hulk takes her away to a cave in a forest far away, he tries to protect Betty from the thunder, signalling her to stay back. This shows the childish side of the Hulk, trying to protect the things he cares about (the Hulk caring about something when all he knows is smashing. Talk about wild!).
Banner and Hulk: Two Drivers with the Same Steering Wheel
Another fact worth noting is that although we mostly see Banner as the person who’s constantly trying to keep away the Hulk from taking over, I think they are both essentially the same body and mind. While Banner is the one in control when situations are normal, the Hulk takes over when his anger goes out of control.
In a way, the green rage monster lets Banner have control when the going is easy and in situations which require the actual knowledge of multiple PhDs and not just brute strength. On the other hand, Banner lets the Hulk have control when he is actually furious about something and wants to vent it out, albeit in a very violent way.
And with virtually limitless power, powered by his rage alone, the Hulk can vent out A LOT!
Best Incredible Hulk Scenes
Pointing toward the future with the Avengers, The Incredible Hulk had some excellent scenes throughout, but here are the best ones, according to me:
- The Hulk’s roar when he escapes into the forests from the soda bottling plant in Brazil.
- Stan Lee’s cameo in the movie, with him getting the same bottle of soda with Banner’s blood and getting a kick out of it, more than what he expected.
- The Hulk’s roar before he starts fighting the military at Culver University.
- The Hulk’s roar before his fight with the Abomination.
- The Hulk smashing his hands together to create a shockwave to douse the fire enveloping the helicopter, which had Betty and General Ross in it.
- The Hulk Smash in his fight with the Abomination (duh!).
- The Hulk’s roar after he triumphs over the Abomination.
- Tony Stark arriving at the end to ask General Ross about the whereabouts of Banner to recruit him for the Avengers. The dots start connecting.
The Hulk’s roar comprises half the list, but what can I say? It’s JUST THAT AWESOME!
The Hulk is Really, Really Incredible!
To summarise, I would say “The Incredible Hulk (2008)” was an incredible movie, capturing the essence of the rage-powered monster and Dr. Bruce Banner and how they coexist together. The Hulk we currently see in the MCU has lost that fantastic rage that we saw in this movie. I only hope Marvel can bring it back somehow in the movies to come.
After all, it’s fiction. Anything’s possible.
2 replies on “The Incredible Hulk Movie Review: What Makes This Hulk the Most Powerful One?”
Stellar. ✨️😌
Thank you so much, Shailly. Glad you had a good read.