Strongest One There Is? (An Incredible Hulk review)

With four days to go until the UK release of Avengers Assemble, I've decided to review the five Marvel Cinematic Universe films leading up to it, in order of release, one day at a time. Iron Man has already been reviewed here, so let's take a look at its sister film.

Poster by Marko Manev.

Cast your minds back to 2003, and the release of Hulk. Directed by Ang Lee and starring Eric Bana as the titular meek scientist-turned-green goliath, audiences had gone in expecting a rousing blockbuster of summer fun where Hulk smash stuff, and Hulk smash stuff a lot. What they got was a sombre, cerebral, brooding exploration of a brilliant scientist still reeling years later from his abusive past, who blows off steam through his destructive monstrous alter-ego. When put like that, it sounds like an arthouse film. It sounds like a comic Harvey Pekar or Daniel Clowes would write, published by Vertigo as a deconstruction of the Hulk concept. You can understand why audiences felt betrayed, especially since the marketing and advertising made them think they were getting just another dumb action flick.

Hulk was not a financial success, but it did brisk enough business to warrant a continuation of the franchise. Marvel Studios were in charge of producing the next film, which was a reboot, but one that picked up from where the original left off. They hired Louis Letterier, best known for directing Jason Statham vehicle The Transporter, to make it a more traditional "Hulk smash" affair, adhering close to the TV show and Bruce Jones' run on the character. Edward Norton signed on to play Bruce Banner, and ended up rewriting Zak Penn's script significantly (though he remains uncredited for it). Most significantly, Marvel Studios got Robert Downey Jr to make a quick cameo as Tony Stark, talking about "putting a team together". They were serious about putting an Avengers film together, enough that Stark Industries, Nick Fury and SHIELD even get quick mentions.

But what of the film itself? Make sure you're firmly behind lead shielding because we're looking at The Incredible Hulk.