"The Incredible Hulk" Talkback (Spoilers)

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Bird Boy

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Unleash The Beast.
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"There are aspects of my personality that I can't control. And when I lose control, it's very dangerous to be around me." - Bruce Banner

Release Date: June 13th, 2008
Studio: Universal Pictures, Marvel Studios
Director: Louis Leterrier
Screenwriter: Zak Penn, Edward Norton
Starring: Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, Tim Roth, Tim Blake Nelson, Ty Burrell, William Hurt

Plot Summary: The Incredible Hulk kicks off an all-new, explosive and action-packed epic of one of the most popular superheroes of all time. In this new beginning, scientist Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) desperately hunts for a cure to the gamma radiation that poisoned his cells and unleashes the unbridled force of rage within him: The Hulk.

Living in the shadows--cut off from a life he knew and the woman he loves, Betty Ross (Liv Tyler)--Banner struggles to avoid the obsessive pursuit of his nemesis, General Thunderbolt Ross (William Hurt), and the military machinery that seeks to capture him and brutally exploit his power.

As all three grapple with the secrets that led to The Hulk's creation, they are confronted with a monstrous new adversary known as The Abomination (Tim Roth), whose destructive strength exceeds even The Hulk's own. Now, one scientist must make an agonizing final choice: accept a peaceful life as Bruce Banner or find heroism in the creature he holds inside--The Incredible Hulk.

Comments? What are your thoughts?

Related Threads:
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-The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction Video Game Talkback (Spoilers)

Note: Please keep this discussion thread on-topic. Thank you.
 

Sketch

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Well I just got back from a 12:01 showing and I gotta say, it was fantastic... Oh wait that's another movie. Not sure if I'd give it incredible status but it was a very good movie with great action and a lot of heartfelt drama... and just the right amount of laughs.

The Hulk in this movie is a lot more organic feeling. And while they barely reprise the origin (just some scenes in the opening sequence) they do so effectively enough that people who aren't familiar with Hulk would be able to understand the situation pretty well.

All the leaping from rooftops had me thinking Borne Identity but it was interesting that they gave Banner a lot of screen time as himself rather than the Hulk. They also showed he has been training his mind and body to help prevent Hulking out and because of that he only does so when anyone else would be reaching the max of their fight of flight emotions. And when he's Hulk he's considerably easier to irritate. Getting bumped on the head would be enough to anger him at that point apparently.

I somewhat prefered the previous movies Bruce and Betty - Connoley > Tyler in the looks department IMO but the characters were much better written in this one so it somewhat evens out the performances.

Abomination made for a great final fight but man oh man that guy was really starting to annoy me about halfway through the movie... but I guess that was the point. You were suppose to hate him.

Nice introduction for The Leader. He could make an interesting villian in a future movie.

As promised, Stark shows up at the end and more seeds are planted for The Avenger feature film, which at this point seems like it's going to be absolutely amazing just on the heals of Iron Man and this Hulk feature but I certainly look forward to more teasers in future Marvel films. And on a side note, the whole theatre cheered when Stark showed up, which I found rather amusing.
 

Antiyonder

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Well I just got back from a 12:01 showing and I gotta say, it was fantastic... Oh wait that's another movie. Not sure if I'd give it incredible status but it was a very good movie with great action and a lot of heartfelt drama... and just the right amount of laughs.

The Hulk in this movie is a lot more organic feeling. And while they barely reprise the origin (just some scenes in the opening sequence) they do so effectively enough that people who aren't familiar with Hulk would be able to understand the situation pretty well.

All the leaping from rooftops had me thinking Borne Identity but it was interesting that they gave Banner a lot of screen time as himself rather than the Hulk. They also showed he has been training his mind and body to help prevent Hulking out and because of that he only does so when anyone else would be reaching the max of their fight of flight emotions. And when he's Hulk he's considerably easier to irritate. Getting bumped on the head would be enough to anger him at that point apparently.

I somewhat prefered the previous movies Bruce and Betty - Connoley > Tyler in the looks department IMO but the characters were much better written in this one so it somewhat evens out the performances.

Abomination made for a great final fight but man oh man that guy was really starting to annoy me about halfway through the movie... but I guess that was the point. You were suppose to hate him.

Nice introduction for The Leader. He could make an interesting villian in a future movie.

As promised, Stark shows up at the end and more seeds are planted for The Avenger feature film, which at this point seems like it's going to be absolutely amazing just on the heals of Iron Man and this Hulk feature but I certainly look forward to more teasers in future Marvel films. And on a side note, the whole theatre cheered when Stark showed up, which I found rather amusing.

Is the scene in your spoiler box before or after the end credits?
 

Sketch

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Is the scene in your spoiler box before or after the end credits?

Maybe you should just wait and find out if there's something after the credits...





Okay, I'm not THAT evil it's before the credits. There was nothing after the credits.
 

Spider-Man

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I just caught the Friday matinee for The Incredible Hulk and I'll be seeing it again this weekend but so far I really tlike what I saw. I thought it was a fun movie with great action sequences and a pretty good storyline. Not the best Marvel movie, but so much better than I anticipated. And since we're allowed to post and discuss spoilers, I'm not going to put up any boxes. The word "spoilers" is right in the title, so beware. I was surprised at the villain they are setting up for the next movie - The Leader! I'll have more thoughts on the movie after I let it sink in and get another chance to watch it tomorrow but right now I really like this movie. It's fun and fast-paced and has some really incredible action sequences.
 

Knight

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Just got back from the Incredible Hulk and thankfully this was a lot better than the first.

Things I noticed.
  • There was a flash of the Stark Industries banner and Nick Fury's name during the intro cant tell what they were related to.
  • The Hulks origin is now more closely based off the TV show than the last film.
  • The army's computers had some kind of SHEILD login screen.
  • Bill Bixby on tv when Bruce is flipping channels
  • The Incredible Hulk tv series theme being played when Banner is walking through the streets of Guatemala.
  • The Hulk didnt do any large leaps in this film.
  • A lot of things shown in the trailers dont appear in the movie (The scene where Ross and Blonsky are talking to the black military man about the Hulk, the scene were Banner is talking to Doc Sampson, the scene were Banner is in the arctic)
  • No Cap and I usually dont stay through the credits. Here I did and there wasn't anything extra to see.
I loved the Stark cameo even though it had already been spoiled. Seems like he is helping get the Avengers together. Overall Ironman was better but this was still a good film and a nice place to restart things.
 

Nightwing

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Hulk = Smash. Hulk Smash. Hulk very very good. It is safe to say without any question that this movie is definitely Iron Man quality. Everything was great.

And honestly, the movie was tons of times better than the trailer. As one example, there was more to that solider guy that walked up to a rampaging hulk and indirectly asked to get kicked in the stomach.

The opening sequence to the movie told the story alright, but it was also extremely remeniscent to the 70s Live Action show. The rest was a roller coaster ride that thrilled us through the entire movie.

This significantly included a heck of a lot of Bruce time, but it was very enjoyable. Ed Norton is one of those actors on my list that always deliver exactly what you, the script, the director, and the viewer need and want for the part.

Like Hulk's origins, we got smooth flowing hints of everything in back story stuff, but I thought we could have used more "I'm Betty and I'm living my life but I'm more or less miserable because of what happened which made me loose Bruce."

Curiously, Bruce's only constant correspondence with anyone was with a mysterious "Mr. Blue" by way of portable computer. We don't learn how he established this connection, but I suppose it might be because of how intuitive it possibly is. I might have liked that added, but they showed a palpable amount of Bruce still being his brilliant scientist self. It was very fun and unique to see Mr. Super Science in the settings he put himself in.

The pace and strength of the story got me so pumped I actually thought that "Mr. Blue" was Reed Richards. Weird? You could say so. I'm just wondering if anyone else jumped the gun like that.

The action was incredibly engaging. And you really found out just what kind of person Blonsky is. A very experienced and intelligent solider who was in the Royal Marines, THE ABOMINATION really established himself into a deep and unbeatable threat.

William Hurt did an okay job as Ross, although I think someone better could have been found. He established the character for us to get ticked off at him though, and that was most important.

Liv Tyler was talented and lovely as ever. Good job with the casting, and the flow of her character through the movie. Not a complaint to be had.

I didn't really catch the ending in the sense that it feels almost like the fugitive from the military aspect is gone, but his own Bruce Banner struggle to cure himself remained nice and strong. And earlier in the movie where we got the "sad walking away song" from the 70s show was a beautiful touch.

Equally worth a giddy note was Bruce Banner giving a free pizza to Lou Ferringo. Someone has to get me his work out routine, because he still looks as bad ass as he did in the 70s. The cameos were spot on and fun, including Stan Lee's. How about that Stan Lee huh? He's pretty much in every Marvel movie, so eventually they probably said, "come on, let's REALLY screw with him THIS time! Don't just give him a quick walk on!"

The score was really great too. The first thing I thought of after seeing this movie was how much fun it would be to see it again.

2003 Hulk Comparison

I still hold that I enjoyed the Eric Bana Hulk movie for what it was, which was incredibly deep and odd and confusing, which could understandably loose viewers. Anyway, I'd say the new movie set out what it needed to do. The Hulk looked more human and yet also more monsterous and scary, and reminded me of the 80s cartoon Hulk.

The 2003 Hulk didn't look like that, but he was incredibly massive and unstoppable, so he really got that feeling across. Ed Norton's Mr. Green eventually got cut and hurt. Eric Bana's just got more angry and more powerful....and BIGGER! All in all, I'd say this Hulk was the improvement they were looking for.

I was able to stay until after the credits, unlike Iron Man, but there was nothing, as stated above. I was starving to death, but I was smart enough to have used the restroom before the movie.

It makes sense. The first teaser scene (from Iron Man) was more of the secret cereal box surprise, but this one was more upfront about it. The last scene gave us the Tony Stark we were promised, although I had forgotten that I previously read that, so it was a big fun shock that resulted in the biggest "oooh I know what's going down here!" smile you have EVER seen.

Let's go see it again! HULK SMASH!


****EDIT!!!! This just in!! The Tony Stark stuff is HIGHLIGHTED in the TV spots I'm seeing today. Looks like they've got their clever mouthed mechanical genius playboy and they want to show him off! Good stuff!
 

Palin Dromos

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This is what should have been released back in 2003!

That's both a plus and a minus.

This is a solid movie, good pacing ,good action, good performances, plenty of shout-outs to the comics and fondly remembered TV show, and straight forward story.

On the flip-side some of the action and certainly the initial build up to the Hulk reveal were a little anit-climatic because we have seen it before in Ang Lee's Hulk. So the previous films existence does steal a little thunder away from this film.
That's not to say that this film isn't worth seeing, it is. Just that I'm not sure if it's going to bring around people who were REALLY turned off by the 2003 film.

Fans of the comics and TV show will definitely enjoy the film. I'm more of a recent fan of Hulk comics so the inclusion of the Mr. Green/Mr. Blue stuff got me all kinds of excited. I also felt that the Hulk's fighting style in this film was very reminiscent of the video game Hulk: Ultimate Destruction, which is kinda cool for anyone who's played the game.

Hulk's characterization also had a little more breadth which I appreciated. I particularly enjoyed the moment half way through the fight with Abomination where Hulk's face and body language are like "Seriously...more...?! Oh alright" "RAWWWWR!"

Another thing I liked was what they did with Tim Blake Nelson's character. As I was watching the film and his character was introduced, his name sounded familiar but I couldn't place it. Then later when he starts helping Blonsky I was a little upset that a character who had been set up as an ally to Banner (in the film) would suddenly switch teams so gleefully. It wasn't until the blood started dripping onto him that my brain switched back on and I remembered who he was. That was a cool moment for comic fans.

Overall this is a solid movie, a little by-the-numbers. It doesn't have quite the razzle-dazzle of Iron Man, admittedly the humor of that film is what makes it so good, and Hulk does not lend itself to humor. So I don't feel that this film breaks and new ground, but it does solidly firm-up the ground its treading. Which is what should be expected from a good reboot, it does a better job of that then Superman Returns did.

For those who did like 2003 Hulk this film doesn't really go out of its way to disconnect from that film. It is in fact set 5 years after the initial incident that transformed Banner, it starts in South America. Without too much effort the 2 films can be connected if a viewer wishes. At least with the theatrical cut. Rumor has it that a chunk of "new origin" material was shot but didn't end up in the final cut.

I would like to see a director's cut, the stuff in the arctic at least sounds interesting.

To try and sum up; Good movie, better than the 2003 Hulk, but floating just below Iron Man.
 

Infusions

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I loved the movie for all the reasons already said.

I found all the fights to be really intense, especially since the sounds were 10 times as louder as the people applauding everytime the Hulk kicked the Abomination's ass.

I also liked the little humor the Hulk gave off. Like his sighing halfway through the last battle, when he took Elizabeth into that forest rock-cave like thing and hit his head, but rather than getting angry, just turned away and rubbed the back of his head with clenched teeth like a normal person would, and for some reason, I just giggled so much when the lightning struck and he tried throwing a rock at the sky.

Worth seeing in theaters.
 

Knight

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One more thing I noticed that I didnt note earlier was Jack Mcgee the reporter who was always chasing the Hulk on the tv series was in the film as a campus student who caught the Hulks battle with the Army on his cell phone and I think he was standing with Jim Wilson who was one of the Hulks friends in the comics.
 

unknown hero

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It was a good movie. Not quite as good as Iron Man, but it had plenty of good action scenes and character development.
 

MM54

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Easily the biggest surprise so far this summer.

"Don't make me hungry. You wouldn't like me when I'm hungry." XD

This movie was just about as good as "Iron Man". I'm not going to turn my review into a compare and contrast, as they are two different films, but for those who thought Marvel couldn't repeat IM's success will be happy to know that those fears are unfounded.

Edward Norton is the PERFECT Bruce Banner, showing just enough vulnerability and strength that the character requires. This is, luckily, NOT the dark brooding Banner from Ang Lee's 2003 attempt (which was just below average for me). In fact, all of the casting in this movie is spot-on, especially Tim Roth as Emil Blonksy, a ferocious lion of soldier who's desire for power leads him to become what comic fans will know as The Abomination. Well, spot-on except for, in my opinion, William Hurt, whose portrayal of Thunderbolt just felt kinda campy for my liking.

The direction was excellent most of the time, except for a few moments in which the camera seemed to suffer from "Transformers"-syndrome and got a little TOO shaky. It's not distracting (hell, I liked "Transformers") but might bother some. The CGI was a big mixed bag... Blonsky's final ogre-like form looked great but I thought the Hulk himself looked a little fakey at certain points (but fantastic at others). I still think the visual effects are a step up from the 2003 version, though, as is the pace of the movie, moving a respectable clip so as to have constant action but not losing sight of the big goal.

Now, two things that I noticed about the movie that are going to be odd, but had an effect on me for whatever reason:

1. Banner's relationship with Mr. Blue really struck a chord with me. Mr. Blue seemed to be his only real friend in exile, but that final betrayal was crushing for me. I enjoyed this relationship more than that between Bruce and Betty, frankly.

2. The score got to me. I'm not sure why, but especially in the chase sequences, something was just off about it that kinda took me out of the action. It just seemed unfitting at many points.

Note, however, all the complaints I've served up have been rather minor, and didn't really detract from what I believe to be one of the best superhero movies released thus far (at least top 5).

I'd give THE INCREDIBLE HULK an A-.
 

Ducard

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The fight scenes in this film are greatly enjoyable, actually "Hulk Smash" sums things up pretty well. It's this sort of 'down and dirty', on the ground action that I wish I'd see more in action films. And even with the sometimes flaky CGI, it's all good fun. But whereas the last Hulk movie tried too hard to be meaningful, this one tries far too little. There's one action scene followed by another, with little attempt to explore the potential themes in the story. That Banner wishes to rid himself of his power, has a girlfriend who has moved on, etc., are story elements which remind me of Spiderman 2, and in that light, it's hard not to ask why Banner's problems were not explored to an extent like Peter Parker's were. The problem with this movie is that not much happens story-wise in the second act besides adding Betty to Bruce's journey (and even that is too easily accomplished), and scenes which could have explored Banner's dilemma are played just for quick entertainment. Don't get me wrong, the scenes are handled very well, but there could be... more.

We had a 'lol Banner can't have sex' scene (which I wish was toned down for the younger kids, but whatever) played for a quick audience laugh, and that was it. There could have been a moment where Banner realizes the sacrifice of intimacy he's making for a greater good, a la Superman 2. Instead all we get is in the third act is a quick "I should be the Hulk now. Well, see ya Betty". I would have also liked a more in-depth look into Abomination's character. He establishes his 'want to beat Hulk' goal early on in the film, and it is reiterated over and over. When he becomes a jerk at the end and kills all those Army soldiers, I couldn't tell if he was this villainous character all along who didn't care about anybody, or if he was succumbing to the lures of power. It's just kinda vague. Speaking of which, I admit I rolled my eyes a bit when everyone aboard that helicopter died except the two name characters. Are the soldiers really that expendable? Couldn't we have gotten to know atleast some of these guys a little better if they were all going to be killed off like that? Likewise, Betty's boyfriend in the film simply disappears at some point; the story would have been a lot more interesting with him still in it, or at least if he was given a little more focus with the time he had.

Overall, the movie doesn't lack heart, but the film's structure does lack a strong thread to tie its various elements together.

It's definitely a fun movie that's worth watching on the big screen. Not enough there to justify seeing a second time, IMO, but still ok. Probably the coolest moment was Tony Stark's brief cameo, which gathered a good round of applause in my theater.
 

Kevin

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I just came back from seeing it, and I thought it was fantastic. The action scenes were great, the acting was very good, and I loved how Tony Starks made a cameo appearance. Definitively worth watching!
 

DarkKnight

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This move was freaking amazing! I was waiting the whole movie to hear him say it, and when he finally said "HULK SMASH" I started laughing because it was just so right. I hope they profit from this film because they definitely deserve it. My only fear is that people were too turned off by the 2003 Hulk to want to go see this one. If I was just a casual fan I probably wouldn't want to go see another Hulk movie after the last one, but I wanted to see this one because I love the character so much. And it was definitely worth it. This is a great movie.
 

silverwings

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So how are they going to tie in the super-soldier serum for Captain America (from the 40s) when the movie made it seem like Banner's experiments were some of the first towards creating it? Or did I just not get that?

I loved the use of Stark, Nick Fury, SHIELD, etc. Marvel is 2 for 2 as far as I am concerned. Maybe DC should also go independent, since outside of Batman they haven't really had a good film.

Can someone recap Stark's cameo though. We had some annoying girls in my theater who talked (loudly) throughout the ending ("who's that?" "That's IRON MAN, idiot" "LOL!" etc) :sweat:
 

ThePeterNetwork

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The reviews from the critics may have been bad, but I sure don't know what movie they were seeing. It drew lots of applause from the viewers during the final fight with the Abomination, "HULK SMASH!" and the obvious Tony Stark cameo right before the credit roll.

Basically, the film played like 50% TV show, 50% comic book. The only cons I could find were the CGI fignt scenes looking too chaotic and all over the place (I'd blame the "virtual camera" like in Transformers) and Liv Tyler's lack of characterization. It seemed that every other piece of dialog from here was "It's okay.... it's okay..."

Cool reference: the Super-Soldier project of WWII (shades of Captain America anyone?) that Blonsky was injected with and made him all crazy enough to track down Banner's blood samples in the lab and use them to become the Abomination.

In summation, The Incredible Hulk was less better than Iron Man (which I saw beforehand), but still watchable. And it didn't put me to sleep like the 2003 Ang Lee movie did when it was on USA.

Question: What was up in the final shot before the Tony Stark tag where Banner is in the cabin in B.C. doing the meditation thing when suddenly his eyes go Gamma Green as if he's going to Hulk out, but instead he's smiling? :confused:
 
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Question: What was up in the final shot before the Tony Stark tag where Banner is in the cabin in B.C. doing the meditation thing when suddenly his eyes go Gamma Green as if he's going to Hulk out, but instead he's smiling? :confused:

I believe it was meant to signify that through training he has been able to unlock the transformation without rage. Obviously, this could mean multiple Hulk's or a combined Hulk, a cunning and intelligent Hulk.
 

Knight

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The sonic cannons used against the Hulk in this movie were a Stark Industries requisition I noticed upon a second viewing.
 

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