Countdown to Avengers: Endgame: #2

The Incredible Hulk is probably the least like a Marvel Cinematic Universe film than any of the other ones. This film actually has a pretty somber and serious tone, compared to much lighter tone of the future installments. You would think that would mean this film would stand out because of that, but in fact, the opposite has happened. Most people tend to forget that this film exists at all, and even if they do, they tend to forget that, yes, this film is a part of the MCU. This is not helped by the fact that Mark Ruffalo replaced Edward Norton as Bruce Banner in every future instalment, and the fact that none of the other characters, besides Banner, didn't make another appearance until Captain America: Civil War, 8 years later.

Needless to say, it's safe to say that this film's effects on the MCU as a whole are rather minimal, especially today. But how does that effect the film as a story in its own right?

Well, just like Iron Man before it, this film works just fine as a standalone story. Now the film does kind of assume that you already know the origin of The Hulk, because it kind of glosses over it, no doubt because Ang Lee's Hulk had just been released 5 years prior.

Before I dive into the film's bigger issues, I do want to briefly get into the stuff that does work, because there are some good elements. The best thing about the film is Liv Tyler as Betty Ross, who is the most memorable and best written character in the film. Also, Edward Norton was actually a fine choice to play Bruce Banner, even if his characterization is different from Ruffalo's. And some of the action scenes when Banner turns into the Hulk are entertaining in a brainless kind of way.

Overall, this is a relatively weak outing for the MCU, but again, I'm speaking in terms of relativity. The film, on its own, is just kind of okay. The action is... okay. The writing is... okay. The characters are... okay for the most part. It's a kind of entertaining film while you're watching it, but it won't leave that much of an impact. There's not really a whole lot here that stands out, and it does lack memorability. The only thing that I remembered about this film before I rewatched it was the scene where Bruce swallows a flash drive while being chased by the military, and the scene where he and Betty start to have sex, but he's forced to stop before he turns into the Hulk. Honestly, after having rewatched it again after a decade, it doesn't surprise me that barely anyone remembers this film even exists.

But I should be fair to this film and say that there isn't much that it does wrong; it's just that's it's a little bland. I don't consider this a bad film, but I definitely don't consider it great either, and honestly, you're not missing much if you decide to skip this one. It's mostly enjoyable, with elements that work good but not great, and elements that don't work, but aren't awful. And while I like the film enough, I am glad that the films that followed were better, because otherwise I don't think the MCU would've taken off like it did if the quality of them were at all similar to this film.