Movie: The Incredible Hulk (2008)

All the spoilers all the time.  You have been warned!

My Thoughts While Watching:

The one where the guy turns green.

But, wait…there was a different guy who turned green five years prior….

I watched as the Hulk – juice fell into the bottle at the distributor and, although it is giggle-worthy that Stan Lee drank it, I cannot help but think of Laverne and Shirley, that glove on the bottle going down the line – could you see Laverne Defozio on Hulk Juice?!? Ha!

Always the question – Banner turns into the Hulk and then eventually goes back to his human form.  His pants in some versions are tattered around the calves.  Shouldn’t they really just be nonexistent at that point?  I mean, the Hulk is 10 X larger than Banner.  He should be nekkid upon re-humanizing.

“He’s a scientist.  He’s not one of us.”  Sounds like the GOP.

Stanly’s – was that an ode to Stan Lee?

I love love love Lou Ferrigno as the security guard.  So many years watching The Incredible Hulk, The Six Million Dollar Man, Wonder Woman and the Bionic Woman.  Those shows were amazing for my overactive imagination.  I met Lou a few years ago.  He has big hands.  I love that the gf bought him purple pants…def nod to the Lou portrayal.  Lou also was the voice for the six words The Hulk says in this movie.

Oh Brother Where Art Hulk

It is almost like Frankenstein: stretched out on the table, electricity, green like the monster…

I want to take a moment to say that the only other thing (Lou being the first) redeeming thing about this movie is Eli Roth.  Just…kudos to the dude.

THE HULK IS IN THE STREET!  I really wanted to make a reference along the lines of Banner in the sheets, Hulk in the streets… Not sure that it works well… If you chuckle, I win.

The Wilheim is when Tim Roth-ster is looking through hole in the building.

Hulk smash!  But, can Hulk swim??

He smiled as his eyes turned to green… Happy Hulk?

This movie did not have post or mid credit scenes.  It had a “just before the credit scene”.

Meh, I liked Iron Man better.

Some Interviews and Extra Video:

IMDB Synopsis: Bruce Banner, a scientist on the run from the U.S. Government, must find a cure for the monster he turns into, whenever he loses his temper.

Starring:

	Edward Norton	…	Bruce Banner
	Liv Tyler	…	Betty Ross
	Tim Roth	…	Emil Blonsky
	William Hurt	…	General ‘Thunderbolt’ Ross
	Tim Blake Nelson	…	Samuel Sterns
	Ty Burrell	…	Leonard
	Christina Cabot	…	Major Kathleen Sparr
	Peter Mensah	…	General Joe Greller
	Lou Ferrigno	…	Voice of The Incredible Hulk / Security Guard

Director: Louis Leterrier

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My ranking scores –

0-19 Levels of: Ugh

20-39 Levels of: Meh (aka I cannot reach the remote)

40-59 Levels of: I don’t hate it?

60-85 Levels of: That was solid.

86-100 Levels of: I Loved It!

I rank this movie a 17.9!

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Trailer:

Additional Movie Info:

It received a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 67% Fresh.  It received a Rotten Tomato audience rating of 70% liking it (WTAF, really?).  Average Rating: 3.65/5 with a number of User Ratings: 738,604.

Movie Reviews:

• Roger Ebert
• NY Times

Specs:  Release date: 13 June 2008 (USA) / Runtime: 112 minutes / Budget: $150M

IMDB Trivia:

• Louis Leterrier wanted Mark Ruffalo for the role of Bruce Banner, but Marvel insisted on Edward Norton. Ironically, Ruffalo would go on to replace Norton as Banner in future Marvel Cinematic Universe movies.
• Although cut from the theatrical run, Captain America can be seen in the alternate beginning on the DVD and Blu-Ray. When the last piece of ice breaks up toward the screen, hit the pause button. There, frozen in the ice, lies Cap with his shield.
• Liv Tyler accepted her role without reading the script.
• (at around 4 mins) Near the beginning of the movie, when Banner is flipping channels on the television, one of the shows he stops on is The Courtship of Eddie’s Father (1969), which starred Bill Bixby, Bixby is seen on the screen for several seconds. Bixby played Dr. Banner in The Incredible Hulk (1978) television series.
• Betty Ross buys Bruce some purple pants. In the comics, the Hulk is almost always seen wearing purple pants.
• In a deleted scene, Blonsky (Tim Roth) describes the Hulk to General Greller (Peter Mensah): “Eight foot, fifteen hundred pounds easy, and green. Or gray, sir. Greenish gray.. It was very dark, I couldn’t tell.” This is a reference to the Hulk being gray in his first comic appearance. Problems with the gray coloring in the first issue led to his skin color being changed to green.
• Paul Soles, who portrays “Stanley”, the owner of the pizza shop, provided the voice for Dr. Bruce Banner in the Hulk (1966) animated series. The character’s name may also be another tribute to Hulk co-creator Stan Lee.
• This is the only Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase One film in which Nick Fury does not appear. However, his name appears in the opening credit montage at the 2:46 mark (on a S.H.I.E.L.D. page, with the text Nick Fury, Shield Command, Code RED, New York, NY 060564).
• Edward Norton was cast as Bruce Banner on the recommendation of Lou Ferrigno, who had starred in The Incredible Hulk (1978). Ferrigno stated that Edward Norton reminded him of the late Bill Bixby, who acted beside him as Dr. David Bruce Banner.
• There are moments foreshadowing Captain America: The First Avenger (2011). First, there is a portrait of Steve Rogers, the original Captain America, in General Ross’ office. Next, a label can be seen on the storage tank reading: “Dr. Reinstein”, the doctor who developed the Super-Soldier serum that made Rogers into the Captain (along with a radiation symbol and the words “vita-rays”, hinting that the serum shouldn’t be used without them). Louis Leterrier shot a scene where Banner encounters the Captain in the Arctic, but it was cut out of the main film. It is on the special features options of some DVD editions, however.
• Edward Norton re-wrote the script substantially, and on certain posters, he was credited under the pseudonym of “Edward Harrison”. Norton’s writing credit was later denied by the WGA, and Zak Penn is the only writer credited.
• The visual effects experts based the Hulk and Abomination’s movements on linebackers.
• According to Louis Leterrier, the final shot (Banner grins as his eyes turn green) was a deliberately ambiguous shot. It was meant to show that Bruce finally learned to control the Hulk (for a Hulk sequel) or will become a menace (as the villain for the film The Avengers (2012)). Ultimately, the Hulk becomes a team player in The Avengers (2012), and Banner even reveals his secret of staying calm. He’s always angry.
• Hulk has a total of six words, provided by Lou Ferrigno: “Leave Me Alone”, “Hulk Smash”, and “Betty”.
• In the final scene, General Ross is drinking an “Incredible Hulk” cocktail at the bar. It is made using equal parts of Hennessy, cognac, and Hpnotiq liqueur.
• The Hulk’s origin in this film is a combination of the Marvel Ultimates comics (experimenting on Captain America’s super-soldier serum) and The Incredible Hulk (1978) (over-exposure to gamma radiation in an experiment). Even the equipment seen is a close match to that used in the television series, right down to the light sliding over Banner’s face.
• In the opening credits, a blueprint of the sonic cannon at Culver University can be seen bearing the title “Stark Industries,” indicating that it was Tony Stark (of Iron Man (2008)) who built the cannons for General Ross to use against the Hulk. Stark himself appears in the film’s closing scene.