The Worst Marvel Movie Is A Hit On Streaming
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has surely developed into something great through the years, but one of its earliest properties is currently a hit on streaming.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been one of the biggest phenomena in cinema history. The success of the core films within the repertoire of Marvel’s comic-based stories has been almost immeasurable. With all the company’s success, that doesn’t mean there have been some misses here and there. Arguably one of the worst movies is now a hit on streaming, and that is the 2008 Marvel film, The Incredible Hulk. The Edward Norton-led feature offered a different take on the not so jolly green giant, that left most fans divided. However, it is now in the top 10 categories, so maybe fans are giving it another chance.
The Incredible Hulk should have been a monster hit, especially considering the high-level talent the film brought with it. Not only did we get to see Edward Norton take on the role of Bruce Banner, but Tim Roth joined in as the antagonist of the film, Emil Blonsky. Blonsky goes on to become the monstrous Abomination. Liv Tyler played Betty Ross, the daughter of the fan-favorite General “Thunderbolt” Ross, portrayed by none other than William Hurt. Rest in peace, Mr. Hurt. However, even with such a massive cast at its disposal, the film didn’t get the praise it maybe should have. The film currently holds a 67% critic rating and a 70% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The consensus of the film was that it should have been a higher success, but something held it back. To be fair, the MCU hadn’t even been started until 2008’s Iron Man. The Incredible Hulk was just ahead of its time.
The Incredible Hulk follows Bruce Banner, who is now a fugitive on the run from the U.S. Government. Based on the “super-soldier” experiment that General Ross conducts, turns Banner into The Hulk. His transformation results in the death of scientists and both Betty and General Ross being injured. He flees the scene, but it’s apparent that General Ross wants to weaponize The Hulk. Banner has taken sanctuary in Brazil, but through an accident on the factory floor, his blood mixes in with a juice bottle, leaving someone in the area sick with radiation poisoning. General Ross knows its Banner and begins to hunt him again. Ross then uses his “super-soldier” serum on Emil Blonsky, in hopes he can take on The Hulk. It ends horribly at first, only to see Blonsky cured of his wounds in days. A scientist in the states believes that he can cure The Hulk. That same scientist also helps turn Blonsky into The Abomination using The Hulk’s blood. Without giving the rest of the movie away, there is an epic fight that takes place. You can see one of the epic fights below:
What worked was the incorporation of The Abomination as the only thing that could possibly take on the power of The Hulk. What didn’t seem to work was the pacing of The Incredible Hulk, and maybe the “origin” story that was offered in the form of experimentation done on Bruce Banner. The beginning was kind of a lazy way of reintroducing The Hulk back to the cinematic world. The last time that happened was The Hulk, which came out in 2003, and was an absolute mess of a movie. Fans just might not have been ready to see The Hulk appear again. The Incredible Hulk was able to make $264 million against a budget of $150 million. That is considered a nominal success.
Edward Norton had been so enthralled with the character and appearing in The Incredible Hulk, that he pitched his own idea about a sequel film that would see Bruce Banner becoming “one” with The Hulk. While it had apparently been a great idea, he was ultimately replaced by Mark Ruffalo in The Avengers. This might have been the right choice, as Ruffalo has become the standard for how Bruce Banner should appear in both his scientist and his big green form.
The Incredible Hulk may have just been a couple of years too early when it comes to the releases of the MCU films. However, it is still an exciting retooling of one of the most interesting Marvel films. Go check it out and see why it is currently in the top 10 right now. Do it, otherwise, you’ll see us get angry, and you wouldn’t want to see us when we’re angry. Well, not really. Just go watch it.
