Let me start off by saying that out of all the Marvel Studio movies, this is the one I have seen the most. It was one of the first Blu-Ray Discs I ever got, and I watched the hell out of it. Does it hold up well? Yes and no.....
First off, let's get something out of the way: this movie is not as good as Iron Man. But that was a tough act to follow. There are a number of things I like about this, especially the story. It's nothing groundbreaking, but it's what I wanted. It's very much the story of the desperate scientist wandering the planet, looking to cure the monster within while being hunted by the military. You do feel for Bruce Banner a fair bit. There is no dumb subplot with his father and there are no fights with poodles (I'm looking at you, Ange Lee) It's Hulk stripped down. Edward Norton is decent as Banner, but not Robert Downey Jr. levels of good. He does the job that's given to him. The rest of the cast is mixed. William Hurt is fine as General Ross, although he is not at all memorable. As always, Tim Roth is good in this movie and Tim Blake Nelson is fun (C'mon Marvel, let him be the Leader!) But the problem comes with Liv Tyler. Oh boy, is she bad. Bad isn't the word: she is downright atrocious, giving a performance on par with Keanu Reeve's worst day. She does nothing but stare blankly at the camera with her mouth wide open in fake surprise. She doesn't say a word with a hint of emotion. There's one point where she and Norton are in a taxi which is driving way too crazy. She gets out and screams at him. The scene is unintentionally funny because of her terrible delivery. She is completely hollow throughout the entire movie, which she admits, and tries to defend. I heard her say in an interview she tried to play Betty Ross as caught like a deer in the headlights when Banner re-enters her life. Well I'm sorry, if you openly admit you did nothing but stare blankly at the camera for two hours, then you know you sucked and you're just trying to rationalize it. And if you're going by that logic, she gets a scene before Bruce meets up with her, and guess what? She sucks there too! Liv Tyler was never a good actress, but this features her at her worst. She does not care at all about the role or the lines she's saying. She just wanted to be in a summer blockbuster. That's it. Well, that little rant kinda wiped me dry, but I'll do my best. The Hulk looked great. I liked how they trimmed him down a bit so he could move fast. The Abomination was nothing at all what I expected. He was much more of a mutation here, and the name is fitting. He was actually scary to look at. The final battle between Hulk and Abomination was great, as was Hulk's entrance. Banner thinks he has been cured, but sees the Abomination from a helicopter and knows he has to do something (I can talk about the terrible forced goodbye Liv Tyler gave him, but I'll refrain) He jumps out and crashes through the pavement. We know he's not dead, but it's still really cool to see Hulk's arm punch out of the pavement.
This is a really good movie, but not perfect, mainly thanks to Liv Tyler. It's a fun flick, and gives us a good enough Hulk movie. It's too bad that this movie is going to be the only Marvel movie to not get a sequel. It deserves it, but the movie did not do as well at the box office as it could have. Overall a good flick, but not Marvel's best. And Liv Tyler? You suck.
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