The Incredible Hulk (2008)

There's a very specific kind of Marvel film that doesn't offend you, doesn't bore you to the point of walking out, and yet somehow leaves absolutely no trace on your memory by the time you've driven home. The Incredible Hulk is that film. Watchable, technically competent, and gone from your brain like smoke the moment the credits roll.

Edward Norton is genuinely well-cast as Bruce Banner. He brings that coiled, quiet intensity he does so well, a man carrying something dangerous inside him and doing everything he can to keep the lid on it. There's real effort in his performance, and the opening act earns that. Banner on the run, trying to live small, trying to stay calm, is more interesting than most of the smashing that follows. Louis Leterrier keeps things moving at a decent clip, and to his credit, the film never drags. That counts for something.

But here's the thing. Moving at a decent clip isn't the same as going somewhere worth going. The story doesn't add much new to what we already knew about the character, and the emotional and thematic weight you'd hope for just never arrives. Norton apparently pushed hard for a deeper psychological portrait of Banner, something closer to the tortured interior drama the character deserves. You can feel that ambition flickering at the edges. The studio clearly had other ideas, and what we got is a relatively safe piece of franchise architecture: functional, forgettable, designed to slot into a universe rather than stand on its own.

Liv Tyler and Tim Roth are both capable actors left with very little to do. Tyler is given a love interest role that asks almost nothing of her, and Roth's villain, who eventually becomes the Abomination, is physically imposing and emotionally hollow. A good screen villain needs interiority, some driving idea or wound that makes them feel real. The Abomination has none of that. He's just a big angry thing for an even bigger angry green thing to punch, and the climax becomes exactly that: loud, chaotic, a green-on-green brawl that looks less like a dramatic confrontation and more like a video game cutscene you can't skip.

It's worth saying: I've sat through worse. Compare it to something like Daredevil (2003), and The Incredible Hulk looks practically distinguished. At least here the craft is present, the pacing is reasonable, and nobody's doing anything actively embarrassing. It's just that "not embarrassing" is a pretty low bar to be celebrating.

The MCU would go on to do so much more with so many of its characters, building genuine weight and consequence over time. Watching this now, it feels like a rough sketch, a studio working out what it wants to be rather than committing to anything. Banner himself would be recast, the events of this film quietly shuffled to the back of the cupboard, and honestly, that tells you everything you need to know about how essential anyone considered it to be.

Two and a half stars. Watch it once if you're doing a completionist MCU run. Shrug. Move on.

Rating: ★★½  | Year: 2008  | Watched: 2025-12-01

View on Letterboxd →

Where to watch

Watch in the UK
Stream: Disney Plus
Rent: Apple TV Store · Amazon Video · Google Play Movies · YouTube
Buy: Apple TV Store · Amazon Video · Google Play Movies · YouTube
Physical: Amazon UK · Zavvi

Watch in the US
Stream: Hulu · Disney Plus
Rent: Amazon Video · Apple TV Store · Google Play Movies · YouTube
Buy: Amazon Video · Apple TV Store · Google Play Movies · YouTube
Physical: Amazon US

Affiliate disclosure: Movies With Macca may earn a small commission on purchases or subscriptions started via these links. It costs you nothing extra.

Related on Movies With Macca

More from Louis Leterrier: Unleashed (2005)
More with Edward Norton: American History X (1998) · A Complete Unknown (2024) · Fight Club (1999)
More from the 2000s: Kirikou and the Wild Beasts (2005) · Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004) · Daredevil (2003) · Apocalypto (2006)
More science fiction: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) · Fantastic Planet (1973) · Nightmare City (1980) · The Long Walk (2025)
More action: A Better Tomorrow (1986) · The General (1926) · Hand of Death (1976) · Daredevil (2003)