The Incredible Hulk (film) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Incredible Hulk is a 2008 superhero

Superhero

A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...

action film

Action film

Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...

based on the Marvel Comics

Marvel Comics

Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...

character the Hulk

Hulk (comics)

The Hulk is a fictional character, a superhero in the . Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #1 ....

. It is directed by Louis Leterrier

Louis Leterrier

Louis Leterrier is a French film director whose notable films include the first two Transporter movies, Unleashed , The Incredible Hulk , and Clash of the Titans .-Life and career:...

and stars Edward Norton

Edward Norton

Edward Harrison Norton is an American actor, screenwriter, film director and producer. In 1996, his supporting role in the courtroom drama Primal Fear garnered him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor...

as Dr. Bruce Banner. It is the second film to be released in the Marvel Cinematic Universe

Marvel Cinematic Universe

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a shared fictional universe that is the setting of superhero films independently developed by Marvel Studios, based on characters published in Marvel Comics. The setting is much like the Marvel Universe in comic books. The universe was established by crossing over...

. It is not a sequel to the 2003 film Hulk
Hulk (film)
Hulk is a 2003 American superhero film based on the fictional Marvel Comics character of the same name. Ang Lee directed the film, which stars Eric Bana as Dr. Bruce Banner, as well as Jennifer Connelly, Sam Elliott, Josh Lucas, and Nick Nolte...

, but rather a reboot that establishes a new back-story

Back-story

A back-story, background story, or backstory is the literary device of a narrative chronologically earlier than, and related to, a narrative of primary interest. Generally, it is the history of characters or other elements that underlie the situation existing at the main narrative's start...

where Banner became the Hulk as an unwitting pawn in a military scheme to reinvigorate the supersoldier

Supersoldier

Supersoldier is a term often used to describe a soldier that operates beyond normal human limits or abilities. Supersoldiers are common in science fiction literature, films, TV programs, computer, conspiracy theories, and video games, but have also made appearances in other related genres, such as...

program through gamma radiation. On the run, he attempts to cure himself of the Hulk before he is captured by General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross

Thunderbolt Ross

General Thaddeus E. "Thunderbolt" Ross is a fictional character appearing in books published by Marvel Comics, usually as an adversary of the Hulk, sometimes as a supervillain. Ross is a United States military officer, the father of Betty Ross, ex-father in-law of Glenn Talbot and the father in-law...

(William Hurt

William Hurt

William McGill Hurt is an American stage and film actor. He received his acting training at the Juilliard School, and began acting on stage in the 1970s. Hurt made his film debut as a troubled scientist in the science-fiction feature Altered States , for which he received a Golden Globe nomination...

), but his worst fears are realized when power-hungry soldier Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth

Tim Roth

Simon Timothy "Tim" Roth is an English film actor and director best known for his roles in the American films,Legend of 1900, Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Four Rooms, Skellig, Planet of the Apes, The Incredible Hulk and Rob Roy, receiving an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for...

) becomes a similar but more bestial creature. Liv Tyler

Liv Tyler

Liv Rundgren Tyler is an American actress and model. She is the daughter of Aerosmith's lead singer, Steven Tyler, and Bebe Buell, model and singer. Tyler began a career in modeling at the age of 14, but after less than a year she decided to focus on acting. She made her film debut in the 1994...

also stars as Betty Ross, Banner's girlfriend and General Ross' daughter.

Marvel Studios

Marvel Studios

Marvel Studios, originally Marvel Films, is an American television and motion picture studio based in Manhattan Beach, California. Marvel Studios is a subsidiary of Marvel Entertainment, a self-contained part of the The Walt Disney Company conglomerate....

reacquired the rights to the character after the mixed reception to Hulk, and writer Zak Penn

Zak Penn

Zak Penn is an American screenwriter and director. Penn wrote and directed Incident at Loch Ness, The Grand, and co-wrote the script for X-Men: The Last Stand. With Michael Karnow, Penn is the co-creator of Alphas.-Early life:...

began work on a loose sequel that would be much closer to the comics and the television series. Norton rewrote the script after he signed on to star, which clarified the film's new back-story. Leterrier redesigned Roth's character, called the Abomination

Abomination (comics)

The Abomination is a fictional character, a supervillain that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics...

in the comics, from the comics' reptilian humanoid

Reptilian humanoid

Reptilian humanoids comprise a common motif in mythology, folklore, science fiction, fantasy, conspiracy theories, ufology, and cryptozoology.-Male:...

into a monster with bony protrusions. Filming mostly took place in Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

, Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

in 2007, where the production attempted to be environmentally friendly.

The film outgrossed its predecessor and received generally positive reviews. Despite this positive reception Marvel chose to put off a possible sequel until after 2012's The Avengers; Edward Norton

Edward Norton

was initially set to reprise his role, however after talks broke down he will be replaced by Mark Ruffalo

Mark Ruffalo

Mark Alan Ruffalo is an American actor, director, producer and screenwriter. He starred in films such as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Zodiac, Shutter Island, Just Like Heaven, You Can Count on Me and The Kids Are All Right for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best...

for The Avengers and any subsequent sequels. As of April 6, 2009, the film has grossed $263,427,551 in worldwide box office

Box office

A box office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through an unblocked hole through a wall or window, or at a wicket....

and it made $58,448,280 in DVD sales, bringing its total film gross to $321,875,831.

Plot

During the opening credits sequence, General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross

Thunderbolt Ross

(William Hurt

William Hurt

) meets with Dr. Bruce Banner

Hulk (comics)

The Hulk is a fictional character, a superhero in the . Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #1 ....

(Edward Norton

Edward Norton

), the colleague and lover of his daughter Betty (Liv Tyler

Liv Tyler

), regarding an experiment, Ross says, to make humans immune to gamma radiation

Gamma ray

Gamma radiation, also known as gamma rays or hyphenated as gamma-rays and denoted as γ, is electromagnetic radiation of high frequency . Gamma rays are usually naturally produced on Earth by decay of high energy states in atomic nuclei...

. The experiment, which in truth involves a serum Ross hopes will create a "super soldier", fails, transforming Banner into the Hulk

Hulk (comics)

The Hulk is a fictional character, a superhero in the . Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #1 ....

(voiced by Lou Ferrigno

Lou Ferrigno

Louis Jude "Lou" Ferrigno is an American actor, fitness trainer/consultant, and retired professional bodybuilder. As a bodybuilder, Ferrigno won an IFBB Mr. America title and two consecutive IFBB Mr. Universe titles, and appeared in the bodybuilding documentary Pumping Iron...

) whenever Banner becomes angry. As the Hulk, he destroys the lab and injures Betty. Afterwards, he flees, becoming a fugitive from the United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

.

Five years later, Banner works at a bottling factory in Rocinha

Rocinha

Rocinha is the largest favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and is located in Rio's South Zone between the districts of São Conrado and Gávea. Rocinha is built on a steep hillside overlooking Rio de Janeiro, and is located about one kilometre from a nearby beach...

, Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...

, while searching for a cure for his condition. On the Internet

Internet

The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...

, he collaborates with a colleague he knows only as "Mr. Blue", and to whom he is "Mr. Green". He is also learning meditative breathing techniques from a martial arts

Martial arts

Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....

expert (Rickson Gracie

Rickson Gracie

Rickson Gracie is a Brazilian 8th degree black and red belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and a retired mixed martial artist. He is a member of the Gracie family: the son of Hélio Gracie, brother to Rorion and Relson Gracie, and half-brother to Rolker, Royce, Robin and Royler Gracie.-Biography:Rickson...

) to help keep control, and has not transformed in 158 days. After Banner cuts his finger, a drop of his blood falls into a bottle, and is eventually ingested by a consumer (Stan Lee

Stan Lee

Stan Lee is an American comic book writer, editor, actor, producer, publisher, television personality, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics....

) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

, creating medical complications. Using the bottle to trace Banner's location, Ross sends a team, led by British

British people

The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...

Royal Marine Emil Blonsky

Abomination (comics)

The Abomination is a fictional character, a supervillain that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics...

(Tim Roth

Tim Roth

) to capture him. Banner transforms into the Hulk and defeats Blonsky's team. After Ross explains how Banner became the Hulk, Blonsky agrees to be injected with a small amount of the same serum, which gives him enhanced physical attributes and the side effect of making him arrogant and overconfident.

Banner returns to Culver University in Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

, where he first became the Hulk, and reunites with Betty, who is dating psychiatrist Leonard Samson

Doc Samson

Doc Samson is a fictional character, a superhero and psychiatrist in the Marvel Comics universe, known as a supporting character in stories featuring the Hulk.-Publication history:...

(Ty Burrell

Ty Burrell

- External links :*...

). Banner is attacked by Ross and Blonsky's forces, tipped off by the suspicious Samson. The Hulk dispatches Ross and Blonsky's team and flees with Betty. After the Hulk reverts to Banner, he and Betty go on the run. Banner makes contact with Mr. Blue, who urges them to meet him in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

. He turns out to be cellular biologist Dr. Samuel Sterns

Leader (comics)

The Leader is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Tales to Astonish #62, and was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. In 2009, The Leader was ranked as IGN's 63rd Greatest Comic Book Villain of All Time.Actor Tim Blake...

(Tim Blake Nelson

Tim Blake Nelson

Tim Blake Nelson is an American director, writer, singer, and actor.-Early life:Nelson was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the son of Ruth Kaiser Nelson, who is a noted social activist and philanthropist in Tulsa, and a geologist father...

), who tells Banner he has developed a possible antidote to Banner's condition. After a successful test, though he warns Banner that the antidote may only reverse each individual transformation, Sterns reveals he has synthesized

Organic synthesis

Organic synthesis is a special branch of chemical synthesis and is concerned with the construction of organic compounds via organic reactions. Organic molecules can often contain a higher level of complexity compared to purely inorganic compounds, so the synthesis of organic compounds has...

Banner's blood samples, which Banner sent from Brazil, into a large supply, with the intention of using it to bring humans to the next evolutionary level. Appalled by what Sterns has done, and fearful of the Hulk's power falling into the wrong hands, Banner attempts to convince Sterns to destroy the blood supply. Ross' forces attack and take Banner into custody with Betty.

Blonsky forces Sterns to inject him with Banner's blood, as he covets the Hulk's power. Sterns warns that the combination of the super-soldier formula and a gamma treatment may turn him into an "abomination

Abomination (comics)

The Abomination is a fictional character, a supervillain that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics...

". Unconcerned, Blonsky forces Sterns to administer the gamma charge. The experiment goes wrong and Blonsky mutates into a creature with strength surpassing that of the Hulk, but cannot change back. Blonsky rampages through Harlem

Harlem

Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...

to draw the Hulk out.

Realizing that the Hulk is the only one who can stop Blonsky, Banner convinces Ross to release him. He jumps from Ross' helicopter as it hovers over the city, the adrenaline surge of the act transforming him into the Hulk. After a long and brutal battle through Harlem, the Hulk defeats Blonsky by choking him with a huge chain, relenting only after Betty's plea. After having a small, peaceful moment with Betty, the Hulk flees. Thirty-one days later, Banner is in Bella Coola, British Columbia

Bella Coola, British Columbia

Bella Coola is a community of approximately 600 at the western extremity of the Bella Coola Valley. Bella Coola usually refers to the entire valley, encompassing the settlements of Bella Coola proper , Lower Bella Coola, Hagensborg, Saloompt, Nusatsum, Firvale and Stuie...

. Instead of trying to suppress his transformation, he is attempting to transform in a controlled manner. As his eyes turn green, a grin appears on his face.

In a post-credits scene

Post-credits scene

A post-credits scene is a short clip that appears after some or all of the closing credits of a film have run...

, while General Ross is drinking in a bar he is approached by industrialist Tony Stark

Iron Man

Iron Man is a fictional character, a superhero in the . The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, first appearing in Tales of Suspense #39 .A billionaire playboy, industrialist and ingenious engineer,...

(Robert Downey, Jr.), who reveals that a "team" is being formed.

Cast

Edward Norton
Edward Norton
Edward Harrison Norton is an American actor, screenwriter, film director and producer. In 1996, his supporting role in the courtroom drama Primal Fear garnered him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor...

as Dr. Bruce Banner / Hulk
Hulk (comics)
The Hulk is a fictional character, a superhero in the . Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #1 ....

: A genius scientist who, because of exposure to gamma radiation, transforms into the Hulk when stressed, enraged, or excited. David Duchovny
David Duchovny
David William Duchovny is an American actor, writer and director. He has won Golden Globe awards for his work as FBI Special Agent Fox Mulder on The X-Files and as Hank Moody on Californication.-Early life:...

was a front-runner for the film before Norton's casting. Gale Anne Hurd
Gale Anne Hurd
Gale Anne Hurd is an American film producer and screenwriter.-Early life:Hurd was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Lolita and Frank E. Hurd, an investor. She grew up in Palm Springs, California and graduated from Stanford University with a B.A...

recalled Norton's portrayals of duality in Primal Fear
Primal Fear (film)
Primal Fear is a 1996 American crime drama thriller film directed by Gregory Hoblit and starring Richard Gere and Edward Norton. The film tells the story of a defense attorney, Martin Vail , who defends an altar boy, Aaron Stampler , charged with the murder of a Catholic archbishop. The movie is an...

and Fight Club
Fight Club (film)
Fight Club is a 1999 American film based on the 1996 novel of the same name by Chuck Palahniuk. The film was directed by David Fincher and stars Edward Norton, Brad Pitt and Helena Bonham Carter. Norton plays the unnamed protagonist, an "everyman" who is discontented with his white-collar job...

, while Norton reminded Kevin Feige
Kevin Feige
Kevin Feige is a film producer. He joined Marvel Studios in 2000, has been involved in all of their theatrical productions, and was named President of Production in 2007...

of Bill Bixby
Bill Bixby
Wilfred Bailey Everett “Bill” Bixby III was an American film and television actor, director, and frequent game show panelist.His career spanned over three decades; he appeared on stage, in motion pictures and TV series...

, who played Banner in the TV series. Lou Ferrigno, who played the Hulk with Bixby, remarked Norton "has a similar physique [and a] similar personality".

Norton was a Hulk fan, citing the first comic appearances, the Bixby TV show, and Bruce Jones' run on the comic, as his favorite depictions of the character. He had expressed interest in the role for the first film. He initially turned down the part for this film, recalling "there [was] the wince factor or the defensive part of you that recoils at what the bad version of what that would be", as he felt the previous film "strayed far afield from a story that was familiar to people, [...] which is a fugitive story". When he met Leterrier and Marvel, however, he liked their vision, and believed they were looking to him to guide the project. Thus, Norton rewrote the script. "Edward's script has given Bruce's story real gravitas," Leterrier said. "Admittedly I'm not the most adult director, but just because we're making a superhero movie it doesn't have to just appeal to 13-year old boys. Ed and I both see superheroes as the new Greek gods."

Lou Ferrigno
Lou Ferrigno
Louis Jude "Lou" Ferrigno is an American actor, fitness trainer/consultant, and retired professional bodybuilder. As a bodybuilder, Ferrigno won an IFBB Mr. America title and two consecutive IFBB Mr. Universe titles, and appeared in the bodybuilding documentary Pumping Iron...

voices The Hulk: During the 2008 New York Comic Con Leterrier publicly offered Ferrigno the chance to voice the Hulk for the film. This marks the third time Ferrigno portrayed the Hulk, having also voiced the character in the 1996 animated series
The Incredible Hulk (1996 animated TV series)
The Incredible Hulk is an American animated television series starring the Marvel Comics character the Hulk. It ran two seasons, for 21 episodes, on the television network UPN from 1996 to 1997...

. Originally, the Hulk's only line was "Betty" at the film's ending, which would have been his first word. Leterrier was aware that fans wanted him to speak normally, and added "leave me alone" and "Hulk smash!" The latter line received cheers during a screening he attended. Ferrigno also has a cameo
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...

in the film as a security guard who is bribed by Banner with a pizza.

Liv Tyler
Liv Tyler
Liv Rundgren Tyler is an American actress and model. She is the daughter of Aerosmith's lead singer, Steven Tyler, and Bebe Buell, model and singer. Tyler began a career in modeling at the age of 14, but after less than a year she decided to focus on acting. She made her film debut in the 1994...

as Dr. Elizabeth "Betty" Ross: Bruce's girlfriend, whom he is separated from due to his condition, and a cellular biologist. Tyler replaced actress Jennifer Connelly
Jennifer Connelly
Jennifer Lynn Connelly is an American film actress, who began her career as a child model. She appeared in magazine, newspaper and television advertising, before making her motion picture debut in the 1984 crime film Once Upon a Time in America...

, who portrayed Betty Ross in the 2003 film Hulk. Tyler and Connelly had previously played sisters in the 1997 film Inventing the Abbotts
Inventing the Abbotts
Inventing the Abbotts is a 1997 romance film directed by Pat O'Connor, starring Joaquin Phoenix, Billy Crudup, Liv Tyler, Jennifer Connelly, and Michael Keaton. The screenplay by Ken Hixon is based on a short story by Sue Miller. The original music score is composed by Michael Kamen...

. Tyler was attracted to the love story in the script, and was a fan of the TV show, because of the "humanity and what [Banner] is going through". She was called about the role while driving to her home, and she accepted the part after a day without reading the script. Tyler and Norton spent hours discussing Bruce and Betty's life before he became the Hulk. She said filming the part "was very physical, which was fun", and compared her performance to "a deer caught in the headlights", because of Betty's shock at Bruce's unexpected return into her life.

Tim Roth
Tim Roth
Simon Timothy "Tim" Roth is an English film actor and director best known for his roles in the American films,Legend of 1900, Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Four Rooms, Skellig, Planet of the Apes, The Incredible Hulk and Rob Roy, receiving an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for...

as Emil Blonsky
Abomination (comics)
The Abomination is a fictional character, a supervillain that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics...

: A Russian-born officer from the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

's Royal Marines Commandos loaned to General Ross. Recognizing he is past his prime, he lusts after the Hulk's power. Roth said he took the part to please his sons, who are comic-book superhero fans. As a teenager, Roth was a fan of the 1970s TV series, and he also found Leterrier's ideas "very dark and very interesting". Roth started watching the 2003 film to prepare for the part, but stopped as he did not want to be caught up in the controversy over its quality, and to compare himself to it. It was Roth who suggested Blonsky be a soldier, whereas in the comics he was a KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...

agent.

Leterrier is a fan of Roth's work, and felt "it's great watching a normal Cockney

Cockney

The term Cockney has both geographical and linguistic associations. Geographically and culturally, it often refers to working class Londoners, particularly those in the East End...

boy become a superhero!", but Marvel and Norton were initially reluctant to cast him. Before he was cast in Punisher: War Zone
Punisher: War Zone
Punisher: War Zone is a 2008 comic book action film directed by Lexi Alexander; based on the fictional Marvel Comics vigilante/anti-hero the Punisher. It is the third film to depict the Marvel character Frank Castle...

, Ray Stevenson

Ray Stevenson (actor)

George Raymond "Ray" Stevenson is a Northern Irish-born English film and television actor. He is known for playing Titus Pullo in the BBC/HBO television series Rome , and in film as Dagonet in King Arthur and as Frank Castle/The Punisher in Punisher: War Zone and The Super Hero Squad Show...

was in discussions for the role. Roth prepared for the part by learning to fire guns and break into rooms with two experts. Roth found it tough shooting the chases, because he could not work out to show Blonsky's aging. He especially found it difficult to run while pulled with a harness, which was used to show the injected Blonsky's 30–40 mile per hour running abilities. Cyril Raffaelli

Cyril Raffaelli

Cyril Raffaelli is a French traceur, martial artist and stuntman.-Biography:Utilizing shotokan karate and wushu, Raffaelli has been a regular in films with Luc Besson and David Belle, the latter being a friend of his.-Filmography:...

performed some of Roth's stunts. Roth enjoyed the motion capture

Motion capture

Motion capture, motion tracking, or mocap are terms used to describe the process of recording movement and translating that movement on to a digital model. It is used in military, entertainment, sports, and medical applications, and for validation of computer vision and robotics...

, which reminded him of fringe theatre

Fringe theatre

Fringe theatre is theatre that is not of the mainstream. The term comes from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, which name comes from Robert Kemp, who described the unofficial companies performing at the same time as the second Edinburgh International Festival as a ‘fringe’, writing: ‘Round the fringe...

, and he hired his trainer from Planet of the Apes
Planet of the Apes (2001 film)
Planet of the Apes is a 2001 American science fiction film, based on Pierre Boulle's novel and a remake of the 1968 film of the same name. Tim Burton directed the film, which stars Mark Wahlberg, Tim Roth, Helena Bonham Carter, Michael Clarke Duncan, Paul Giamatti, and Estella Warren. It tells the...

to aid him in portraying the monster's movement.

William Hurt
William Hurt
William McGill Hurt is an American stage and film actor. He received his acting training at the Juilliard School, and began acting on stage in the 1970s. Hurt made his film debut as a troubled scientist in the science-fiction feature Altered States , for which he received a Golden Globe nomination...

as General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross
Thunderbolt Ross
General Thaddeus E. "Thunderbolt" Ross is a fictional character appearing in books published by Marvel Comics, usually as an adversary of the Hulk, sometimes as a supervillain. Ross is a United States military officer, the father of Betty Ross, ex-father in-law of Glenn Talbot and the father in-law...

: Betty's father, who has dedicated himself to capturing the Hulk. Leterrier cast Hurt because "Ross is more physical, more explosive in this movie, and no actor goes from zero to 100 as well as William." He compared Ross to Captain Ahab. The Hulk is Hurt's favorite superhero, and his son is also a big fan of the character. Hurt found production very different from the typical "pure anxiety" of a studio movie, finding it more akin to an independent movie. He described Ross as "humiliated by Hulk's conscience
Conscience
Conscience is an aptitude, faculty, intuition or judgment of the intellect that distinguishes right from wrong. Moral judgement may derive from values or norms...

: he actually sees and recognizes that it's more developed than his own, even though he's a patriot and a warrior for his country. He's sacrificed [much] for that purpose, but at the expense at times of his humanity — which he occasionally recovers." Sam Elliott
Sam Elliott
Samuel Pack "Sam" Elliott is an American actor. His rangy physique, thick horseshoe moustache, and deep, resonant voice match the iconic image of a cowboy or rancher, and he has often been cast in such roles.-Early life:Sam Elliott was born in Sacramento, California, to a physical training...

, who played Ross in the first film, would have liked to reprise the role, noting it was odd seeing someone take his part, "but I'll be looking forward to seeing this one".

Ty Burrell
Ty Burrell
- External links :*...

as Dr. Leonard Samson
Doc Samson
Doc Samson is a fictional character, a superhero and psychiatrist in the Marvel Comics universe, known as a supporting character in stories featuring the Hulk.-Publication history:...

: The psychiatrist in a relationship with Betty during Bruce's absence. Burrell had performed with Norton in the off Broadway play Burn This
Burn This
Burn This is a play by Lanford Wilson.-Plot:It begins shortly after the funeral of Robbie, a young gay dancer who drowned in a boating accident. In attendance were his roommates: choreographer Anna and ad man Larry...

in 2003, and when Leterrier met him, he recognized Burrell as the "jerk" from the 2004 Dawn of the Dead
Dawn of the Dead (2004 film)
Dawn of the Dead is a 2004 horror film directed by Zack Snyder in his directorial debut. It is a remake of George A. Romero's 1978 film of the same name and stars Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames, and Jake Weber. The film depict a handful of human survivors living in a Milwaukee, Wisconsin shopping mall...

remake, which was how Samson was characterized in the script before Norton rewrote it. He is presented as a mostly sympathetic character.

Additional cast members include Tim Blake Nelson

Tim Blake Nelson

as the scientist Samuel Sterns

Leader (comics)

, and Robert Downey, Jr. cameos as Tony Stark

Iron Man

at the end of the film. As The Incredible Hulk takes place during and after both Iron Man films, Stark has therefore already announced that he is Iron Man. He did it as a favor to Marvel Studios

Marvel Studios

, which he acknowledged as a smart move on Marvel's part, because when he was promoting his film he would also have to mention their other production. Hulk co-creator Stan Lee

Stan Lee

Stan Lee is an American comic book writer, editor, actor, producer, publisher, television personality, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics....

cameos as a man who becomes ill when drinking the soda poisoned by Banner's blood. Michael K. Williams

Michael K. Williams

Michael Kenneth Williams is an American actor known for his portrayal of Omar Little on the HBO drama series The Wire, and of Albert "Chalky" White on HBO's Boardwalk Empire.-Early life and career:...

appears in the film, in a role that was written for him by Norton, who is a fan of The Wire
The Wire (TV series)
The Wire is an American television drama series set and produced in and around Baltimore, Maryland. Created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon, the series was broadcast by the premium cable network HBO in the United States...

. Paul Soles

Paul Soles

Paul Robert Soles is a Canadian actor and television personality.-Acting roles:He is best known as the voice of Hermie the misfit elf in Rankin/Bass' Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer in 1964....

, who voiced Banner in the 1966 The Marvel Superheroes cartoon, cameos as Stanley, a kindly pizza restaurant owner who helps Banner. Additionally, the late Bill Bixby

Bill Bixby

Wilfred Bailey Everett “Bill” Bixby III was an American film and television actor, director, and frequent game show panelist.His career spanned over three decades; he appeared on stage, in motion pictures and TV series...

appears, when a scene featuring Bixby on his TV comedy-drama

Comedy-drama

Comedy-drama is a genre of theatre, film and television programs which combines humorous and serious content.-Theatre:Traditional western theatre, beginning with the ancient Greeks, was divided into comedy and tragedy...

The Courtship of Eddie's Father
The Courtship of Eddie's Father
The Courtship of Eddie's Father is an American television sitcom based on the 1963 movie of the same name, which was based on the book written by Mark Toby...

plays on a television Banner is watching at the beginning of the film. Rickson Gracie

Rickson Gracie

has a small role as Bruce Banner's martial arts instructor, despite his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a martial art, combat sport, and a self defense system that focuses on grappling and especially ground fighting...

background, he is credited as an Aikido

Aikido

is a Japanese martial art developed by Morihei Ueshiba as a synthesis of his martial studies, philosophy, and religious beliefs. Aikido is often translated as "the Way of unifying life energy" or as "the Way of harmonious spirit." Ueshiba's goal was to create an art that practitioners could use to...

instructor. Martin Starr

Martin Starr

Martin Starr is an American television and film actor, known for his roles as Bill Haverchuck on the short-lived NBC comedy-drama Freaks and Geeks and as Roman DeBeers on the Starz comedy series Party Down, as well as for his roles in the films Knocked Up, Cheats, and Adventureland.-Life and...

cameos as a computer nerd college lab student. The novelization changes his role to Amadeus Cho

Amadeus Cho

Amadeus Cho, also known as Mastermind Excello, is a fictional comic book character appearing in books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Greg Pak and artist Takeshi Miyazawa, the character first appeared in Amazing Fantasy vol. 2 #15...

. Captain America

Captain America

Captain America is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 , from Marvel Comics' 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, and was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby...

appears in a deleted scene frozen in ice, but is so far in the background that the actor cannot be identified. This scene was also drawn and included in the 2010 animated series, The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes

The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes

The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes is an American animated television series by Marvel Animation in cooperation with Film Roman based on the Marvel Comics superhero team the Avengers. The show debuted on Disney XD in Fall 2010 starting with a 20 part micro-series. A second season has been...

in the episode 'Assembly Required'.

Development

At the time of the release of Ang Lee

Ang Lee

Ang Lee is a Taiwanese film director. Lee has directed a diverse set of films such as Eat Drink Man Woman , Sense and Sensibility , Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon , Hulk , and Brokeback Mountain , for which he won an Academy...

's Hulk
Hulk (film)
Hulk is a 2003 American superhero film based on the fictional Marvel Comics character of the same name. Ang Lee directed the film, which stars Eric Bana as Dr. Bruce Banner, as well as Jennifer Connelly, Sam Elliott, Josh Lucas, and Nick Nolte...

, screenwriter James Schamus

James Schamus

James Schamus is an award-winning screenwriter The Ice Storm and producer Brokeback Mountain, and is CEO of Focus Features, the motion picture production, financing, and worldwide distribution company whose films have included Lost in Translation, Milk, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The...

was planning a sequel, featuring the Gray Hulk. He was also considering the Leader

Leader (comics)

and the Abomination

Abomination (comics)

The Abomination is a fictional character, a supervillain that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics...

as villains. Marvel wanted the Abomination because he was the most famous enemy, and because he would be an actual threat to the Hulk, unlike General Ross

Thunderbolt Ross

. During the filming of Hulk, producer Avi Arad

Avi Arad

Avi Arad is an Israeli-American businessman. He became the CEO of the company Toy Biz in the 1990s, and soon afterward became the chief creative officer of Marvel Entertainment, a Marvel director, chairman, CEO and the founder of Marvel Studios....

had a target May 2005 theatrical release date. On January 18, 2006 Arad confirmed Marvel Studios

Marvel Studios

would be providing the money for The Incredible Hulks production budget, with Universal distributing, because Universal did not meet the deadline for filming a sequel. Marvel felt it would be better to deviate from Ang Lee's style to continue the franchise, arguing his film was like a parallel universe

Parallel universe (fiction)

A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...

one-shot comic book, and their next film needed to be, in Kevin Feige's words, "really starting the Marvel Hulk franchise". Producer Gale Anne Hurd
Gale Anne Hurd
Gale Anne Hurd is an American film producer and screenwriter.-Early life:Hurd was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Lolita and Frank E. Hurd, an investor. She grew up in Palm Springs, California and graduated from Stanford University with a B.A...

also felt the film had to meet what "everyone expects to see from having read the comics and seen the TV series".

Louis Leterrier
Louis Leterrier
Louis Leterrier is a French film director whose notable films include the first two Transporter movies, Unleashed , The Incredible Hulk , and Clash of the Titans .-Life and career:...

, who enjoyed the TV series as a child and liked the first film, had expressed interest in directing the Iron Man

Iron Man (film)

Iron Man is a 2008 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. Directed by Jon Favreau, the film stars Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark, an industrialist and master engineer who builds a powered exoskeleton and becomes the technologically advanced superhero, Iron...

film adaptation. Jon Favreau
Jon Favreau
Jonathan Kolia "Jon" Favreau is an American actor, screenwriter, film director and comedian. As an actor, he is best known for his roles in Rudy, Swingers , Very Bad Things, and The Break-Up. His notable directorial efforts include Elf, Iron Man and its sequel, and Cowboys & Aliens...

had taken that project, so Marvel offered him the Hulk. Leterrier was reluctant as he was unsure if he could replicate Lee's style, but Marvel explained that was not their intent. Leterrier's primary inspiration was Jeph Loeb
Jeph Loeb
Joseph "Jeph" Loeb III is an American film and television writer, producer and award-winning comic book writer. Loeb was a producer/writer on the TV series Smallville and Lost, writer for the films Commando and Teen Wolf and was a writer and Co-Executive Producer on the NBC TV show Heroes from its...

and Tim Sale
Tim Sale (artist)
Tim Sale is an American Eisner Award-winning comic book artist. He is primarily known for his collaborations with writer Jeph Loeb.-Early life:...

's Hulk: Gray (a retelling of his first appearance). He replicated every comic book panel that he pinned-up during pre-production, from the many comics he browsed, in the final film. Leterrier said that he planned to show Bruce Banner's struggle with the monster within him, while Feige added the film would explore "that element of wish fulfillment, of overcoming an injustice or a bully and tapping into a strength that you didn't quite realize you had in yourself". Arad also said the film would be "a lot more of a love story between Bruce Banner and Betty Ross".

Zak Penn

Zak Penn

, who wrote a draft of the first film in 1996, said the film would follow up Hulk, but stressed it would be more tonally similar to the TV show and Bruce Jones
Bruce Jones (comics)
Bruce Jones, whose pen names include Philip Roland and Bruce Elliot, is an American comic book writer, novelist, illustrator, and screenwriter whose work included writing Marvel Comics' The Incredible Hulk from 2001-2005.-Early career:...

' run on the comic. He compared his script to Aliens

Aliens (film)

Aliens is a 1986 science fiction action film directed by James Cameron and starring Sigourney Weaver, Carrie Henn, Michael Biehn, Lance Henriksen, William Hope, and Bill Paxton...

, which was a very different film to Alien

Alien (film)

Alien is a 1979 science fiction horror film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt, Ian Holm and Yaphet Kotto. The film's title refers to its primary antagonist: a highly aggressive extraterrestrial creature which...

, but still in the same continuity. He included two scenes from his 1996 script: Banner jumping from a helicopter to trigger a transformation, and realizing he is unable to have sex with Betty. Penn wrote three drafts, before departing in early 2007 to direct The Grand

The Grand (film)

The Grand is an improv comedy film directed by Zak Penn. The film has an ensemble cast including Ray Romano, Woody Harrelson, Chris Parnell, Werner Herzog, Jason Alexander, Dennis Farina, David Cross, Gabe Kaplan, Michael Karnow and Cheryl Hines along with several real Las Vegas poker...

. Norton, who had rewritten previous films he starred in, wrote a new draft, which pleased the director and the studio in establishing the film as a reboot. Leterrier acknowledged the only remaining similarity between the two films was Bruce hiding in South America, and that the film was a unique reboot, as generally audiences would have expected another forty minute origin story. There were previous discussions to set the first act in Thailand

Thailand

Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

. Leterrier felt audiences were left restless waiting for the character to arrive in Ang Lee's film. Gale Anne Hurd noted fans dubbed the film a "requel", a portmanteau

Portmanteau word

A portmanteau or portmanteau word is a blend of two words or morphemes into one new word. A portmanteau word typically combines both sounds and meanings, as in smog, coined by blending smoke and fog. More generally, it may refer to any term or phrase that combines two or more meanings...

of reboot and sequel.

Norton explained of his decision to ignore Lee's origin story

Origin story

In comic book terminology, an origin story is an account or back-story revealing how a character or team gained their superpowers and/or the circumstances under which they became superheroes or supervillains....

, "I don't even like the phrase origin story, and I don't think in great literature and great films that explaining the roots of the story doesn't mean it comes in the beginning." "Audiences know this story," he added, "[so] deal with it artfully." He wanted to "have revelations even in the third act about what set this whole thing in motion". The new origin story references Ultimate Marvel

Ultimate Marvel

Ultimate Marvel is an imprint of comic books published by Marvel Comics, featuring reimagined and updated versions of the company's superhero characters, including Spider-Man, the X-Men, the Avengers, and the Fantastic Four. The imprint was launched in 2000 with the publication of the series...

's take on the Hulk, which also had him created in an attempt to create super soldiers. Norton deleted Rick Jones

Rick Jones (comics)

Richard Milhouse "Rick" Jones is a fictional comic book character in the .-Publication history:Rick Jones first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #1, as a sidekick to the Incredible Hulk...

and toned down S.H.I.E.L.D.

S.H.I.E.L.D.

S.H.I.E.L.D. is a fictional espionage and a secret military law-enforcement agency in the Marvel Comics Universe. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in Strange Tales #135 , it often deals with superhuman threats....

's presence. He also added the scene where Banner attempts to extract a cure from a flower and his e-mailing with Samuel Sterns

Leader (comics)

, which references Bruce Jones' story. Norton rewrote scenes every day. Ultimately, the Writers Guild of America

Writers Guild of America

The Writers Guild of America is a generic term referring to the joint efforts of two different US labor unions:* The Writers Guild of America, East , representing TV and film writers East of the Mississippi....

decided to credit the script solely to Penn, who argued Norton had not dramatically changed his script. Journalist Anne Thompson explained "The Guild tends to favor plot, structure and pre-existing characters over dialogue." Before either Penn and Norton joined the project, an anonymous screenwriter wrote a draft and lobbied for credit.

Filming

Leterrier had to direct four units

Second unit

In film, the second unit is a team that shoots subsidiary footage for a motion picture. Its work is distinct from that of the first unit, which shoots all scenes involving principal actors...

with a broken foot. Filming began on July 9, 2007. Shooting primarily took place in Toronto

Toronto

, because mayor David Miller

David Miller (Canadian politician)

David Raymond Miller is a Canadian politician. He was the 63rd Mayor of Toronto and the second since the 1998 amalgamation. He was elected to the position in 2003 for a three-year term and re-elected in 2006 for a four-year term...

is a Hulk fan and promised to be very helpful to the crew when closing Yonge Street

Yonge Street

Yonge Street is a major arterial route connecting the shores of Lake Ontario in Toronto to Lake Simcoe, a gateway to the Upper Great Lakes. It was formerly listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest street in the world at , and the construction of Yonge Street is designated an "Event of...

for four nights in September to shoot the Hulk and Blonsky's clash at 125th Street

125th Street (Manhattan)

125th Street is a two-way street that runs east-west in the New York City borough of Manhattan, considered the "Main Street" of Harlem; It is also called Martin Luther King, Jr...

. Despite messing the street with explosives and overturned burning vehicles, the crew would clean-up within twenty minutes so business could continue as normal each day. The first action sequence shot was the Culver University battle, which was filmed at the University of Toronto

University of Toronto

The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...

and Morningside Park. The filmmakers built a glass wall over a walkway at the University for when the soldiers trap him inside to smoke out the Hulk. There was also shooting in the Financial District

Financial District, Toronto

The Financial District is a business district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, within the downtown core. It was originally planned as New Town in 1796 as an extension of the Town of York . It is the main financial district in Toronto, and is the financial heart of Canada...

. A factory in Hamilton, Ontario

Hamilton, Ontario

Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...

, which was due for demolition, was the interior of the Brazilian factory. The site's underground floors were used for Ross' military command center. The crew also shot part of the Hulk and Blonsky's fight on a backlot

Backlot

A backlot is an area behind or adjoining a movie studio, containing permanent exterior buildings for outdoor scenes in filmmaking or television productions, or space for temporary set construction....

in Hamilton. Other Canadian locations included CFB Trenton

CFB Trenton

Canadian Forces Base Trenton , is a Canadian Forces base located northeast of Trenton, Ontario. It is operated as an air force base by the Royal Canadian Air Force and is the hub for air transport operations in Canada and abroad...

and a glacier in Bella Coola, British Columbia

Bella Coola, British Columbia

. Afterwards, there was a week-long shoot in New York City

New York City

and two weeks in Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro

. While there, the crew shot at Rocinha

Rocinha

, Lapa, Tijuca Forest

Tijuca Forest

The Tijuca Forest is a mountainous hand-planted rainforest in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is the world's largest urban forest, covering some 32 km²...

and Santa Teresa

Santa Teresa (Rio de Janeiro)

Santa Teresa is the name of a neighbourhood in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is located on top of the Santa Teresa hill, by the centre of Rio, and is famous for its winding, narrow streets which are a favourite spot for artists and tourists....

. Filming concluded in November after eighty-eight days of filming.

The Incredible Hulk joined Toronto's Green-Screen initiative, to help cut carbon emissions and waste created during filming. Producer Gale Anne Hurd

Gale Anne Hurd

Gale Anne Hurd is an American film producer and screenwriter.-Early life:Hurd was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Lolita and Frank E. Hurd, an investor. She grew up in Palm Springs, California and graduated from Stanford University with a B.A...

acknowledged the Hulk, being green, was a popular environmental analogy, and Norton himself was an environmentalist. Hybrid and fuel efficient

Fuel efficiency in transportation

The fuel efficiency in transportation ranges from some hundred kilojoule per kilometre for a bicycle to several megajoule for a helicopter.Efficiency can be expressed in terms of consumption per unit distance per vehicle, consumption per unit distance per passenger or consumption per unit distance...

vehicles were used, with low sulfur

Sulfur

Sulfur or sulphur is the chemical element with atomic number 16. In the periodic table it is represented by the symbol S. It is an abundant, multivalent non-metal. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with chemical formula S8. Elemental sulfur is a bright yellow...

diesel as their energy source. The construction department used a sustainably harvested, locally sourced yellow pine

Pine

Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...

instead of lauan for the sets, and also used zero-or low-VOC paint. The wood was generally recycled or given to environmental organizations, and paint cans were handed to waste management. In addition, they used; cloth bags; biodegradable food containers; china and silverware food utensils; a stainless steel mug for each production crew member; a contractor who removed bins; recycled paper; biodegradable soap and cleaners in the trailers and production offices; and the sound department used rechargeable batteries. The Incredible Hulk became the first blockbuster film to receive the Environmental Media Association
Environmental Media Association
The Environmental Media Association is a non-profit organization which was founded in 1989 by Cindy and Alan Horn and Lyn and Norman Lear. EMA works with the entertainment industry to encourage green production and raise the public's environmental awareness. The group provides a "Green Seal" to...

's Green Seal, which is displayed during the end credits.

Effects

Leterrier cited the motion capture
Motion capture
Motion capture, motion tracking, or mocap are terms used to describe the process of recording movement and translating that movement on to a digital model. It is used in military, entertainment, sports, and medical applications, and for validation of computer vision and robotics...

portrayals of Gollum
Gollum
Gollum is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He was introduced in the author's fantasy novel The Hobbit, and became an important supporting character in its sequel, The Lord of the Rings....

and King Kong
King Kong
King Kong is a fictional character, a giant movie monster resembling a gorilla, that has appeared in several movies since 1933. These include the groundbreaking 1933 movie, the film remakes of 1976 and 2005, as well as various sequels of the first two films...

by Andy Serkis
Andy Serkis
Andrew Clement G. "Andy" Serkis is an English actor, director and author. He is popularly known for playing Gollum in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, for which he earned several award nominations, including the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in The Two Towers...

(from The Lord of the Rings

The Lord of the Rings film trilogy

The Lord of the Rings is an epic film trilogy consisting of three fantasy adventure films based on the three-volume book of the same name by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. The films are The Fellowship of the Ring , The Two Towers and The Return of the King .The films were directed by Peter...

and King Kong

King Kong (2005 film)

King Kong is a 2005 fantasy adventure film directed by Peter Jackson. It is a remake of the 1933 film of the same name and stars Naomi Watts, Jack Black and Adrien Brody. Andy Serkis, through performance capture, portrays Kong....

) as the standard he was aiming for. Norton and Roth filmed 2500 takes of different movements the monsters would make (such as the Hulk's "thunder claps"). Phosphorescent face paint applied to the actors' faces and strobe light

Strobe light

A strobe light or stroboscopic lamp, commonly called a strobe, is a device used to produce regular flashes of light. It is one of a number of devices that can be used as a stroboscope...

ing would help record the most subtle mannerisms into the computer. Others including Cyril Raffaelli

Cyril Raffaelli

provided motion capture for stunts and fights, after the main actors had done video referencing. Leterrier hired Rhythm and Hues

Rhythm and Hues Studios

Rhythm & Hues Studios is a visual effects studio serving the major film studios. It is known for its computer-generated 3D character animation. Recognized as one of the top facilities of its kind in the world, Rhythm & Hues has contributed to more than 150 feature films...

to provide the CGI, rather than Industrial Light & Magic who created the visual effects for Ang Lee's Hulk. Visual effect company, Image Engine

Image Engine

Image Engine is a visual effects company based in Vancouver, British Columbia and formed in 1995. In 2010, it was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.-2009:*The Twilight Saga: Eclipse*The Losers*District 9*New in Town-2008:...

, spent over a year working on a shot where Banner's gamma-irradiated blood falls through three factory floors into a bottle. Overall 700 effects shots were created. Motion capture aided in placing and timing of movements, but overall key frame

Key frame

A key frame in animation and filmmaking is a drawing that defines the starting and ending points of any smooth transition. They are called "frames" because their position in time is measured in frames on a strip of film...

animation by Rhythm and Hues provided the necessary "finesse [and] superhero quality". Many of the animators and Leterrier himself provided video reference for the climactic fight.

Dale Keown

Dale Keown

Dale Keown is a Canadian comic book artist from Grande Prairie, Alberta who currently resides in Toronto.-Career:Keown started working in comics in 1986 drawing several series for Aircel Comics, including Samurai, Elflord, Dragon Ring , and Warlock 5.Keown moved to Marvel Comics in 1989, where he...

's comic book artwork of the Hulk was an inspiration for his design. Leterrier felt the first Hulk had "too much fat [and] the proportions were a little off". He explained, "The Hulk is beyond perfect so there is zero grams of fat, all chiseled, and his muscle and strength defines this creature so he’s like a tank." Visual effects supervisor

Visual effects supervisor

In the context of film and television production, a visual effects supervisor is responsible for achieving the creative aims of the director and/or producers through the use of visual effects...

Kurt Williams envisioned the Hulk's physique as a linebacker

Linebacker

A linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...

rather than a bodybuilder. A height of nine feet was chosen for the character as they did not want him to be too inhuman. To make him more expressive, computer programs controlling the inflation of his muscles and saturation of skin color were created. Williams cited flushing

Flushing (physiology)

For a person to flush is to become markedly red in the face and often other areas of the skin, from various physiological conditions. Flushing is generally distinguished, despite a close physiological relation between them, from blushing, which is milder, generally restricted to the face, cheeks or...

as an example of humans' skin color being influenced by their emotions. The animators felt green blood would make his skin become darker rather than lighter, and his skin tones, depending on lighting, either resemble an olive

Olive

The olive , Olea europaea), is a species of a small tree in the family Oleaceae, native to the coastal areas of the eastern Mediterranean Basin as well as northern Iran at the south end of the Caspian Sea.Its fruit, also called the olive, is of major agricultural importance in the...

or even gray slate

Slate

Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...

. His animation model was completed without the effects company's full knowledge of what he would be required to do: he was rigged to do whatever they imagined, in case the model was to be used for The Avengers film. The Hulk's medium-length hair was modeled on Mike Deodato
Mike Deodato
Mike Deodato , sometimes credited as Mike Deodato Jr., is the professional pseudonym of Brazilian comic book artist Deodato Taumaturgo Borges Filho.-Biography:...

's art. He originally had a crew cut
Crew cut
A crew cut is a type of haircut in which the hair on the top of the head is cut relatively short, graduated in length from the longest hair at the front hairline to the shortest at the back of the crown. The hair on the sides and back of the head is usually tapered short, semi-short or medium. A...

, but Leterrier decided flopping hair imbued him with more character. Leterrier cited An American Werewolf in London

An American Werewolf in London

An American Werewolf in London is a 1981 British-American horror film, written and directed by John Landis. It stars David Naughton, Jenny Agutter, and Griffin Dunne....

as the inspiration for Banner's transformation, wanting to show how painful it was for him to change. As a nod to the live action TV series, Banner's eyes change color first when he transforms.

Leterrier changed the Abomination's design from the comics because he felt the audience would question why he resembled a fish or a reptile, instead of "an über

Über

Über comes from the German language. It has one umlaut. It is a cognate of both Latin super and Greek ὑπέρ...

-human" like the Hulk. Rather, his hideousness is derived from being injected multiple times into his skin, muscles and bones; creating a creature with a protruding spine and sharp bones that he can use to stab. His green skin is pale, and reflects light, so it appears orange because of surrounding fire during the climactic battle. The motion capture performers, including Roth, tried to make the character behave less gracefully than the Hulk. They modeled his posture and the way he turns his head on a shark. The character also shares Roth's tattoos. A height of eleven feet was chosen for the character. Leterrier tried to work in the character's pointed ears, but realized the Hulk would bite them off (using the example of Mike Tyson

Mike Tyson

Michael Gerard "Mike" Tyson is a retired American boxer. Tyson is a former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world and holds the record as the youngest boxer to win the WBC, WBA and IBF world heavyweight titles, he was 20 years, 4 months and 22 days old...

when he fought Evander Holyfield

Evander Holyfield

Evander Holyfield is a professional boxer from the United States. He is a former undisputed world champion in both the cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions, earning him the nickname "The Real Deal"...

), and felt ignoring that would make the Hulk come across as stupid.

Leterrier had planned to use prosthetic makeup

Prosthetic makeup

Prosthetic makeup is the process of using prosthetic sculpting, molding and casting techniques to create advanced cosmetic effects...

and animatronics to complement the computer-generated imagery

Computer-generated imagery

Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...

that was solely used in the previous film. The make-up artists who worked on X-Men: The Last Stand

X-Men: The Last Stand

X-Men: The Last Stand is a 2006 superhero film and the third in the X-Men series. It was directed by Brett Ratner and stars an ensemble cast including Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Famke Janssen, Kelsey Grammer, Anna Paquin, Shawn Ashmore, Aaron Stanford, Vinnie Jones,...

were set to portray Blonsky's gradual transformation, which Zak Penn said would portray Blonsky "not [being] used to having these properties. Like he's much heavier, and we talked about how when he walks down the sidewalk, his weight destroys the sidewalk and he's tripping. [It's all about] the humanization of these kinds of superhero characters, showing the effects physics may actually have on [them]." Tom Woodruff, Jr. of Amalgamated Dynamics (who created all the costumes for the Alien

Alien (franchise)

The Alien film series is a science fiction horror film franchise, focusing on Lieutenant Ellen Ripley and her battle with an extraterrestrial lifeform, commonly referred to as "the Alien"...

films since Alien 3) was in negotiations, and created two busts of the Hulk and prosthetic hands to act as stand-ins for the character. However, a full animatronic was never created as it was decided it would complicate production to set up shots for a puppet and then a computer graphic. An animatronic was used for Sterns' mutating head though.

Destruction was mostly done practically. A model of a bottling machine was smashed through a wall for when the Hulk escapes with the factory. The filmmakers used steam and dry ice

Dry ice

Dry ice, sometimes referred to as "Cardice" or as "card ice" , is the solid form of carbon dioxide. It is used primarily as a cooling agent. Its advantages include lower temperature than that of water ice and not leaving any residue...

for the gas used to smoke out the Hulk, and they destroyed a real Humvee by dropping a weight on it when shooting the Culver University battle. Pipes blew fire for when the Hulk strikes down the computer-generated helicopter. When Banner falls from the helicopter to trigger the Hulk into fighting the Abomination, Norton was attached to a surface held by a bar which turned 90 degrees while the camera was pulled to the ceiling to simulate falling. Leterrier felt making Norton fall that distance would obviously render him unable to act.

Music

Craig Armstrong was the arranger

Arrangement

The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...

for Massive Attack

Massive Attack

Massive Attack are an English DJ and trip hop duo from Bristol, England consisting of Robert "3D" Del Naja and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall. Working with co-producers, as well as various session musicians and guest vocalists, they make records and tour live. The duo are considered to be of the trip...

, a band Leterrier was fond of and had collaborated with on Unleashed

Unleashed (film)

Unleashed , is a 2005 American-British-French martial arts action thriller film directed by Louis Leterrier and written by Luc Besson. Film stars Jet Li, Bob Hoskins, Morgan Freeman and Kerry Condon...

(2005). Armstrong was his first choice, which surprised Marvel, not knowing if he had scored an action film (he did compose 2001's Kiss of the Dragon

Kiss of the Dragon

Kiss of the Dragon is a 2001 martial arts action film, directed by Chris Nahon, co-written and produced by Luc Besson, and starring Jet Li, Bridget Fonda, and Tchéky Karyo....

). Even the temp track
Temp track
A temp track is an existing piece of music or audio which is used in film production during the editing phase. It serves as a guideline for the mood or atmosphere the director is looking for in a scene....

consisted of Armstrong's work and similar music by others. The Hulk, alongside the Green Lantern
Green Lantern
The Green Lantern is the shared primary alias of several fictional characters, superheroes appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The first Green Lantern was created by writer Bill Finger and artist Martin Nodell in All-American Comics #16 .Each Green Lantern possesses a power ring and...

, was one of Armstrong's favorite comics as a child, although he did not see Ang Lee
Ang Lee
Ang Lee is a Taiwanese film director. Lee has directed a diverse set of films such as Eat Drink Man Woman , Sense and Sensibility , Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon , Hulk , and Brokeback Mountain , for which he won an Academy...

's Hulk

Hulk (film)

Hulk is a 2003 American superhero film based on the fictional Marvel Comics character of the same name. Ang Lee directed the film, which stars Eric Bana as Dr. Bruce Banner, as well as Jennifer Connelly, Sam Elliott, Josh Lucas, and Nick Nolte...

.

Armstrong began composing in his home in Glasgow

Glasgow

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

, Scotland with three sequences; the Hulk and Betty in the cave; the Abomination and the Hulk's alley fight; and Bruce and Betty's reunion. The majority was composed in a few weeks in Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...

, which was very intense for the director and composer. The score was recorded over four days during late April 2008 in a chapel in Bastyr University

Bastyr University

Bastyr University was established as the John Bastyr College of Naturopathic Medicine in 1978 in Seattle, Washington by Sheila Quinn, Joseph Pizzorno, ND, LM; William Mitchell, ND; and Les Griffith, ND, LM...

, located in Kenmore, Washington

Kenmore, Washington

Kenmore is a city in King County, Washington, United States, along the northernmost shores of Lake Washington...

. Pete Lockett

Pete Lockett

Peter Robert Lockett is an English percussionist and recording artist. Lockett is known as a versatile and prolific percussionist, collaborating with many artists. He is well-versed in percussion traditions from music cultures around the world, including, Arabic, Japanese, Indian and...

played ethnic instruments in the score, which were recorded in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

and mixed together with the orchestra and electronics. The score was orchestrated by Matt Dunkley and Tony Blondal

Tony Blondal

Tony Blondal, , is a film and television orchestrator and conductor, and record arranger. He started out his musical career playing live and doing studio recording sessions...

The Hulk and the Abomination both have two themes, representing their human and monstrous forms. The Hulk's theme was meant to be iconic and simple, like Jaws

Jaws (film)

Jaws is a 1975 American horror-thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg and based on Peter Benchley's novel of the same name. In the story, the police chief of Amity Island, a fictional summer resort town, tries to protect beachgoers from a giant man-eating great white shark by closing the beach,...

(1975), with string glissando

Glissando

In music, a glissando is a glide from one pitch to another. It is an Italianized musical term derived from the French glisser, to glide. In some contexts it is distinguished from the continuous portamento...

s on a base C note. Banner's theme is tragic and includes parts of Joe Harnell

Joe Harnell

Joe Harnell was an American easy listening composer and arranger....

's "The Lonely Man" theme from the television series. Armstrong played the piano

Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

for one scene featuring that piece. Blonsky has a dark theme, which becomes aggressive when he transforms. Armstrong inter played the Hulk and the Abomination's themes during their battle, and found scoring the action sequences similar to a dance. There is also a suspenseful theme, and a love theme.

Leterrier suggested the score be released on two discs, which Armstrong believed to be a joke. Only when he compiled the album – and Marvel asked why they were only given one disc – did he realize they were serious.

Editing

Seventy minutes of footage, mostly dealing with the origin, were not included in the final cut. Much of this back-story was unscripted and the filmmakers were never sure of including it into the final cut, and had considered releasing some of these clips on the internet. Editor Kyle Cooper

Kyle Cooper

Kyle Cooper is a modern designer of motion picture title sequences.Cooper studied graphic design under Paul Rand at Yale University. Early in his professional career, Cooper worked as a creative director at R/GA - an advertising agency with offices in New York and Los Angeles...

, creator of the Marvel logo (with the flipping pages) and the montage detailing Iron Man's biography in that film, edited together much of this footage into the opening credits. Leterrier explained a negative test screening, where flashbacks were placed across the film that the audience found too similar to Hulk, had resulted in compressing these to the film's start. This replaced the original opening, where Banner comes to the Arctic

Arctic

The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...

to commit suicide

Suicide

Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...

. When the scene ends, in an instant the frozen body of Captain America

Captain America

is partially seen in the ice. Leterrier said he did not want this scene to be lost amid the opening montage.

Norton and Leterrier disputed with the producers over the final running time: they wanted it to be near 135 minutes, while the producers wanted the film to be under two hours. This was made public, and rumors spread that Norton "made it clear he won't cooperate with publicity plans if he's not happy with the final product". Norton dismissed this, "Our healthy process [of collaboration], which is and should be a private matter, was misrepresented publicly as a 'dispute', seized on by people looking for a good story, and has been distorted to such a degree that it risks distracting from the film itself, which Marvel, Universal and I refuse to let happen. It has always been my firm conviction that films should speak for themselves and that knowing too much about how they are made diminishes the magic of watching them."

Marketing

Universal and its promotional partners have tried to position The Incredible Hulk as a franchise reboot similar to Batman Begins

Batman Begins

Batman Begins is a 2005 American superhero action film based on the fictional DC Comics character Batman, directed by Christopher Nolan. It stars Christian Bale as Batman, along with Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Cillian Murphy, Morgan Freeman, Ken Watanabe, Tom Wilkinson,...

. Effort was made to promote the story as having a romance and a physical antagonist, and the title was used for promotional puns (such as 7-Eleven

7-Eleven

7-Eleven is part of an international chain of convenience stores, operating under Seven-Eleven Japan Co. Ltd, which in turn is owned by Seven & I Holdings Co...

's "Incredible Gulp" slurpees, and "Incredible Dad" themed Father's Day

Father's Day

Father's Day is a celebration honoring fathers and celebrating fatherhood, paternal bonds, and the influence of fathers in society. Many countries celebrate it on the third Sunday of June but it is also celebrated widely on other days...

gifts at Kmart

Kmart

Kmart, sometimes styled as "K-Mart," is a chain of discount department stores. The chain acquired Sears in 2005, forming a new corporation under the name Sears Holdings Corporation. The company was founded in 1962 and is the third largest discount store chain in the world, behind Wal-Mart and...

). Burger King

Burger King

Burger King, often abbreviated as BK, is a global chain of hamburger fast food restaurants headquartered in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The company began in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida-based restaurant chain...

also promoted the film, and General Nutrition Centers

General Nutrition Centers

General Nutrition Centers is a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based American commercial enterprise focused on the retail sale of health and nutrition related products, including vitamins, supplements, minerals, herbs, sports nutrition, diet & energy products.-History:In 1935, David Shakarian opened a...

used the title character as a role model for strength training. Hasbro

Hasbro

Hasbro is a multinational toy and boardgame company from the United States of America. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States...

created the toy line, which they released on May 3, 2008, while Sega

Sega

, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...

released a video game

The Incredible Hulk (2008 video game)

The Incredible Hulk is a video game based on the Marvel superhero Hulk and the 2008 film. The console versions were released on June 5, 2008 and the PC version was released on June 10, 2008...

on June 5, 2008. The film was promoted in an episode of American Gladiators

American Gladiators (2008 TV series)

American Gladiators is an American competition TV show that aired on NBC and Citytv in Canada. Hosted by Hulk Hogan and Laila Ali, the show matches amateur athletes against each other and the show's own "gladiators" in contests of strength, agility, and endurance...

on June 9, 2008, which was hosted by Hulk Hogan
Hulk Hogan
Terrance Gene "Terry" Bollea , better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American Semi-retired professional wrestler, actor, television personality, and musician currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....

and featured Lou Ferrigno
Lou Ferrigno
Louis Jude "Lou" Ferrigno is an American actor, fitness trainer/consultant, and retired professional bodybuilder. As a bodybuilder, Ferrigno won an IFBB Mr. America title and two consecutive IFBB Mr. Universe titles, and appeared in the bodybuilding documentary Pumping Iron...

.

Following the edit dispute, Universal's Adam Fogleson and Norton planned a promotional tour which would avoid constant media interviews and therefore uncomfortable questions. He attended the premiere, took part in a Jimmy Kimmel Live! sketch and would also promote the film in Japan. However, during the film's release he chose to do charity work in Africa.

Box office

The film was released on June 13, 2008, and in its opening weekend, grossed $55.4 million in 3,505 theaters in the United States and Canada, ranking #1 at the box office. The previous film earned $62.1 million in its opening weekend, but dropped 70% in its second weekend. The second film by comparison, dropped 60% in its second weekend. Behind Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer is a 2007 American superhero film, and the sequel to the 2005 film Fantastic Four. Both films are based on the Fantastic Four comic book and were directed by Tim Story...

, it was the second-highest gross for a film released over a Father's Day
Father's Day
Father's Day is a celebration honoring fathers and celebrating fatherhood, paternal bonds, and the influence of fathers in society. Many countries celebrate it on the third Sunday of June but it is also celebrated widely on other days...

weekend. This surpassed the Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Times

The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....

s report of expectations of a $45 million opening, following the disappointing response to the 2003 film. Universal believed word of mouth

Word of mouth

Word of mouth, or viva voce, is the passing of information from person to person by oral communication. Storytelling is the oldest form of word-of-mouth communication where one person tells others of something, whether a real event or something made up. Oral tradition is cultural material and...

will contribute to the film eventually breaking even. A CinemaScore

CinemaScore

CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data.-Background:...

poll indicated the majority of viewers were male and graded the film an A-, and 82% of them had seen the 2003 film.

It also opened in thirty-eight other countries, which added $31 million to the total opening. The film outgrossed the 2003 film in South Korea, while its openings in Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

and Russia created records for Universal. The film grossed 24 million yuan

Renminbi

The Renminbi is the official currency of the People's Republic of China . Renminbi is legal tender in mainland China, but not in Hong Kong or Macau. It is issued by the People's Bank of China, the monetary authority of the PRC...

(roughly $3.4 million) in its Chinese opening on August 26, outgrossing the previous film's overall gross of ten million yuan. As of March 11, 2009, the film grossed $134,806,913 in the United States, as well as $128,620,638 internationally, bringing its worldwide gross to $263,427,551. The film, even though it barely passed its predecessor, and equalled if the smaller budget of the first film is taken in to account, is still considered successful. Entertainment analyst David Davis told The Hollywood Reporter
The Hollywood Reporter
Formerly a daily trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter re-launched in late 2010 as a unique hybrid publication serving the entertainment industry and a consumer audience...

, "The first Hulk had such high expectations after the NBC Universal

NBC Universal

NBCUniversal Media, LLC is a media and entertainment company engaged in the production and marketing of entertainment, news, and information products and services to a global customer base...

merger and was supposed to be critical favorite Ang Lee's breakout commercial blockbuster. Then with the new Hulk film, Marvel was able to underplay the importance of the success after the great success of Iron Man this summer. So the new one overdelivered, relative to its underpromise."

Reception

The Incredible Hulk received mixed to positive reviews from film critics. As of April 1, 2011, review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes

Rotten Tomatoes

Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...

reported that 66% of 211 critics gave the film positive reviews. Metacritic

Metacritic

Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...

reported the film received an average score of 61 out of 100, based on 36 reviews. The site characterized reviews as "generally favorable". Todd McCarthy of Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...

said, "what seemed, in theory, the least-necessary revival of a big screen superhero emerges as perfectly solid summer action fare in The Incredible Hulk." He emphasized "it's all par-for-the-course cinematic demolition and destruction, staged efficiently and with a hint of enthusiasm," and "penned with sporadic wit [...] Visuals lean toward the dark and murky, but editing by three—actually six—hands is fleet, and Craig Armstrong’s ever-present score is simultaneously bombastic and helpfully supportive of the action. Effects are in line with pic's generally pro but not inspired achievements."

Rene Rodriguez of The Miami Herald
The Miami Herald
The Miami Herald is a daily newspaper owned by The McClatchy Company headquartered on Biscayne Bay in the Omni district of Downtown Miami, Florida, United States...

applauded that the film "does a lot of things [Ang] Lee's Hulk didn't: It's lighter and faster-paced, it's funnier and it embraces (instead of ignoring) the 1970s TV series that furthered the character's popularity". Mark Rahner of The Seattle Times
The Seattle Times
The Seattle Times is a newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, US. It is the largest daily newspaper in the state of Washington. It has been, since the demise in 2009 of the printed version of the rival Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Seattle's only major daily print newspaper.-History:The Seattle Times...

wrote that, "The relaunch of Marvel's green goliath is an improvement over director Ang Lee's ponderous 2003 Hulk in nearly every way — except that the actual Hulk still looks scarcely better than something from a video game, and he still barely talks". Lou Lumenick

Lou Lumenick

Louis J. "Lou" Lumenick is an American film critic. He is the chief film critic and a blogger for the New York Post and has reviewed films there since 1999.-Life and career:Lumenick was born and raised in Astoria, Queens...

of The New York Post said, "What lingers in my memory ... is the lengthy, essentially animated climactic battle between the Hulk and the Abomination on the streets and rooftops of Harlem, and an earlier showdown between the title creature and the U.S. Army, which is deploying high-tech weapons including sound-wave cannons. These are expertly staged by director Louis Leterrier, who disposes of the backstory under the opening credits and wraps up the whole thing in twenty-four minutes less than [Ang] Lee took". Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert

Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...

was not a fan of the film stating, ""The Incredible Hulk" is no doubt an ideal version of the Hulk saga for those who found Ang Lee's "Hulk" (2003) too talky, or dare I say, too thoughtful. But not for me. It sidesteps the intriguing aspects of Hulkdom and spends way too much time in, dare I say, noisy and mindless action sequences."

Conversely, Christy Lemire

Christy Lemire

Christy Lemire is the film critic for The Associated Press and co-host of Ebert Presents at the Movies with Ignatiy Vishnevetsky. She also co-hosts the weekly online movie review show, What The Flick?!....

of the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...

found that "the inevitable comparisons to Iron Man
Iron Man (film)
Iron Man is a 2008 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. Directed by Jon Favreau, the film stars Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark, an industrialist and master engineer who builds a powered exoskeleton and becomes the technologically advanced superhero, Iron...

, Marvel Studios' first blockbuster this summer, serve as a glaring reminder of what this Hulk lacks: wit and heart. Despite the presence of Edward Norton, an actor capable of going just as deep as Robert Downey Jr., we don't feel a strong sense of Bruce Banner's inner conflict". A.O. Scott of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...

opined, "'The Adequate Hulk' would have been a more suitable title. There are some big, thumping fights and a few bright shards of pop-cultural wit, but for the most part this movie seems content to aim for the generic mean". David Ansen

David Ansen

David Ansen is a reviewer and senior editor for Newsweek, where he has been reviewing movies since 1977. He came to Newsweek after several years as the chief film critic at Boston's The Real Paper...

of Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...

wrote, "Leterrier has style, he's good with action and he's eager to give the audience its money's worth of bone-crunching battles. Still, once the movie leaves the atmospheric Brazilian settings, nothing in this "Hulk" sinks in deeply: its familiar genre pleasures are all on the surface. ... The movie's scene stealer is Tim Blake Nelson, making a comically welcome third act appearance as the unethical but madly enthusiastic scientist Samuel Sterns".

The film was nominated for best superhero film at the 2008 National Movie Awards

National Movie Awards

The National Movie Awards is a British movie awards ceremony broadcast by ITV in which the winners of the awards are chosen via popular vote. The awards were initiated in 2007 following the success of the National Television Awards, the highest-rating awards ceremony for television...

and for Best Science Fiction Film at the Saturn Award

Saturn Award

The Saturn Award is an award presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films to honor the top works in science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, television, and home video. The Saturn Awards were devised by Dr. Donald A. Reed in 1972, who felt that films within...

Home media

The film was number one in sales when released on DVD and Blu-ray on October 21, 2008, in the United States (having been available in the United Kingdom since October 13). There are widescreen and fullscreen single-disc editions; a three-disc special edition; and a two-disc Blu-ray package. The first disc contains an audio commentary by Leterrier and Roth, while the second comes with special features and deleted scenes, and the third with a digital copy

Digital copy

Digital Copy provides consumers who purchase a film on DVD or Blu-ray Disc with an additional, digital copy of the movie for devices capable of operating with a file in contrast to a DVD.-Features:...

of the film. The Blu-ray edition compresses the content of the first two DVDs onto one, while the second disc contains the digital copy. The package features a green border, marking the first time the Blu-ray case for a film is not blue. So far, it made $58,448,280 in home video sales, bringing its total film gross to $321,875,831.

Sequel

Samuel Sterns

Leader (comics)

, played by Tim Blake Nelson

Tim Blake Nelson

, was introduced to set him up as a villain in a future film, where he would become the Leader

Leader (comics)

. Aaron Sims, the lead designer on The Incredible Hulk, also took time to work on concepts for the Leader. Nelson is signed on to reprise the role. Gale Anne Hurd

Gale Anne Hurd

noted because the Leader is a cerebral villain, it would allow them to reinterpret the Hulk himself. Ty Burrell

Ty Burrell

- External links :*...

wants to portray the superpowered Doc Samson

Doc Samson

Doc Samson is a fictional character, a superhero and psychiatrist in the Marvel Comics universe, known as a supporting character in stories featuring the Hulk.-Publication history:...

faithfully to the comics. Norton said, "The whole thing was to envision it in multiple parts. We left a lot out on purpose. The Incredible Hulk is definitely intended as chapter one." Leterrier made the film's final shot of Banner ambiguous; the thought being if there is a sequel, it would mean Banner finally masters control over his anger; if there is not a sequel, the shot indicates instead that in the scheduled 2012 feature The Avengers, he becomes a menace. Leterrier had also intended for a scene in the credits showing Blonsky, human once more, imprisoned and chained in a box.

Leterrier and Roth are contracted to return. Leterrier also stated Norton was not signed on, but in October 2008, Hurd stated that Norton was contracted to reprise the role. The film has outgrossed its predecessor and Universal indicated interest in a sequel. However, by July 21, Leterrier believed a sequel would not be made because of the film's box office return. Leterrier is confident that the character will appear in The Avengers, even if Marvel does not ask Norton to fulfill his contract. Kevin Feige said the film met Marvel's expectations and that Hulk will return, but after the crossover. Hurd is not concerned that a sequel may not be produced until at least 2012, citing the positive reception to the film and having produced the Terminator
Terminator (franchise)
The Terminator series is a science fiction franchise encompassing a series of films and other media concerning battles between Skynet's artificially intelligent machine network, and John Connor's Resistance forces and the rest of the human race....

series, the second and third film of which had a 12-year gap. Tim Roth confirmed that Marvel has signed him for three more films. Leterrier, after having previously said he did not want to direct a sequel, said in late 2009 he had changed his mind and was now amenable. In 2012's The Avengers, Edward Norton was not cast as Banner, instead Mark Ruffalo will be Bruce Banner.

The short film The Consultant elaborates on Tony Stark's meeting with General Ross which took place in The Incredible Hulk.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.