Movie Night at the Virtual Cinema: The Incredible Hulk

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During the COVID-19 pandemic, I’ve been using SKYBOX VR on Oculus Quest to watch movies in a virtual cinema that I didn’t get to see when they were theatrically released. The illusion of sitting in a movie theater is a convincing one, minus any reaction from the (non-existent) audience. It doesn’t change my perception of the films I’ve been watching — I’m just doing this for fun: to whet my appetite for going to the movies, and for a little VR escapism.

Warning: Spoilers ahead. 

I’d only seen this film once before, on DVD, maybe a year or so after it was released. I remember being surprised when it came out that they were rebooting the Hulk only 5 years after the previous Hulk movie (Ang Lee’s 2003 The Hulk), though that film had been poorly received, and now I wonder if, had the film been received better, if it would have been considered part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, or if they still would have done the reboot. Regardless, on the single previous viewing I’d had of this movie, I’d started out liking it, but by the end my opinion had changed.

So what was my opinion watching it a second time? Much the same. I find the first half to be very good, but find that the second half quickly slides downhill before becoming a monster movie.

A quick thought about that ending: Hulk stops short of killing Abomination at the end, but it was clear that he was he only thing which could stop him. After Hulk leaves, how does the military deal with the unconscious, but eventually waking Abomination?

Aside from the Lou Ferrigno cameo, and the fact that he voices the Hulk, there are a few other callbacks to the classic The Incredible Hulk TV show that I’m not sure I caught the first time:

  • The big battle midway through between Hulk and he military takes place at Culver University, which is a location front the series.
  • One of the students who witnesses the fight is named Jack McGee, which was the name of the reporter who was trailing the Hulk in the series (as mentioned in the series’ opening sequence: “Mr, McGee: Don’t make me angry...you wouldn’t like me when I’m angry.”).
  • Near the end of the film, Banner receives a package addressed to “David B.”. David Banner was his name in the TV show because writer/director Kenneth Johnson didn’t like the alliteration of Bruce Banner.
It was neat to watch the film on a big screen, but it’s not something I’ll be revisiting any time in the near future. Additionally, no disrespect intended towards Edward Norton, but I love what Mark Ruffalo has done with the role. This film seems like an oddity in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, one which doesn’t quite fit in with the rest, partially due to the later recasting, but also due to the tone.

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