The Incredible Hulk

The Incredible Hulk is a 2008 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character the Hulk. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Universal Pictures, it is the second film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the second film of Phase One. The film was directed by Louis Leterrier, with a screenplay by Zak Penn, and stars Edward Norton as Bruce Banner / Hulk.

Plot
Bruce Banner recalls the events in which he was transformed into a monster and hospitalized his lover Betty Ross. Ross' father, General Thaddeus Ross, forced Banner to go on the run for years, as he is now a fugitive of the United States Army. Banner finds a home in Rocinha, Brazil, where he works at a soft drink bottling factory and has learned breathing techniques and martial arts to ward off his transformations. He is trying to find a cure with the help of "Mr. Blue", whom he met online. Banner has not had an "incident" for 5 months.

When Banner has a cut, his blood drips into a bottle at the factory and is ingested by an ill-fated consumer in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Ross uses this incident to pick up on Banner's trail and sends British special-ops expert Emil Blonsky with an attack team to capture Banner. Banner then makes an escape to the bottling factory he works in. During the run, he bumps into a gang of thugs, one who was his former enemy at the bottling factory. During the confrontation, Banner transforms into the Hulk at the bottling factory and takes out the thugs and everyone on the team.

Before the Hulk escapes, Blonsky, the last soldier alive, takes a good look at the Hulk, before Hulk throws a forklift truck at him, which he barely survives. Banner escapes and goes to Guatemala, and then the US, where he finds the now recovered Betty Ross at Culver University, dating psychiatrist Leonard Samson. Banner's friend Stanley Lieber (a pizzeria owner) gives him a job as a delivery boy. He uses this job to continue his research by sneaking past a security guard at the university. Ross sees Banner at the pizzeria, and they later reunite.

Ross is informed by Blonsky that Banner escaped because of a green monster. Ross continues to explain that Banner was the monster, created by a failed experiment meant to replicate the "Super-Soldier" program. Blonsky volunteers to be given a small dose of an altered Super Soldier serum (another failed experiment but considered "very promising") that increases his strength and agility. Blonsky leads a second attack on Banner at Culver University, where he and his team encounter the Hulk and are defeated. Hulk saves Ross from an explosion and he takes her to the Smoky Mountain National Forest.

Banner and Ross go to Grayburn College in New York City to meet Mr. Blue, who is revealed to be Samuel Sterns. Sterns invented a potential antidote, and Banner accepts it, despite the risks. Banner is restrained and a transformation is induced but was successfully reversed through Sterns' antidote. Sterns revealed that he synthesized Banner's blood into a large supply, in hopes of using it in the next stage of human evolution. While Banner tries to convince him otherwise, he is suddenly tranquilized by one of Ross' snipers.

Ross and Banner are taken into custody, while Blonsky confronts Sterns and asks him to give him a sample of Banner's blood to add to his power. Sterns warns that the Super Soldier serum and Gamma Radiation together could create an "abomination", but Blonsky doesn't change his mind. The procedure transforms Blonsky into a Hulk-like monster who knocks Sterns into a sample of Banner's blood and goes on a rampage through Harlem looking for something that could challenge his new strength as well as to lure Hulk out.

Despite his fears that he has cured himself of Hulk permanently, Banner is given permission to fight Blonsky and jumps from General Ross' helicopter in an attempt to re-trigger his transformations. Banner emerges from a crater in the street below as Hulk, and proceeds to face Blonsky. Hulk manages to defeat Blonsky after a lengthy, destructive and harsh fight while also protecting Betty and General Ross, who had been put in harm's way, but is again forced to run from the U.S. Army.

Thirty-one days later, Banner is in Bella Coola, British Columbia trying to learn how to control his transformations, instead of curing them. Later, General Ross is in a bar, where Tony Stark then confronts Ross and talks about a "team" being made.

Cast

 * Edward Norton as Bruce Banner / Hulk
 * Liv Tyler as Betty Ross
 * Tim Roth as Emil Blonsky / Abomination
 * William Hurt as General Thaddeus Ross
 * Tim Blake Nelson as Samuel Sterns
 * Ty Burrell as Leonard Samson
 * Christina Cabot as Major Kathleen Sparr
 * Peter Mensah as General Joe Greller
 * Lou Ferrigno as Hulk / Security Guard
 * Paul Soles as Stanley Lieber
 * Débora Nascimento as Martina
 * Pedro Salvin as Tough Guy Leader
 * John Carvalho as Plant Manager
 * Martin Starr as Roger Harrington
 * Nicholas Rose as Jack McGee
 * P.J. Kerr as Jim Wilson
 * Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark
 * Stan Lee as Watcher Informant

Development
After the release of Ang Lee's Hulk, screenwriter James Schamus was planning a sequel which would continue the story featuring the Grey Hulk. He was also considering the Leader and the Abomination as villains. Marvel wanted the Abomination because he would be an actual threat to the Hulk, unlike General Ross. During the filming of Hulk, producer Avi Arad had a target May 2005 theatrical release date. On January 18, 2006 Arad confirmed Marvel Studios would be providing the money for The Incredible Hulk's 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 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 also felt the film had to meet what "everyone expects to see from having read the comics and seen the TV series".

Pre-Production
Louis Leterrier, who enjoyed the TV series as a child and liked the first film, had expressed interest in directing the Iron Man film adaptation. Jon Favreau 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 and Tim Sale's Hulk: Gray (a retelling of the character's 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 fulfilment, of overcoming an injustice or a bully and tapping into a strength that you didn't quite realise 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, 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' run on the comic. He compared his script to Aliens, which was a very different film from Alien, but still in the same continuity. He included two scenes from his 1996 script, Banner jumping from a helicopter to trigger a transformation, and realising he is unable to have sex with Betty. After the studio rejected a treatment by another screenwriter in 2006, Penn wrote three drafts before departing in early 2007 to promote his film The Grand. Norton, that April, began discussions to play Banner, and arranged a deal that included him as both an actor and a writer, with a screenplay draft he was contractually obligated to turn in within a month. He did so and continued to polish his draft as late as halfway through principal photography. In November 2006, a June 13, 2008 release date was set. 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. Leterrier felt audiences were left restless waiting for the character to arrive in Ang Lee's film. Feige commented, "we didn't want to tell the origin story again, because we thought people were so familiar with it, which is why we didn't tell that... One reason we made Incredible Hulk was to get Hulk into the Marvel Cinematic Universe canon."

Shortly after the release of The Incredible Hulk, Gale Anne Hurd commented on the uncertainty of its relationship with Ang Lee's Hulk film. "We couldn't quite figure out how to term this... It's kind of a reboot and it's kind of sequel." Hurd said that "requel", a portmanteau of "reboot" and "sequel", was a "perfect" description for the film. Norton explained his decision to ignore Lee's origin story, "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's take on the Hulk, which also had him created in an attempt to make super soldiers. Norton removed Rick Jones and toned down S.H.I.E.L.D.'s presence. He also added the scene where Banner attempts to extract a cure from a flower and his e-mailing with Samuel Sterns, which references Bruce Jones' story. Norton rewrote scenes every day. Ultimately, the Writers Guild of America 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 favour plot, structure and pre-existing characters over dialogue." Penn said in 2008, "I wasn't happy with Norton coming to Comic-Con saying that he wrote the script." Before either Penn or Norton joined the project, an anonymous screenwriter wrote a draft and lobbied for credit.

Filming
Leterrier had to direct four units with a broken foot. Filming began on July 9, 2007. Shooting primarily took place in Toronto, because mayor David Miller is a Hulk fan and promised to be very helpful to the crew when closing Yonge Street for four nights in September to shoot Hulk and Blonsky's climactic fight. Despite messing up the street with explosives and overturned burning vehicles, the crew would clean it 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 and Morningside Park. The filmmakers built a glass wall over a walkway at the University for when the soldiers trap Banner inside to smoke him out. There was also shooting in the Financial District. A factory in Hamilton, Ontario, which was due for demolition, was the interior of the Brazilian factory. The site's underground floors were used for Ross' military command centre. The crew also shot part of the Hulk and Blonsky's fight on a backlot in Hamilton. Other Canadian locations included CFB Trenton and a glacier in Bella Coola, British Columbia. Afterwards, there was a week-long shoot in New York City and two weeks in Rio de Janeiro. While there, the crew shot at Rocinha, Lapa, Tijuca Forest and Santa Teresa. 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 acknowledged the Hulk, being green, was a popular environmental analogy, and Norton himself is an environmentalist. Hybrid and fuel-efficient vehicles were used, with low sulphur diesel as their energy source. The construction department used a sustainably harvested, locally sourced yellow pine instead of lauan for the sets, and also used zero-or low-VOC paint. The wood was generally recycled or given to environmental organisations, 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's Green Seal, which is displayed during the end credits.

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, 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 to commit suicide. When the scene ends, in an instant the frozen body of 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 rumours 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."

Visual Effects
Leterrier cited Andy Serkis' motion capture portrayals of Gollum and King Kong in The Lord of the Rings and King Kong, respectively, 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 "thunderclaps"). Phosphorescent face paint applied to the actors' faces and strobe lighting would help record the most subtle mannerisms into the computer. Others including Cyril Raffaelli provided motion capture for stunts and fights, after the main actors had done video referencing. Leterrier hired Rhythm and Hues to provide the CGI, rather than Industrial Light & Magic who created the visual effects for Ang Lee's Hulk. Visual effects company, Image Engine, 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 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'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 chiselled, and his muscle and strength define this creature so he's like a tank." Visual effects supervisor Kurt Williams envisioned the Hulk's physique as a line-backer 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 colour were created. Williams cited flushing as an example of humans' skin colour 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 or even gray slate. 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 modelled on Mike Deodato's art. He originally had a crew cut, but Leterrier decided flopping hair imbued him with more character. Leterrier cited An American Werewolf in London 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 colour 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-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 modelled 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 realised the Hulk would bite them off (using the example of Mike Tyson when he fought Evander Holyfield), and felt ignoring that would make the Hulk come across as stupid.

Leterrier had planned to use prosthetic makeup and animatronics to complement the computer-generated imagery that was solely used in the previous film. The make-up artists who worked on X-Men: The Last Stand 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 humanisation 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 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. 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, however. Destruction was mostly done practically. A model of a bottling machine was smashed through a wall for when the Hulk escapes the factory. The filmmakers used steam and dry ice 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 jokingly remarked that making Norton fall that distance would obviously render him unable to act.

Music
See Also: The Incredible Hulk Soundtrack and Music of Marvel Cinematic Universe

The score for the film was composed by Craig Armstrong, who was the arranger for Massive Attack, a band Leterrier was fond of and had collaborated with on the 2005 film Unleashed. 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). At Leterrier's suggestion, the soundtrack was released on a two-disc album, which Armstrong thought was a joke until he compiled the album and Marvel asked him why they were given only one disc. The film's score borrows Joe Harnell's theme "The Lonely Man" from the 1978 Incredible Hulk television series.

Marketing
See Also: The Incredible Hulk (Video Game)

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's "Incredible Gulp" slurpees, and "Incredible Dad" themed Father's Day gifts at Kmart). Burger King also promoted the film, and General Nutrition Centers used the title character as a role model for strength training. Hasbro created the toy line, which they released on May 3, 2008, while Sega released a video game on June 5, 2008. The film was promoted in an episode of American Gladiators on June 9, 2008, which was hosted by Hulk Hogan and featured Lou Ferrigno.

Following the editing dispute between Norton and Leterrier, Universal's Adam Fogleson and Norton planned a promotional tour which would avoid constant media interviews and therefore uncomfortable questions. Norton 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.

Theatrical
The Incredible Hulk premiered on June 8, 2008 at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City, California and was released in theatres on June 13 in the United States, where it opened in 3,505 theatres. The Incredible Hulk was formatted and screened in IMAX for the first time on August 30, 2018, as part of Marvel Studios' 10-year anniversary IMAX festival.

Home Media
The Incredible Hulk was released by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment on Blu-ray and DVD on October 21, 2008. It includes behind-the-scenes featurettes, audio commentary, deleted scenes, and an alternate opening. 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 full screen 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 of the film. The Blu-ray edition combines the content of the first two DVDs onto a single disc, while the second disc contains the digital copy.

The film was also collected in a 10-disc box set titled "Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase One – Avengers Assembled" which includes all of the Phase One films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It was released by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on April 2, 2013. Universal released the film on Ultra HD Blu-ray on April 10, 2018.

Box Office
The Incredible Hulk earned $134.8 million in the United States and Canada, as well as $128.6 million from other territories, for a worldwide total of $263.4 million. The film, even though it barely passed its predecessor, and only equalled it if the smaller budget of the first film is taken into account, was still considered successful. Entertainment analyst David Davis told The Hollywood Reporter, "The first Hulk had such high expectations after the NBC Universal merger and was supposed to be critical favourite 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 under promise."

The Incredible Hulk earned $55.4 million in its opening weekend, becoming the top film at the box office. Behind Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, it was the second-highest gross for a film released over the Father's Day weekend. This surpassed industry expectations of a $45 million opening, following the disappointing response to the 2003 film. Universal believed word of mouth would contribute to the film breaking even eventually.

The Incredible Hulk also opened in 38 other countries, adding $31 million to the total opening. The film out grossed the 2003 film in South Korea, while its openings in Mexico and Russia created records for Universal. The film grossed 24 million yuan (roughly $3.4 million) in its Chinese opening on August 26, out grossing the previous film's overall gross of 10 million yuan.

Critical Response
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 67% approval rating with an average score of 6.17/10 based on 231 reviews. The website's consensus reads, "The Incredible Hulk may not be quite the smashing success that fans of Marvel's raging behemoth might hope for, but it offers more than enough big green action to make up for its occasionally puny narrative." Metacritic gave the film an average score of 61 out of 100, based on 38 critics, indicating "generally favourable reviews". A CinemaScore poll indicated the majority of viewers were male and graded the film an A-, and 82% of them had seen the 2003 film.

Todd McCarthy of Variety 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 emphasised "it's all par-for-the-course cinematic demolition and destruction, staged efficiently and with a hint of enthusiasm," and " 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 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 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 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 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 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 of the Associated Press found that "the inevitable comparisons to Iron Man, 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 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 of Newsweek 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".