The Incredible Hulk

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Bruce Banner (played by Edward Norton) has spent years in hiding, living in South America. The whole time, he has been struggling to keep the Hulk at bay, and has been trying to find a cure, keeping in contact with a man named Samuel Sterns (played by Tim Blake Nelson). Things eventually go awry, and the U.S. army, led by General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross and mercenary Emil Blonsky (played by William Hurt and Tim Roth respectively) tracks him down. Bruce's love Betty Ross (played by Liv Tyler) gets caught up in the whole thing, and does everything she can to help Bruce. This is the one that is probably the most disjointed from the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, outside of a quick cameo from Robert Downey, Jr. But, I do think this may just be the most underrated of the MCU films. The action is pretty fun, and I like Tim Roth as the villainous soldier who eventually becomes the Abomination. This truly feels like a main villain that's a perfect rival for both Bruce Banner and the Hulk. The Abomination rivals the Hulk in terms of pure strength and force. As Emil Blonsky, he is the exact opposite of Bruce Banner. Banner is a scientist who views the Hulk as a curse more than anything else. Blonsky is a soldier who wants the untamed power that Bruce possesses. I can't call this the best MCU movie, or even one of the best. There are some issues with it. There is a character who doesn't get any real resolution. What I mean is that they teased a potential future villain at the end of the movie, and that's something that doesn't end up going anywhere. I can admit that this wasn't really on the fault of the movie when it first came out. This feels like the one that gets swept under the rug the most out of all the movies within this vast cinematic universe. Edward Norton was recast and replaced with Mark Ruffalo. We haven't seen anything of Betty Ross or the Abomination since the events of this movie. Nothing comes of Samuel Sterns's mutation. We don't see William Hurt as General Ross again until Captain America: Civil War. I'm not going to call this one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's finest outings, but I also think it's the most overlooked and underrated.

8 / 10