It does have a better villain than Red Skull, but that's not difficult.
A few days ago I watched The Incredible Hulk with Former Roommate S, mostly because I am catching her up-to-date on all of the movies but also because I have never actually seen it myself. I had heard that I was not missing much. By and large, this turned out to be true! One of the reasons I like Iron Man so much is the sense of humor; even with the serious drama, there is always a bit of "well at least they're happy sometimes and will probably be happy in the future". Whereas The Incredible Hulk is just one big train of misery. Bruce's life sucks, the events of the movie suck, he can't sleep with his not-girlfriend and he has to leave her in the end anyway (that is not really a spoiler given that she's not in The Avengers), and basically he does not have any friends whatsoever beyond the aforementioned not-girlfriend. Literally everyone else in the movie is either unimportant, in deep disagreement with him, or actively trying to harm him. So, you know, it's not a fun movie.
Seeing him as Edward Norton rather than Mark Ruffalo was--interesting. The performances were very different, though I can't quite put my finger on why; Ruffalo!Bruce seemed a little more resigned, which makes sense given that presumably there have been a few years between the movies. Also Norton!Bruce appears to have shrunk a couple inches and gained twenty pounds in the interim. These are the things that happen when you're on the run, I guess.
Overall I like Ruffalo!Bruce better, though that's no fault of Norton; they're just different, and I don't think Norton!Bruce would have agreed to go on the Helicarrier at all, much less join a group of people who at least sometimes would like it if he gave in to the other guy. The movie itself, eh. I can pretty definitively put it at the bottom of my list. (Which, if you're curious, goes like this:
The Avengers
Iron Man
Captain America
Thor
Iron Man 2
The Incredible Hulk. Hulk would probably be higher if the ratings were determined by "is this objectively a good movie", but it is my list and personal preference wills out.)
Seeing him as Edward Norton rather than Mark Ruffalo was--interesting. The performances were very different, though I can't quite put my finger on why; Ruffalo!Bruce seemed a little more resigned, which makes sense given that presumably there have been a few years between the movies. Also Norton!Bruce appears to have shrunk a couple inches and gained twenty pounds in the interim. These are the things that happen when you're on the run, I guess.
Overall I like Ruffalo!Bruce better, though that's no fault of Norton; they're just different, and I don't think Norton!Bruce would have agreed to go on the Helicarrier at all, much less join a group of people who at least sometimes would like it if he gave in to the other guy. The movie itself, eh. I can pretty definitively put it at the bottom of my list. (Which, if you're curious, goes like this:
The Avengers
Iron Man
Captain America
Thor
Iron Man 2
The Incredible Hulk. Hulk would probably be higher if the ratings were determined by "is this objectively a good movie", but it is my list and personal preference wills out.)