Playing a little catch up with my rewatch reviews:
The Incredible Hulk (2008)
Marvel’s second entry in the MCU. It’s an alright little adventure but there’s not a lot to it. Norton’s Banner doesn’t have much of a character arc here. He ends the story pretty much the same as he started. I had long been of the opinion that Norton’s Banner was superior to Ruffalo’s but I’m not so sure now. Abomination is just horrific and Tim Roth comes off as very one dimensional. The only real standout here is William Hurt’s General Thunderbolt Ross, it’s great that he’ll be returning soon.
Iron Man 2 (2009)
I remember not caring too much for this film when it originally released but coming back to it now, it’s surprising how much it managed to setup for the future. This is the film where we first meet Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanov and it’s a great first introduction to her character and her abilities. Similarly, this is Samuel L. Jackson’s first real time to shine after the very brief end credits scene in Iron Man. Jackson manages to inject a lot of flavor into Nick Fury here in a short amount of time and it’s here where we first start to get a hint of what S.H.I.E.L.D. is capable of.
The real standout though is Tony Stark’s impending death and how he does/doesn’t cope with it. RDJ does a great job of slowly unraveling as the film goes on. The party scene in particular is pretty disturbing as a drunken Tony puts all of his guests in danger. Meanwhile, we’re left lacking a bit in the villain side. Sam Rockwell makes for an interesting foil to RDJ’s Stark. Rockwell’s natural charisma did a lot to save a relatively forgettable character. It’s a shame they haven’t brought him back to expand the role. The only real let down here though is Ivan Vanko. While his character origins are fairly tragic, the character himself is pretty one note. Still though, the film delivers in terms of character arc, action and some surprising tension.
Thor (2010)
The first entry in the Thor series has some great material but is bogged down by the terrestrial portions of the film. Kenneth Branagh does a spectacular job of bringing Asgard and its people to life. The art design on display here is brilliant. As are all of the sections of the film set in it. Hopkins’ does a spectacular job of giving gravitas to his role here as Odin. Hemsworth and Hiddleston both also give solid performances and firmly establish their relationship to one another. If only the sections set on Earth were as good.
