2) The Incredible Hulk – Cave Bonding
If there was ever an entire Marvel film that deserved to be labeled underrated, it would have to be The Incredible Hulk. Released little more than a month after the first Iron Man, this was Marvel’s reboot of Ang Lee’s 2003 Hulk, focusing more on the character of the Hulk.
Despite getting better reviews, the film ultimately underperformed at the box office. Combined with the fact that Bruce Banner star Ed Norton was unable to come to an agreement with Marvel about reprising his role in the rest of the series, and you have a movie that’s like Terminator: Salvation – technically canon, but the studio would rather have you forget about its existence.
And yet, an actual viewing of the film would reveal some of the most powerful character moments in the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe. One of these comes about halfway through when the Hulk has rescued former lover Betty Ross and taken her to a cave to hide. There, Hulk finds himself emotionally distraught from both the past fighting with the army and the ongoing thunderstorm. Desperate to calm him down, Ross takes his arm and guides him to a nearby rock to sit, where Peter Menzies Jr.’s’ beautiful cinematography captures their serenity amidst the rain and lightning.
