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- Better on DVD: With the DVD, several deleted scenes are restored that help flesh out the characters through their interactions, such as Bruce and Leonard Samson having a tense talk about Bruce's history with Betty, or a short dialogue at Culver University where Bruce tells Betty how he worries that they experimented with the wrong motives.
- Broken Base:
- The arguments about which is better: this or Hulk. Seriously, there are civil wars that have been less heated.
- The Abomination's physical appearance. Some people liked it and thought it was scary looking, while others disliked it for straying so far from his comic look. Some, regardless of loyalty to the comic incarnation found it just plain ugly. Then again, The Abomination being ugly is pretty much the point.
- Can't Un-Hear It: Fans of the film tend to hear Edward Norton as Bruce Banner.
- Character Perception Evolution: When the film premiered, the Marvel Cinematic Universe version of Betty Ross was mostly written off as a mostly forgettable and uncompelling love interest, especially in comparison to Pepper Potts from Iron Man. However, in the years since the film's release, she has developed a not so small fanbase, mainly due to Liv Tyler's compelling performance and many fans feeling that while not perfect, her relationship with Bruce is arguably better developed than a lot of later MCU romances, including Bruce's own later one with Black Widow. Nowadays, it's not hard to find a lot of fans on social media wishing that Betty would return, and the announcement that she would be returning in Captain America: Brave New World came as a pleasant surprise to many.
- Complete Monster: In the novelization by Peter David, Emil Blonsky is notably worse than his film counterpart. A brutal soldier with no problem harming dogs or bystanders in his way, Blonsky gets worse as he is injected with the super soldier serum, which brings out his more aggressive side. Desiring to execute people for minor offenses while hunting down Bruce Banner, aka the Hulk, Blonsky becomes obsessed with the Hulk's power, to such an extent he viciously beats Banner in an attempt to bring the Hulk out. After assaulting and murdering some of his fellow soldiers, Blonsky undergoes the same gamma experiment that created the Hulk, turning himself into the Abomination, and with his newfound powers goes on a rampage across New York, killing scores of people in his way and smashing through cars and buildings with an evil grin on his face, finally getting to do what he's always wanted to deep down: have the power of life and death over people weaker than him.
- Cult Classic: A weird example. Despite being an MCU entry, it has fairly middling reviews, underperformed at the box office when compared to other MCU movies, and is generally forgotten about by the wider MCU audience. Despite all of this, however, the movie has a small group of devoted fans online who prefer the Darker and Edgier tone and treatment of the Hulk as well as Edward Norton's less Adorkable, more neurotic take on Bruce Banner when compared to Mark Ruffalo.
- Fanon Discontinuity: Not intentionally, but a lot of people seem to forget that this movie is a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Marvel themselves haven't done much to raise awareness of the film, as it had no sequels and none of its characters reappeared in the MCU (sans Banner, who was recast) until Captain America: Civil War when Gen. Ross returned. There was a rumour that Liv Tyler as Betty would finally reappear in Avengers: Infinity War, but she didn't, although the Russos confirmed that she was a victim of the Snap and was returned upon its undoing in Avengers: Endgame.note Finally mitigated with the return of Emil Blonsky/Abomination in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, and Betty Ross and Samuel Sterns announced to return (the latter finally being reintroduced as his alter-ego the Leader) in Captain America: Brave New World. The events of the movie are also briefly revisited in What If…? (2021), but with Mark Ruffalo voicing Banner and the Hulk. The designs for both characters are also much closer to his interpretations rather than Norton's.
- Hilarious in Hindsight:
- At one point, Doc Samson mentions that it's a point of pride with him that he can always tell when someone is lying. Emil Blonsky's actor, Tim Roth, later went on to play someone who could do just that in Lie to Me.
- William Hurt mentioned he based his portrayal of General Ross off of Captain Ahab. Three years later and guess who plays him.
- The last time we see Bruce, he's in hiding again, and his new daily regime involves drinking a bright red tea. The Roselle
is discovered to have the ability to lower blood pressure, when made into tea. It is bright red. Remember all the times we see green drinks? This is a literal case of "red means stop, green means go". - In a interview with MTV where Louis Leterrier discussed an idea of having Tobey Maguire cameo as Spider-Man in this film, which was scrapped, he said that "Years from now you'll see Peter Parker meeting Bruce Banner". Fast forward to 2015 and his prediction now seems possible, as Spider-Man was introduced in the MCU (though in a film that doesn't have the Hulk.) The two of them finally meet in Avengers: Infinity War - although this time they're played by Mark Ruffalo and Tom Holland instead of Norton and Maguire as the first thoughts were.
- This film's introduction of The Leader has notoriously gone without any follow-up in the MCU thus far. In Fantastic Four (2015), Tim Blake Nelson got screwed out of a recurring villain role again (well, until the film's horrible performance killed the possibility of sequels) when his character was first written as Mole Man, then was changed to a Canon Foreigner and killed off.
- Memetic Mutation:
- A gif of Banner closing his laptop has picked up steam as a reaction gif in certain parts of the internet.
- Bruce's attempt at a Badass Boast ("You wouldn't like me when I'm... hungry") would later be referenced by Son Goku (specifically, in Dead Zone Abridged) and Dr. Michael Morbius.
- Narm: See here.
- Once Original, Now Common: Tony Stark's cameo might seem fairly typical now, but it blew people's minds at the time, back when the idea of a shared movie universe was more novel.
- Rescued from the Scrappy Heap: Betty Ross was initially not that well liked for being seen as boring or even whiny compared to most of the other MCU love interests. After being inexplicably ignored in The Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron, and having a romantic storyline which is more developed and substantial than some of the ones found in later MCU films (including that of Banner's other love interest Black Widow), she's gained a small fandom who wants to see her return, especially on Tumblr or YouTube.
- Retroactive Recognition:
- Ty Burrell, who played Doc Samson, would go on to have much greater name recognition when Modern Family started airing the following year.
- In a local example, Banner's factory workmate◊, Débora Nascimento was already making some Telenovelas in Brazil, then in 2012 she had her Star-Making Role playing a naive sex-on-legs girl.
- So Okay, It's Average: The film got an alright critical reception (its Rotten Tomatoes score is a decent 67%, which isn't bad), but audiences didn't respond anywhere near as strongly to it as they did with Iron Man (or even Thor). However, audiences have warmed-up to the movie as years have gone by.
- Spiritual Adaptation: Of an odd sort. While officially inspired by the comics, numerous commentators have remarked the film feels more like a big-budget reboot of the The Incredible Hulk (1977) live-action television series that had more comic elements put back into it. The origins for the Hulk are the same, with a near shot-for-shot recreation of the iconic opening, the use of numerous homages, and even Lou Ferrigno returned to contribute. The general tone also follows the series more closely than the contemporaneous comic books.
- They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character:
- This movie has the origin story of The Leader, but he's had essentially zero presence in the MCU past this point (the tie-in comic Fury's Big Week notwithstanding), despite being one of Hulk's arch-enemies. He would not return until sixteen years later in Captain America: Brave New World.
- Betty Ross herself (who also has superhuman potential) has not been mentioned at all either in following films with Banner. Banner starting a new romance with Black Widow in Age of Ultron seemingly served as confirmation to fans that he's broken up with Betty for good this time. Like the Leader, she is slated to finally return in Captain America: Brave New World after many rumors of her returning in earlier films.
- Unexpected Character: While common practice now, Tony Stark's cameo at the end was completely unprecedented at the time. Before then, the idea of a superhero popping up in another hero's film was a pipe dream, let alone the concept of a shared universe. But Tony chatting it up with General Ross confirmed that Marvel Studios were serious about their plans to make an Avengers movie, and helped lay the foundations for the MCU as a whole.
- Vindicated by History: As opinions on the character arc that Banner/Hulk went through the different MCU phases soured, many fans started to look back onto this film as a more chilling and formidable representation of the character, appreciating the grim tone, the brutal action, and the Hulk's intimidating design. Many of these fans wish that Edward Norton got at least another movie to win over detractors, and for this Hulk to actually interact with the rest of the Marvel Universe.
- Visual Effects of Awesome: The Hulk and company look straight-up awesome. The Harlem battle at the end is often fondly noted as some of the best and original action in the MCU. Even the artists themselves geek out over some of the shots in the behind-the-scenes videos.
Video Game
- Catharsis Factor: The DS version allows you to smash up the level itself as well as the enemies, making for some excellent stress relief. Taken up to eleven when you use the Charged Attack, which lets Hulk simply charge through the level, damaging everything possible for a short time.
- Complete Monster: Major Glenn Talbot, a far cry from his later MCU characterization, is a homicidal army major obsessed with taking down the Hulk, Bruce Banner, through any means necessary. Beginning his attacks on Hulk by launching numerous missile strikes on him, Talbot disregards his soldiers' objections that the missiles will impact many highly-populated areas of New York, and pins all the ensuing destruction on the Hulk. When press helicopters fly too close to his military base, Talbot orders them all shot down, hoping to silence the reporters' attempts to oust him as a madman. Showing no care for innocents, Talbot kidnaps both Hulk's best friend, Rick Jones, and his Love Interest, Betty Ross, to use as hostages to draw him out, and, when the army turns on him after they learn of his crimes, Talbot responds by killing the soldiers sent after him, attempting to murder the Hulk, then setting his Hulkbuster armor to detonate, fully knowing it will wipe out most of the city, just to kill the Hulk. A sociopath who abused his power for no reason other than blind hatred and jealousy, Glenn Talbot stood out, even to Bruce Banner, as a truly wicked man whose hatred made him far worse than the "monsters" he claimed to be fighting.
- The Problem with Licensed Games: Compared to The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction, it didn't have enough originality.
- Tough Act to Follow: Since the game came out three years after The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction, it didn't catch enough attention to be a good Hulk game.
