Theresa Corvino - The Incredible Hulk

The Incredible Hulk
Dir: Louis Leterrier
2008

The basic premise of the story is that through a scientific experiment gone wrong, scientist Bruce Banner is transformed into the Hulk. He flees civilization, looking for a cure while trying to avoid the army tracking him and Betty, his love, to keep from hurting her.

The sound mix in this movie was truly unique. The music, especially, plays an important role in the storytelling. The opening sequence of the film contains absolutely no dialogue and few sound effects. It tells the entire back story in a heavy music sequence that lasts about five minutes. It worked well to compress the story that everyone knows and can quickly be explained without spending too much time. It set the opening tone of the film with dark dramatic tones that flowed quickly through the shots.
Another important sound mixing element in the film occurred when Bruce was strapped down and forced to transform into the Hulk. A mess of sounds mixes together. The sounds of muscles tearing, bones cracking, clothes ripping, groaning, roaring along with the sounds of the computer and machinery. It mixes together with the music and shouting of the characters to create a whirlwind of sound that surrounds the characters as the camera spins around them, enclosing them all in what was happening and making the scene feel very close and tight in itself. This created a feeling to the scene that could not have been communicated without the extensive Foley effects that went into creating all of the little sounds that fill the scene.