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The Incredible Hulk

Buzz says:   MPAA Rating: PG-13
Current Showtimes: No showtimes available

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2003’s Hulk was by many measures a failure. After an extensive marketing campaign, the film premiered to a $62 million opening only to earn 70% less money the next weekend (a record drop-off) as poor word of mouth spread.

Fans hated the buildup and melodrama that dramatic Director Ang Lee injected into a movie that should have just been a fun action film. Once the Hulk did appear nearly 40 minutes into the film, he looked more like Shrek on steroids than the beloved comic icon.

After Hulk bombed, Universal Pictures decided to reboot the franchise five years later based on the success of Batman Begins; itself a franchise reboot. Action Director Louis Leterrier signed on to the project, followed by unlikely comic movie stars Liv Tyler and Edward Norton, who plays protagonist Bruce Banner.

As a precondition to starring in the picture, Norton himself rewrote elements of the film to sever ties to the previous Hulk film. The Incredible Hulk is being labeled a “re-quel,” because it can be viewed both as a sequel to Hulk and a reboot of the franchise.

The makers of The Incredible Hulk have promised to inject the same high-octane action into the movie that made the comic book and the ‘70s TV show successes. Rather than having the Hulk simply throw tanks and bound around the desert as he did in the 2003 film, the big green machine is being given an actual nemesis: The Abomination, a monstrosity with Hulk-like size and strength, played by Tim Roth.

The film will climax in a whopping 26-minute-long fight between the two behemoths, sure to please action fans. Early buzz for the film has been positive, but only time will tell if it can actually live up to expectations.