SF Universe » Marvel Studios

Meet New Hulk, Same Take As Old Hulk

brian — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 23:58:31 +0000

An interesting column at the Hollywood Reporter notes that in spite of much more positive reviews from fans and critics, the new Hulk movie will pull in about what the first one did.

I’ve mentioned that I think the revamp is a lot better and infinitely more “summer box office” film. Ang Lee’s take would have been cool for an unestablished hero but most people feel like they know what Hulk is about. Wild new interpretations like “madder Hulk get, bigger Hulk get” didn’t sit well with diehard comic book geeks or casual filmgoers.

It seems that for whatever reason, Hulk isn’t as profitable as the likes of the X-Men and Spider-Man. I can’t quite put my finger on it, as Hulk is one of those characters even people that have never read a comic book know about. Perhaps Hulk’s greatest nemesis will be the mainstream film industry.

Photo: Edward Norton, The Incredible Hulk, Marvel Studios, 2008

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Hulk Rocks Weekend Box Office

brian — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 02:30:08 +0000

The word from critics as well as thousands of moviegoers over the weekend was that Marvel’s Incredible Hulk is a blockbuster. The Hulk pulled in $55 million over the weekend, easily seizing the no.1 spot from last week’s champ, Kung Fu Panda.

That’s two straight hits from Marvel Studios, now setting up a much anticipated Avengers movie with a Nick Fury cameo in Iron Man and a Tony Stark appearance in Hulk. Although I wasn’t exactly clear whether Stark was trying to recruit the Hulk or if that’s the “problem” Stark wants to help with.

M. Night’s Shyamalan’s latest film The Happening opened in third with $30.5 million. The first R-rated movie from The Sixth Sense director opened to pretty lackluster reviews. Hmm, maybe Marvel could revamp his career by getting him to do a Moon Knight movie.

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Are You Ready to Hulk Out?

brian — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 04:27:25 +0000

Marvel attempts to make it two in a row as Incredible Hulk, played this time by Edward Norton, hits this Friday. And we hope he hits. Hits lots of things. Smashes them actually, because Hulk fans need that after Ang Lee’s cerebral take on the Jade Giant.

A couple of positive reader reviews have come out after some early screenings. There are apparently several nods to the classic 80s TV show, as well as some other Marvel franchises. Having taken over the chore of making its own movies, Marvel is going to present the first shared comic universe ever on screen. Robert Downey Jr. reportedly has a cameo in Hulk, and of course Samuel L. Jackson’s turn as Nick Fury was one of the best after-credit treats ever.

This is all leading up to the Avengers film slated for 2010. Hulk was a founding member of the team in the comic books, so it will be interesting to see if Marvel goes there in the movie.

I’m also curious whether they’ll use strictly people that have had their own movie or round out the roster with other characters. The X-Men flicks did pretty well introducing a lot of characters, even if they only fleshed out a few. Go ahead, those of you that aren’t big comic fans but saw X-Men 3 and tell me something about Pete other than “he turns to metal.”

Image courtesy of Newscom.

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