Jen's great post about upcoming summer movies for the kids left one off: The Incredible Hulk. Unfortunately, she may have been smart to do so, since there is a chance that the new Hulk might be as lousy as Ang Lee's 2003 version. (For another take on Lee's film, read this brilliant piece in The Onion, written from Hulk's point of view. "First Hulk movie flawed but underrated. Oscar-winner Jennifer
Connelly give sublime performance as Hulk romantic interest Betty Ross.
She pretty.")
I was going to add that maybe the Hulk movie is too scary for kids, but kids as young as 4 enjoyed Spiderman 3, which featured a fang-baring Venom (played by Topher Grace, which I guess minimized the scare factor).
Then there's the much beloved Bill Bixby/Lou Ferigno TV version. Despite the fact that the series rated high on the bummer-meter (Banner, Hulk's human side, ended most episodes hitch-hiking because his tendency to change into a green skinned monster with the IQ of a turnip made it difficult to form lasting relationships), it was hugely popular with kids, myself included. Granted, there were only three networks back then and we had fewer choices of what to watch, but pretty much anything featuring super powers was Must See TV for me (admittedly, it still is.)
The Times article points out that one of the problems fans have with the 2003 film was the presentation of the Hulk himself -- "Gumby" was one not-so-flattering comparison. No one seems to like the new version either. Both were CGI creations, whereas the TV show had Lou Ferigno decked out in green body paint. Here's some Hollywood logic for you: human version of Hulk, very popular. CGI version, much hated. New Hulk movie coming out. Let's do CGI!
Since I will probably be one of the crowd of nerdlings at the first showing of Hulk when it hits theaters, I'll report back on whether or not it (a) stinks and (b) if you can safely take the kids.
