Friday, December 28, 2007

First Glimpse of the Rebooted Hulk!

You'll have to forgive me the slight deviation from the usual subject matter here at The Vault of Horror. Seeing as how I am a fan of both horror movies and comic books, and how the Hulk is the most horror-themed of all superheroes--having been inspired by Robert Louis Stephenson's Dr. Jeckyll & Mr. Hyde--I figured it would be OK to share with you this image of the creature that was released today by Universal Pictures:The image comes from Universal's The Incredible Hulk, unofficial sequel to 2003's disappointing original Hulk movie. With a script rewrite by Edward Norton--who takes over the role of Bruce Banner--rumor has it this new one seeks to undo the damage wrought by Ang Lee's overly sober and somewhat pretentious outing. Also, as you can see, there has been a concerted effort to step up the CGI work, which was another oft-cited letdown in the original. I also notice the big guy looks a lot more like he does in the classic comics.
Despite being marketed as a restart of the franchise, the plot of the picture does seem to pick up where the last one left off. Although I did enjoy the first one a little more than most, it certainly didn't live up to my expectations. Nevertheless, I am giving Marvel Entertainment and new director Louis Leterrier the benefit of the doubt. It does seem to be an earnest attempt to respond to fan complaints, most notably with the excellent casting of Norton. The film hits theaters on June 13 (my ninth wedding anniversary--Hey, what an excellent way to celebrate, right, sweetheart....??)