It’s only been five years since Ang Lee’s Hulk reared its angry green head, yet Marvel is already rebooting the franchise with Universal’s The Incredible Hulk.

Check out here below what the Geeks of Doom staff expects of the The Incredible Hulk, which opened in theaters this weekend.

The Incredible Hulk sees Transporter director Louis Leterrier at the helm with Edward Norton as Dr. Bruce Banner, the scientist accidentally exposed to gamma radiation with turns him into giant, powerful Hulk. The film also stars Tim Roth as Hulk’s nemesis Emil Blonsky, aka Abomination; William Hurt as General Ross, who’s hunting down the Hulk; and Liv Tyler as Betty Ross, Banner’s love interest. Also keep an eye out for other characters from the Marvel universe!

Neverwanderer
What was the first fear you ever had to face? For me, there were three of them: Godzilla, Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video, and The Incredible Hulk TV show. Godzilla was the easiest to get over because by the end of Godzilla 1984, they pretty much made him more sympathetic than the humans. I went from fearing the big guy to pitying him. (No, I’m serious, I friggin cried when he fell into that volcano.) Then, of course, “Thriller” — the reason I love both werewolves and zombies. That was a simple case of showing me the making-of video. Once I saw them actually *creating* these monsters, I was too fascinated by that process to remember to be scared. It was different with the Hulk. There was no making-of video, and, having never seen the pilot episode/movie, there was really no sympathy to be had for him. He came out when Bill Bixby got angry, roared and tore shit up, then ran away. He was a monsoon. A force of nature. And that *terrified* me. This was the one character… the ONE fear, that I had to make a conscious effort to get over. I MADE myself watch the cartoons. I MADE myself stick around through that classic white-eyed transformation every week. And, finally, I MADE my mother rent the pilot movie from the video store, JUST so I could finally put this beast (so to speak) to rest. By the end of that movie, the Hulk had become my favorite character of all time. To this day, I will follow him anywhere. Through his convoluted comic book history, to the flawed, yet brilliant Ang Lee film, right on through to its sequel/reboot, The Incredible Hulk. Through it all, it’s the psychological drama of the character, combined with the obvious fantasy of power and freedom, that has made me love him like a member of my own family. Hopefully, the new flick won’t be so insecure about his last cinematic outing that it swings too far in the opposite direction. Either way, though, I’ll be there.

Cinema Junkie
I used to watch The Incredible Hulk television show when I was in elementary school. Good Times!! I would read the comic from time to time. Never a die-hard fan, but have some trade paperbacks that I like a lot. Ang Lee’s Hulk is a curiosity. It plays like more of a homage to the Toho monster films than a comic book film. I did not mind it that much. I think Edward Norton is an interesting choice to play Bruce Banner in the new film, The Incredible Hulk. As much as I like Ed Norton and Eric Bana, Bill Bixby will always be Dr. Banner to me. I am old fashioned that way. Still, if any film looks like it is coming to be a lot of fun this summer, The Incredible Hulk just may be the ticket. Louis Leterrier, who directed both Transporter films and Unleashed is at the helm. I have a good feeling about the film. Tim Roth as a villain! What is not to like? Plus I hear Tony Stark has a cameo. I need to get a ticket ASAP.

Empress Eve
I’ll be honest here: For the longest time I had NO interest in seeing The Incredible Hulk. I guess it’s because while I enjoyed the dramatic parts of Ang Lee’s Hulk, I hated the CGI — HATED IT. And I know CGI has come a long way in five years, but I still don’t have much faith in it, and I really didn’t want the CGI to ruin my experience of this reboot. Plus, does anyone remember when The Incredible Hulk was going to go direct-to-DVD? I do, and I guess it soured me on this reboot. But, now, I’ve been really loving the TV spots and clips from The Incredible Hulk, so I’m hoping that I can get passed the CGI. Plus, I picked up The Incredible Hulk Movie Novelization (by one of my favorite authors, Peter David) and snuck a peek at it, so now I have to see the movie so I can read what seems like a really great book.

JackBauerstein83
I am totally jonesing for this Hulk movie. I was one of the many people who were disappointed by the first one, but the second trailer just blew me away. It looked like a cross between the Bourne Identity and King Kong. Plus, the use of the original theme song from the TV show is used in the trailer. That alone makes me want to see the movie. Well, that and the many Avenger references thrown in the movie for good measue. I think The Incredible Hulk will definitely give this jade behemoth its much deserved movie star status.

Keyser Söze
Anticipation is a great and a really bad thing for me when it comes to games and movies… it makes a good movie even better, and a bad movie even worse. With The Incredible Hulk, I’m hoping for a good movie that incorporates the fun of the character, and the humour in some of the recent TV spots gives the impression that fun is something in the director’s mind. Couple that with one of my all-time favorite actors in Edward Norton, and we should hopefully have a proper summer blockbuster on our hands. I also have the pleasure of reviewing the game pretty soon, so looking forward to jumping around like a loon and pretty much destroying everything in my path. ;)

TE Pouncey

I’m looking forward the new Hulk movie and I don’t care who knows it.
So I’m always getting flack from people who say things like:

“You complained about how bad the 1989 Punisher movie was with Dolf Lungren. Then when they made the Thomas Jane Punisher movie in 2008, you still weren’t happy. In fact, some of the things you said about those movie were some of the most vile, twisted, and savage things I ever heard ANYONE say about ANY movie EVER.”

True, but:

A. The Constitution says it’s OK to express my opinion until I foam at the mouth. The Constution also says Dolf Lungren is to acting what Dr. Phil is to rational discourse, Really. It’s in there. Look it up.
B. The new Hulk movie has a lot going for it that the second Punisher movie didn’t have.

Then people say things like:

“You praised the Iron Man movie and it featured a battle between Iron Man and another “Iron Man.” The trailers from THIS movie show the Hulk battling another “Hulk.” And wasn’t the last Spider-Man movie about Spider-Man fighting an evil version of himself? Don’t these movies have more than ONE plot?

Well, again, that’s true but:

A. I don’t see the Hulk fighting someone WORTH fighting as necessarily a bad thing.
B. I’m not going to get this done if I keep answering your foolish questions. Do I even know you people? How did you get in here?

From what I’ve seen of The Incredible Hulk movie, I think the new production has managed to avoid some of the biggest mistakes made with the first Hulk movie. For one thing, director Louis Leterrier isn’t afraid to make the Hulk a comic book superhero movie. You may recall, Ang Lee, director of the 2003’s Hulk film, was famously quoted as saying that he didn’t know how to make a comic book movie, but he did know how to make a Greek tragedy. Much to my surprise, I discovered Lee didn’t know how to make a Greek tragedy either.

Also, Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, will be in the new Hulk movie and that will strongly tie the Hulk into the Marvel Universe. I believe that connection with other Marvel characters is vital, because it keeps The Incredible Hulk from looking like one of those cheesy 1950’s B-movies, featuring a scientist that accidentally becomes a monster and embarks on cross-country tour to break things and kill people.

Having the Hulk be a part of a larger superhero universe is not only respectful to Hulk fans and the wonderful comic book writers who have made the Hulk’s legacy so rich and poignant, it is a thrill for movie fans discovering the Marvel Universe for the first time.
And, to be honest, I think the acting will be better this time around. I don’t have anything against Eric Bana and I liked him in Blackhawk Down (2001), but I didn’t like him as Bruce Banner. I felt his Banner was a little too intense and aggressive. Banner needs needs to be sullen and brooding, but he also needs be a little pathetic and nerdy. I think Edward Norton can pull this off and give us a Banner with a bit more to his personality than just a tortured lost soul.

There are some great expectations for this movie. I think everyone involved in the new Hulk movie knows that and have redoubled their efforts to give us an entertaining, exciting movie.

It takes a big man to walk away from a trainwreck like the first Hulk movie.
I think The Hulk is big enough.