Is It Too Soon For The Next Batch Of Superhero Movies?

Just five years ago we witnessed the release of a Marvel fanboy favorite, Hulk. A year later we witnessed The Punisher come to life with the help of Thomas Jane and director Jonathan Hensleigh. Both of these movies are seeing a face lift this year with a new cast and crew. The question is, has there really been enough time in between these films? Both movies are still fresh in our memories and neither really warrants a makeover, at least not this soon.

Looking back on the Ang Lee adaptation of Hulk, it really wasn’t so bad. Not nearly horrible enough to call it a complete flop that is. The look and feel was from the same playbook used by Walter Hill when he created 1979’s The Warriors. Both films try to take the comic book world and put it on the big screen, literally. You have to give it up to Lee for paying homage to the stories and characters from the comic book. That is what made the film fun to watch, plus it didn’t feel like the other comic book movies we had already seen by that time. Spiderman and X-Men were both excellent in their own regard but didn’t quiet capture the essence of a comic book like Hulk did.

The biggest problem is the approach they took with the Mr. Green. He was too emotional in a non angry sort of way. I was expecting “HULK! SMASH!” instead I got “HULK! Weep…” The movie should have first made me forget about what I know (and love) about Hulk, and then this could’ve worked. It had all the makings for a great film. Just think about what this must have sounded like when the news was released that Ang Lee and Eric Bana would star! I was too young and uninterested to remember but I can imagine fans must have been pretty excited.

This could be part two of what may end up being called “The Incredible Failure” instead. Just like the former Hulk had all the makings of becoming a great film, so does the redux. Edward Norton (Fight Club, American History X) is set to take the place of Eric Bana as Bruce Banner. So far, so good. Tim Roth (Reservoir Dogs, Funny Games) is playing the archenemy, Emil Blonsky (AKA the Abomination). Again, this looks to be a great treat for my eyes this summer. Then I found out Louis Leterrier (The Transporter, Unleashed) is on board to direct. Not particularly amused but I think I can manage to leave my expectations at the door.

This, however, isn’t the point. Whether the film looks good or not it’s still way too early for me to see another version. By the looks of the trailer we are going to be seeing an angry and more smash-happy Hulk. The only problem is that the same plot of the last film is still there. He is still being chased by the military and Bruce Banner’s girlfriend’s dad. A totally new direction could’ve been taken to correct this. Final word: can we please just hold this in a vault for another ten years?

By now you’re probably asking yourself. Well, hey, there is still the Punisher — that could be promising, right? Well, actually, no. Unlike Hulk, the first Punisher had almost no redeeming characteristics. As far as action flicks go, the action was pretty hard to come by. No matter what angle you look at it this is one dull revenge story. It almost seems like a no brainer on how to make a good Punisher movie. Team him up with Spiderman, end of story. There are countless stories of the Punisher hunting Spiderman so why don’t we take one of them and make a movie. Spiderman Vs. The Punisher seems like an appropriate title.

Instead this fall we get to see Lexi Alexander’s Punisher: War Zone. Haven’t heard of good ol’ Lexi? Don’t worry, most movie goers would have a hard time remembering (or even knowing about) Green Street Hooligans. I’m predicting that people seeing commercials for the film this September will assume it’s just another shitty sequel to a movie they hated four years prior. It’s going to take a major marketing effort to pull this out of the grave and I don’t think Lions Gate will be willing to take a chance on it considering how poor its counterpart did (an embarrassing $33.6 million total).

Let’s recap for a moment. The Incredible Hulk should’ve been stuck in preproduction for a few more years. Punisher: War Zone should have never been dreamt into reality. If these two prove to be failures will this stop the studios from continuing the superhero rut we seem to be stuck in? Hardly. It’s going to take about a gazillion more flops for that to happen. Let’s all take a minute to applaud Stan Lee for making so many superheroes.