The Incredible Hulk parents guide

The Incredible Hulk Parent Guide

Overall C+

Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) doesn't just get angry --he turns into The Incredible Hulk! It's a mood disorder he would like to get rid of so he can stop running from General Thunderbolt Ross (William Hurt) of the U.S. military and start concentrating on his relationship with Betty Ross (Liv Tyler). However, the search for a cure gets put on hold when another gamma-radiation created monster called The Abomination (Tim Roth) hits the town and Bruce's inner green demon is needed to battle the brute.

Release date June 12, 2008

Violence D+
Sexual Content C+
Profanity C
Substance Use C+

Why is The Incredible Hulk rated PG-13? The MPAA rated The Incredible Hulk PG-13 The MPAA has rated The Incredible Hulk PG-13 for sequences of intense action violence, some frightening sci-fi images, and brief suggestive content.

Run Time: 112 minutes

Parent Movie Review

Admittedly there are days when driving through rush hour traffic has me feeling a little hot under the collar. Fortunately, it’s never resulted in any kind of alteration to my body structure or skin tone.

But for Bruce Banner (Edward Norton), getting upset is a big deal… a really big deal.

While working on gamma ray research with his coworker Dr. Betty Ross (Liv Tyler), Banner experiences an accidental overdose of a radioactive isotope that causes a molecular change to his cell structure. The result is an uncontrollable biological reaction (read: big, green and mean) caused by emotional stress.

Fighting his way out of the laboratory, Banner flees from the institution and goes into hiding. While trying to find a cure for his condition, or at least a way to control it, he begins correspondence with a scientist (Tim Blake Nelson) who agrees to help him develop an antidote for the gamma poisoning.

Meanwhile, the cigar-chomping General Thaddeus Ross (William Hurt) is expending a surfeit of military manpower to hunt down Banner, who is now considered to be a fugitive from the law. Secretly intending to use Banner as a prototype for making an army of ultimate fighting personnel, he engages Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth) to help him corner and capture the mutant. A Russian mercenary-style soldier, Blonsky leads Ross’s men in the attack on Banner who they’ve tracked down in the slums of Brazil. However when Blonsky glimpses the awesome strength of the enraged Hulk, he gains a new interest in the biological tampering that has been happening in the secret weapon’s development lab overseen by Ross.

Compared to the 2003 release of The Hulk, this story is better paced, more engaging and less brooding. Yet with a major retailer, convenience store and fast food provider all hawking Hulk products to young consumers, many parents may feel muscled into buying tickets to see a Marvel Comic character that isn’t always child friendly.

Banner’s struggle to control his tantrums is one issue. Enraged by approaching army officers, he tosses armored tanks, crushes truck-mounted cannons and kicks one man across a field and into a tree. But when the Hulk is forced to face another mutant known as The Abominator, the bloodletting, body count and destruction escalates. Soldiers and civilians alike are targeted by the dueling twosome and collateral damage includes smashed vehicles, destroyed buildings and torn-up city streets. The film also includes some precursory sexual activities between Banner and Betty, as well as the depiction of a naked man in a shower.

Dealing with internal demons, or at least character flaws, is something with which most people can relate. That may account for the Hulk’s popularity as a comic book figure and his return in The Incredible Hulk even after a disappointing outing in 2003. However, despite this script’s improvements, this big green mutant may still not be an incredible choice for all members of the family.

Starring Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, Tim Roth, William Hurt. Running time: 112 minutes. Theatrical release June 12, 2008. Updated

The Incredible Hulk
Rating & Content Info

Why is The Incredible Hulk rated PG-13? The Incredible Hulk is rated PG-13 by the MPAA The MPAA has rated The Incredible Hulk PG-13 for sequences of intense action violence, some frightening sci-fi images, and brief suggestive content.

Before the beginning credits cease to roll, the Hulk has ripped his way out of a lab, leaving bloody bodies and injured people in his wake. Reports of further rampages continue to surface as he makes his way around the world. After tracking him down in a Brazilian slum, soldiers stage a surprise attack by shooting two dogs to silence them and blowing down his apartment door. Running through the narrow streets, they repeatedly fire shots and chase him over rooftops before cornering him in a bottling factory that they leave in shambles. Bodies are left strewn in the narrow city streets as well as the factory where they have been hit by flying machinery and tanks. During a battle on a college campus and later on New York City streets, characters are thrown, crushed, choked and caught in explosions. Bodies are tossed like dolls and cars and buildings are destroyed as two mutants fight in the middle of the city. A man is kicked viciously against a tree resulting in extensive and potentially life-threatening injuries. A man jumps from a helicopter without any parachuting gear. After a helicopter crashes, the passengers are threatened with a possible explosion. Medical procedures include injections of gamma-laden serum, blood-tampering and exposure to dangerously high levels of radiation. A couple on a bed kisses passionately. A naked man is seen in a shower. Profanities, terms of deity and some crude terms are used. Frequent cigar use is shown along with some alcohol use.

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The Incredible Hulk Parents' Guide

How does General Ross’s desire to develop the ultimate soldier impact his judgment? What is Blonsky’s motivation for wanting to be a super warrior? If an army develops new weaponry, should they also be prepared to fight their own technology?

Do most, if not all, individuals have personality traits that need to be controlled? Do you think self-discipline is an important quality to develop? How does Banner deal with his emotional rages?

Home Video

The most recent home video release of The Incredible Hulk movie is October 20, 2008. Here are some details…

DVD Release Date: 21 October 2008

Big, bold and bursting onto home video (in either full frame or wide screen), The Incredible Hulk DVD provides deleted scenes and an audio commentary with director Louis Leterrier and actor Tim Roth.

If you are more of a fan of the franchise than that, then The Incredible Hulk Special Edition DVD may tempt you by offering the previously noted audio commentary and deleted scenes along with alternate openings and featurettes (The Making of Incredible Hulk, Becoming The Hulk, Becoming The Abomination, Anatomy of a Hulk Out, and From Comic Book to Screen).

Audio tracks for the DVD releases are available in English (Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo and DVS Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo) and Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround).

The mean, green machine can also be seen on Blu-ray. This 2-disc set presents The Incredible Hulk in widescreen, with audio tacks in English (DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo), as well as French and Spanish (DTS 5.1 Surround). Extra bulk includes all the aforementioned materiel plus BD Live features (My Chat, My Scenes Sharing and Exclusive Content) and U Control (Thunderbolt Files, Scene Explorer, Comic Book Gallery, Animated Comic and Picture in Picture), as well as a Digital Copy of the movie, compatible with PC, Mac and iPod.

Related home video titles:

In addition to his role as an overzealous warmonger in this film, William Hurt plays a U.S. president who is shot while in Spain in the political thriller Vantage Point. He also stars as the father of a family who discovers a source to eternal life in Tuck Everlasting. In the movie, The Village, he takes on the role of a community elder who attempts to protect his people from unknown beings in the surrounding forest.