Parents' Guide to The Amazing Bulk

Movie NR 2012 76 minutes
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Common Sense Media Review

Andrea Beach By Andrea Beach , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 13+

Lowbrow, violent superhero spoof is just plain bad.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 13+?

Any Positive Content?

Parent and Kid Reviews

age 6+

Based on 8 parent reviews

age 9+

Based on 20 kid reviews

Kids say the movie is a bizarre and chaotic mix of poor filmmaking, bad acting, and laughable special effects, making it an experience that some viewers find amusing in its failures. While many reviews highlight its hilariously bad qualities and recommend it for group viewings, others mistakenly celebrate it as a misunderstood masterpiece, showcasing the dissonance among opinions on its quality.

  • poor filmmaking
  • amusing experience
  • misunderstood masterpiece
  • bad acting
  • group viewing
  • laughable effects
Summarized with AI

What's the Story?

Henry (Hank) Howard transforms into THE AMAZING BULK when he injects himself with an experimental serum. Transformed into a giant, purple monster, he's unable to control his rage and causes widespread mayhem and destruction. Hank's boss is the General, who wants the serum to create a race of supersoldiers and who also happens to be the father of Hannah, Hank's girlfriend. Meanwhile, supervillain Dr. Kantlove is threatening to blow up the moon. Can the Bulk thwart his evil plan and save the earth?

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say ( 8 ):
Kids say ( 20 ):

Lowbrow and even lower-budget, this spoof is devoid of any real cleverness or insight that would at least grant it "so bad, it's good" status. Deliberately making every aspect of the movie as cheesy and bad as possible simply isn't enough to make The Amazing Bulk worthwhile. Even teen appeal is limited thanks to long, boring sequences that repeat the same thing over and over. Pass.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about whether The Amazing Bulk is a good spoof. What makes a parody work? How does this compare to other parodies or satires you've seen?

  • Is seeing animated violence different from live action? Why or why not? How much is OK to show in movies and TV?

  • What makes something "so bad, it's good"? What are some movies or TV shows you've seen that qualify as that?

Movie Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

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