I'm gonna come out and say this...I love Green Lantern
If I has to say he is easiest my favorite DC super hero making him my second next to Spiderman as my favorite super-hero. I love the concept, the ideals, the characters, the mythology. I've bought the trade paper back copies of the comics, I bought the animated movie, I bought the other animated movie, I memorized each of the lantern oaths, I own cheap plastic rings, I've pre-ordered expensive cheap light up plastic rings. Hell I even bought a book about the philosophy that is found in the comics. And with out further ado I went to see the movie.
Now when I first heard there was going to be a Green Lantern movie my reaction was mix tween excitement but great fear. Excited that one of my favorite comics characters is getting a chance to be put in the public spotlight. On the other hand I was afraid that the movie would be unable to convey the various elements in the comics to a general audience and still be able to make an entertaining film. And trust me the Green Lantern is a tough sell. One does not make a Green Lantern Fan in a day, heck it took me a month to decide to buy my first green lantern comic and a couple weeks before I realized just how awesome they are. But enough jabber jaw and more about the movie.
I'm gonna come out and tell you that the move wasn't good. It was bad. Would I say terrible...as a fan yes and as a general audience member kinda. WARNING HERE BE SPOILERS BEYOND!
To those of you ignorant of the Green Lantern story here's the abridged version. Hal Jordan, an air force aircraft test pilot, while on a routine test flight comes across a crashed alien vessel carrying Abin Sur, the Green Lantern of Space Sector 2814. Abin Sur with his dying words bequeaths his Green Lantern Corps Ring to Hal. The Green Lantern Corps is an intergalactic police force with the purpose of enforcing justice throughout the universe as overseen by the immortal Guardians of the Universe. The Power Rings are powered by a Green Lantern's Willpower and can project green energy to create weapons and tools from the Green Lantern's mind. They are the most powerful weapon in the universe with only one weakness...The color yellow...yeah I'm not kidding...I know weaksauce weakness...but trust me they make it make sense in the comics.
The Movie stars Ryan Reynolds as Hal Jordan. Reynolds, though a good actor never really captured the stoic nature of the character of Hal. He captured the underlying fears and doubts, along with the wit of Jordan. But Jordan kept those fears and doubts so far under his skin you wouldn't even think he had 'em but Reynolds held those cards little looser and we could see it more, I guess cause its a movie we don't have alot of time to establish things like that and he does give a pretty good performance so I'll let that pass this time.
But the other characters is where this movie becomes obnoxious. The biggest let down is the entire Green Lantern Corps, no I'm not talking about the special effects I'll get to those in a little bit. You know those cool trailers that showed the whole Corps lighting their rings, the tie-comics about Tomar-Re and Kilowog and all those action figure with the extensive bios on the packaging...yeah we maybe get to see the corps as a whole twice and the characters I've named at most three times. Yeah I know that this is a Green Lantern movie but that kind of necessitates that we at least get some major involvement and appearances by the freakin Green Lantern Corps. I will say that though Tomar-Re will now always have Geoffrey Rush's voice when I read the comics and that Kilowog as always steal the show as the training sergeant from hell but its disappointing that we get so little of them. But at least they got some element of characterization.
The human character are ironically more fake and flat than their computer animated compatriots. Blake Lively seems like a good actress but the script had nothing for her to do as Carol Ferris other than to be a bland love interest and nothing much beyond that. Taika Waititi as Tom Kalmaku is so extraneous to the plot that he just appears in the middle of the movie and then is never seen again, not even after the really big fight at the end. The character of Amanda Waller, head of CADMUS Labs in the comics, is there only to act as our Samuel L Jackson for the film but she is quickly sent off the film after not doing anything of importance. And every one else is just kinda of there and then they leave or die.
The role of villain for the film is split between a classic Silver Age foe Hector Hammond as played by Peter Sarsgaard and the modern enemy Paralax the fear entity as voiced by Clancy Brown.Though Peter does overkill for his job as Hammond, the script hinders it by either giving him absolutely nothing to do or forcing a deeper connection between his character and Hal's that ultimately leads to nothing. Though Clancy Brown does an awesome job as conveying a deep and powerful voice for the monstrous force of Paralax but he too ultimately does nothing, has no character and is defeated in the laziest and anti-climactic way possible...but more on that later.
But in terms of character the most ridiculously henious acts is the complete lack of Sinestro in this movie. Yes he stars in the movie and played very well by Mark Strong, its that the script complete screws him over. He either poses no character traits or ones that are complete opposed to his motivations both in context of the film and the source material. As if it wasn't obvious Sinestro is an enemy of the Green Lantern, He was once Hal's Instructor until Hal revealed that Sinestro had enslaved his world in an attempt to impose order which lead to him be exiled from the corps and waging a war against it as their greatest threat. But in the movie he only appears maybe for all of 20 minutes (and that's being generous) of the hour and 45 minute film. His character is stubborn and bull headed but not wrong or evil in any way. He's just as proactive as Hal and acting more heroic. But ultimately Sinestro is cast in a darker light (see what i did there...lol) and in the end (spoilers)
Accepts the Yellow Ring for no apparent reason....
Now lets talk about the special effects, it obvious from any other trailers or promotional material that all lot of money and effort was put into the effects on the planets, constructs and creatures. And though people like to rag on the costume design, I really didn't have a problem with it cause it kept that alien vibe and ultimately made things a little interesting. I didn't see the film in 3-D but from what I saw I'm pretty sure it would have looked impressive but that does not excuse the film for its lackluster script.
The films biggest problem is pacing and payoff. Scenes in the film either linger to long or speed along at breakneck speed and the ultimate goals that are set up by the film are not fulfilled to a satisfactory end. A lot of time is spent on Hal his relationships to characters and the parallels between him and Hector Hammond. But these two journeys don't really fit each other. The scene where Hal recites the iconic Oath is interspaced with Hammond getting infected by Paralax and it kills the mood that such and important moment as Reciting the freakin oath!
Though we get to see Hal on OA training this takes all of maybe 15 minutes of the film and only one part of it is called upon in the form of clunky foreshadowing. Scenes with Hammond almost seem out of place and only to about past the half point do we have Hal and Hammond in the same scene and revealing a tenuous connection to each other that had up that point not been mentioned. Hammond's ultimate evil goal is not exsistent showing no motive or concrete destination that he is trying to get to which puts the film in sluggish pad until Paralax comes to destroy the earth.
The scene with Sinestro and the Guardians only serve as clunky exposition pieces and nothing more and sense these are supposed to build up to Sinestro's fall from grace they don't really give us much insight thus making his fall to the fear side all the more stupid and out of left field.
The most bizarre scene in the film is the first time Hal saves people as the Green Lantern...almost a freakin hour in to the freakin movie. In it Hammond causes a helicopter to lose control of its back rotter causing it to crash and slide all over a roof top full of people. I'm no expert on flying machines but it the back rotter stops and the copter crashes, I don't think its gonna slide after people like it slipped on freakin banana peel. The weird part is that though its the first time Hal does anything in the film the way the music swells and the ecstatic reaction from the people who were saved it makes it seem the film has reached climax even though we still have about 35 more minutes of movie.
Another weird scene happens just before Hal's last confrontation of Hammond. He goes to the Guardians of the Universe to request their aid and stop Sinestro from getting his Yellow Power Ring. At this point Hal has quit the corps (but still got to keep the ring, iknowWTF), has never even spoken to the corps and has only just overcome fear. First he talks down Sinestro from putting on the ring(like it would really convince him). Sinestro listens even though earlier he looked down upon Hal and his motivations are to help protect the Corps. Next he demands the Guardians to send lanterns to earth to stop Paralax. When the Guardians tell him they can't risk the Corps in saving one world, Hal then begs them to not send the Corps but to allow him to fight in their stead even though he quit and came to them first for help. There are so many problems with this one scene its almost as if it were written in the last minute.
The final battle with Paralax is both the best part of the film and the worst. On the one hand it awesome to see a superhero fighting a threat that is equal to or stronger that its hero and allowing for large scale epic battles worthy of their comic book origins(I'm looking at you Superman Returns) I liked how the choreography was done and the large amount of constructs gave realistic sense at Hal is creating these tools and weapons quite literally at the speed of thought but then it ends in the most anti climactic way possible. Earlier in the film, while Kilowog is training Hal, it is mentioned that the intense gravity of a sun can be dangerous to the flight of a Green Lantern through space and to quote "the bigger you are...the faster you fry." and this same thing is used to destroy Paralax. Hal fights for a bit then leads Paralax to out sun where he is sucked in by gravity killing him. Yes the entity of fear, the destroyer of worlds, Paralax was killed by what should be the easiest freakin trap to escape from
I have ever seen. If you wanna see the only good part of the fight click on this link and you can save yourself the disappointment.
Disappointment. Yeah that's the word I would use to describe this movie. For one of the most interesting comic franchises out there to be introduced to the public in this way is truly despicable. The acting is wooden or wasted, the characters are useless, the pacing is crap and the ending is both anti-climactic and stupid as all get out. The stringer at the end is not gonna end up as egg on the directors face this movie will probably not get a sequel which is disappointing in itself that people like me are going to be denied seeing a faithful adaptation of our favorite emerald knight. Yeah really freakin Disappointing.
I give Green Lantern a One out of Five. Its not worth your time weather your new to the mythology or a fan...especially if your fan..
...but on the bright side...at least it will never be as bad a LEGION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Darthsylar12 signing out and wishing you a Brighter Day!
If I has to say he is easiest my favorite DC super hero making him my second next to Spiderman as my favorite super-hero. I love the concept, the ideals, the characters, the mythology. I've bought the trade paper back copies of the comics, I bought the animated movie, I bought the other animated movie, I memorized each of the lantern oaths, I own cheap plastic rings, I've pre-ordered expensive cheap light up plastic rings. Hell I even bought a book about the philosophy that is found in the comics. And with out further ado I went to see the movie.
Now when I first heard there was going to be a Green Lantern movie my reaction was mix tween excitement but great fear. Excited that one of my favorite comics characters is getting a chance to be put in the public spotlight. On the other hand I was afraid that the movie would be unable to convey the various elements in the comics to a general audience and still be able to make an entertaining film. And trust me the Green Lantern is a tough sell. One does not make a Green Lantern Fan in a day, heck it took me a month to decide to buy my first green lantern comic and a couple weeks before I realized just how awesome they are. But enough jabber jaw and more about the movie.
I'm gonna come out and tell you that the move wasn't good. It was bad. Would I say terrible...as a fan yes and as a general audience member kinda. WARNING HERE BE SPOILERS BEYOND!
To those of you ignorant of the Green Lantern story here's the abridged version. Hal Jordan, an air force aircraft test pilot, while on a routine test flight comes across a crashed alien vessel carrying Abin Sur, the Green Lantern of Space Sector 2814. Abin Sur with his dying words bequeaths his Green Lantern Corps Ring to Hal. The Green Lantern Corps is an intergalactic police force with the purpose of enforcing justice throughout the universe as overseen by the immortal Guardians of the Universe. The Power Rings are powered by a Green Lantern's Willpower and can project green energy to create weapons and tools from the Green Lantern's mind. They are the most powerful weapon in the universe with only one weakness...The color yellow...yeah I'm not kidding...I know weaksauce weakness...but trust me they make it make sense in the comics.
The Movie stars Ryan Reynolds as Hal Jordan. Reynolds, though a good actor never really captured the stoic nature of the character of Hal. He captured the underlying fears and doubts, along with the wit of Jordan. But Jordan kept those fears and doubts so far under his skin you wouldn't even think he had 'em but Reynolds held those cards little looser and we could see it more, I guess cause its a movie we don't have alot of time to establish things like that and he does give a pretty good performance so I'll let that pass this time.
But the other characters is where this movie becomes obnoxious. The biggest let down is the entire Green Lantern Corps, no I'm not talking about the special effects I'll get to those in a little bit. You know those cool trailers that showed the whole Corps lighting their rings, the tie-comics about Tomar-Re and Kilowog and all those action figure with the extensive bios on the packaging...yeah we maybe get to see the corps as a whole twice and the characters I've named at most three times. Yeah I know that this is a Green Lantern movie but that kind of necessitates that we at least get some major involvement and appearances by the freakin Green Lantern Corps. I will say that though Tomar-Re will now always have Geoffrey Rush's voice when I read the comics and that Kilowog as always steal the show as the training sergeant from hell but its disappointing that we get so little of them. But at least they got some element of characterization.
The human character are ironically more fake and flat than their computer animated compatriots. Blake Lively seems like a good actress but the script had nothing for her to do as Carol Ferris other than to be a bland love interest and nothing much beyond that. Taika Waititi as Tom Kalmaku is so extraneous to the plot that he just appears in the middle of the movie and then is never seen again, not even after the really big fight at the end. The character of Amanda Waller, head of CADMUS Labs in the comics, is there only to act as our Samuel L Jackson for the film but she is quickly sent off the film after not doing anything of importance. And every one else is just kinda of there and then they leave or die.
The role of villain for the film is split between a classic Silver Age foe Hector Hammond as played by Peter Sarsgaard and the modern enemy Paralax the fear entity as voiced by Clancy Brown.Though Peter does overkill for his job as Hammond, the script hinders it by either giving him absolutely nothing to do or forcing a deeper connection between his character and Hal's that ultimately leads to nothing. Though Clancy Brown does an awesome job as conveying a deep and powerful voice for the monstrous force of Paralax but he too ultimately does nothing, has no character and is defeated in the laziest and anti-climactic way possible...but more on that later.
But in terms of character the most ridiculously henious acts is the complete lack of Sinestro in this movie. Yes he stars in the movie and played very well by Mark Strong, its that the script complete screws him over. He either poses no character traits or ones that are complete opposed to his motivations both in context of the film and the source material. As if it wasn't obvious Sinestro is an enemy of the Green Lantern, He was once Hal's Instructor until Hal revealed that Sinestro had enslaved his world in an attempt to impose order which lead to him be exiled from the corps and waging a war against it as their greatest threat. But in the movie he only appears maybe for all of 20 minutes (and that's being generous) of the hour and 45 minute film. His character is stubborn and bull headed but not wrong or evil in any way. He's just as proactive as Hal and acting more heroic. But ultimately Sinestro is cast in a darker light (see what i did there...lol) and in the end (spoilers)
Accepts the Yellow Ring for no apparent reason....
Now lets talk about the special effects, it obvious from any other trailers or promotional material that all lot of money and effort was put into the effects on the planets, constructs and creatures. And though people like to rag on the costume design, I really didn't have a problem with it cause it kept that alien vibe and ultimately made things a little interesting. I didn't see the film in 3-D but from what I saw I'm pretty sure it would have looked impressive but that does not excuse the film for its lackluster script.
The films biggest problem is pacing and payoff. Scenes in the film either linger to long or speed along at breakneck speed and the ultimate goals that are set up by the film are not fulfilled to a satisfactory end. A lot of time is spent on Hal his relationships to characters and the parallels between him and Hector Hammond. But these two journeys don't really fit each other. The scene where Hal recites the iconic Oath is interspaced with Hammond getting infected by Paralax and it kills the mood that such and important moment as Reciting the freakin oath!
Though we get to see Hal on OA training this takes all of maybe 15 minutes of the film and only one part of it is called upon in the form of clunky foreshadowing. Scenes with Hammond almost seem out of place and only to about past the half point do we have Hal and Hammond in the same scene and revealing a tenuous connection to each other that had up that point not been mentioned. Hammond's ultimate evil goal is not exsistent showing no motive or concrete destination that he is trying to get to which puts the film in sluggish pad until Paralax comes to destroy the earth.
The scene with Sinestro and the Guardians only serve as clunky exposition pieces and nothing more and sense these are supposed to build up to Sinestro's fall from grace they don't really give us much insight thus making his fall to the fear side all the more stupid and out of left field.
The most bizarre scene in the film is the first time Hal saves people as the Green Lantern...almost a freakin hour in to the freakin movie. In it Hammond causes a helicopter to lose control of its back rotter causing it to crash and slide all over a roof top full of people. I'm no expert on flying machines but it the back rotter stops and the copter crashes, I don't think its gonna slide after people like it slipped on freakin banana peel. The weird part is that though its the first time Hal does anything in the film the way the music swells and the ecstatic reaction from the people who were saved it makes it seem the film has reached climax even though we still have about 35 more minutes of movie.
Another weird scene happens just before Hal's last confrontation of Hammond. He goes to the Guardians of the Universe to request their aid and stop Sinestro from getting his Yellow Power Ring. At this point Hal has quit the corps (but still got to keep the ring, iknowWTF), has never even spoken to the corps and has only just overcome fear. First he talks down Sinestro from putting on the ring(like it would really convince him). Sinestro listens even though earlier he looked down upon Hal and his motivations are to help protect the Corps. Next he demands the Guardians to send lanterns to earth to stop Paralax. When the Guardians tell him they can't risk the Corps in saving one world, Hal then begs them to not send the Corps but to allow him to fight in their stead even though he quit and came to them first for help. There are so many problems with this one scene its almost as if it were written in the last minute.
The final battle with Paralax is both the best part of the film and the worst. On the one hand it awesome to see a superhero fighting a threat that is equal to or stronger that its hero and allowing for large scale epic battles worthy of their comic book origins(I'm looking at you Superman Returns) I liked how the choreography was done and the large amount of constructs gave realistic sense at Hal is creating these tools and weapons quite literally at the speed of thought but then it ends in the most anti climactic way possible. Earlier in the film, while Kilowog is training Hal, it is mentioned that the intense gravity of a sun can be dangerous to the flight of a Green Lantern through space and to quote "the bigger you are...the faster you fry." and this same thing is used to destroy Paralax. Hal fights for a bit then leads Paralax to out sun where he is sucked in by gravity killing him. Yes the entity of fear, the destroyer of worlds, Paralax was killed by what should be the easiest freakin trap to escape from
I have ever seen. If you wanna see the only good part of the fight click on this link and you can save yourself the disappointment.
Disappointment. Yeah that's the word I would use to describe this movie. For one of the most interesting comic franchises out there to be introduced to the public in this way is truly despicable. The acting is wooden or wasted, the characters are useless, the pacing is crap and the ending is both anti-climactic and stupid as all get out. The stringer at the end is not gonna end up as egg on the directors face this movie will probably not get a sequel which is disappointing in itself that people like me are going to be denied seeing a faithful adaptation of our favorite emerald knight. Yeah really freakin Disappointing.
I give Green Lantern a One out of Five. Its not worth your time weather your new to the mythology or a fan...especially if your fan..
...but on the bright side...at least it will never be as bad a LEGION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Darthsylar12 signing out and wishing you a Brighter Day!
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