Green Lantern

Welcome to another episode Lights....Camera....Popcorn!

Today's review is Green Lantern.

Directed by Martin Campbell.

Written by Greg Berlanti, Michael Green, Marc Guggenheim & Michael Goldenberg

Screen Story by Greg Berlanti, Michael Green & Marc Guggenheim

Based on the DC Comics Green Lantern created by Martin Nodell & Bill Finger

Review #125

MPAA Rating: PG- 13 For intense sequences of sci-fi action violence

Runtime: 105 min

Cast

Ryan Reynolds - Hal Jordan / Green Lantern

Blake Lively    - Carol Ferris

Peter Sarsgaard - Hector Hammond

Mark Strong - Sinestro

Temuera Morrison - Abin Sur

Angela Bassett - Dr. Amanda Waller

Clancy Brown - Parallax (voice)

Amy Carlson - Jessica Jordan

Michael Clarke Duncan - Kilowog (voice)

Paul Parducci - G'Hu (voice)

Ric Reitz - President of the USA

Tim Robbins - Senator Hammond

Geoffrey Rush - Tomar-Re (voice)

Jay O. Sanders - Carl Ferris

There is an oath in the Green Lantern universe that the hero must take before becoming said hero. It goes like this.

"In brightest day, in blackest night,
No evil shall escape my sight,
Let those who worship evil's might'
Beware my power….Green Lantern's light! "

If DC Comics were to apply that same oath when it comes to competing with Marvel Studios in the comic book movie world. The oath might sound something like this.

"In my brightest day, and clearest night,
Comic book fans will never understand our plight,
We at DC want to make movies that will surely delight,
But going up against the Marvel Universe....Is clearly an unfair fight!"

It doesn't take a Rhodes Scholar to figure out that Marvel has the monopoly when it comes to comic book films. You can even make the case that they also have the lion share of popular superheroes. Think about it. When you think of Marvel Comics a whole bunch of names might flow through your head. Now when you think of DC Comics there's just the holy trinity of heroes that instantly hit your brain.

Superman
Batman
Wonder Woman

The rest of the roster just doesn't match up to the Marvel heavyweights or even the lesser known characters. Don't think so? Ask yourself this question. Would you rather see an Aquaman film or a Sub Mariner film?

Case closed.

DC tried to get back into the ring with Superman Returns. OOPS! Then the mastermind graced us with Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. Nolan's success and vision immediately changed the way DC films are to be judged. It also gave DC the motivation to nut up and start putting their other properties on celluloid. Which brings us to Green Lantern. Just thinking about the name of this character inspires some tongue in cheek giggles. Green Lantern sounds like a character Home Depot made up to sell camping equipment. That being said, with The Dark Knight Rises not out til next year, Zack Snyder's Man of Steel not out until at least 2013 and Wonder Woman & The Flash languishing in development hell, Green Lantern was next on deck. If you recall my last review I boldly commented that this film had no chance of beating Marvel for best comic book film of the summer.

Was I right? Yes. Does that mean Green Lantern is a bad movie. Nope.

Plot


A test pilot is granted a mystical green ring that bestows him with otherworldly powers, as well as membership into an intergalactic squadron tasked with keeping peace within the universe.

Since I had no prior knowledge about the Green Lantern universe going into this, I was very interested to see how entertaining this movie was going to be. I'm happy to say this it is every entertaining. But that entertainment came with a price. A price I thought was too steep to pay for a film of this genre. Green Lantern suffers from poor plot and character development. The root of the story is in place and done well but the secondary plot lines were mishandled and trimmed down to the bare essentials. This was an unfortunate setback and if you need to find the cause of the problem. look no further than the total number of writers the film had.

It is very common in the film world to have multiple writers on a screenplay but Green Lantern went through developmental problems and script re-writes and that's where you get some of the disjointed story and character elements. The movie does the best it can to serve it's main characters but chose to shortchange some others that could have and would have given the story more life. This is even more disappointing knowing that this film is the first of a proposed trilogy. The fact that several pieces to the puzzle are incomplete give this movie a lackluster feel in the characters stage.

Lack of story aside, Green Lantern excels in the action department. Particularly when Hal is using his ring. The presentation of the fights and special effects are well choreographed and seamless to the natural ebb and flow of the scene. The Lantern's suit was also a very impressive looking piece of FX work. For those of you who don't know the Green Lantern suit is 100% CGI and it looked really cool. It's too bad that the action and FX is what stood out here rather than being a supporting partner to the narrative.

The cast is pretty good. Highlighted of course by Ryan Reynolds. Hal Jordan is a wise ass who knows he's good at what he does and Reynolds has the ability to play that kind of character with his eyes closed. From his Van Wilder days to Hannibal King in Blade Trinity to his unique take of the Deadpool character in X Men Origins: Wolverine. Reynolds is the go to guy when you need a dude like that. He's also in peak physical condition which always helps when you're playing a superhero. The rest of the cast just move the story along which you already know wasn't good enough for me.

All told, Green Lantern is a solid, fun film that will entertain you and tide you over until Captain America: The First Avenger graces our screens in July. This character has the potential to create a very profitable franchise for DC once Christopher Nolan hangs up his cape and cowl. I just hope the scribes that have already begun their work on Lantern's 2 and 3 take a step back and learn from this first installment and realize that they need to develop the Lantern storyline and universe. This way geeks like me will walk out of the room feeling more satisfied and excited for the next round.

On the 5 star scale. Green Lantern gets 3.5 stars with a "Go See It!" recommendation.

That's a wrap for today. Up next is Cars 2. And before you ask I am NOT reviewing Transformers: Dark of the Moon. I swore that I was never going to see another Michael Bay Transformers film again. The only way that film gets reviewed is if somebody pays for my ticket. So if you want me to review that upcoming piece of shit then pony up.

Until Next Episode...."I'll Save You A Seat!"

"D"