Green Lantern

by Steve Kochems

A few weeks ago I posted a preview on the upcoming comic book movies this summer. I previewed the first blockbuster of the year (Thor), the end to a trilogy that someone swore would be better than the previous two films (Transformers 3), the most anticipated and crucial superhero to Marvel Comics (Captain America: The First Avenger), and the resurrection of a Brett Ratner executed set of heroes (X-Men: First Class). But in the midst of these, someone pointed out that I had forgotten all about the Green Lantern. Oops...

I figured that if the movie wasn’t looking good enough for me to even remember it when previewing its very own sub-genre mere weeks before its release, then I wasn’t going to say very many nice things about it anyway. But lo, I do in fact have some nice things to say about Green Lantern.

We follow Hal Jordan, played once again by a well-cast Ryan Reynolds (sidebar: I don’t think I’ve ever seen a movie starring Ryan Reynolds that I can say I dislike. Even Van Wilder and The Proposal I thought had some decent moments… Oh God, I’ve admitted too much. Evac!), who is chosen by the Green Lantern Ring to become its next bearer. And it turned out to be great timing too as the Paralax, which is a galactic entity of fear (or something along those lines) is killing off Green Lanterns and consuming entire civilizations.

I’d talk more about the supporting cast but if I can be honest (which I can, it’s my blog), they really aren’t worth it. Mark Strong isn't given nearly enough screen time so we never get to know Sinestro well enough to even care (especially after the credits). Same for Peter Sarsgaard, doing his best Malkovich impression (I'll get to him more later) and his dad, Senator Someone (played by a completely under utilized but delightful Tim Robbins). And Blake Lively as his fellow pilot Carol isn’t all too great either and her love story with Hal just seems to be in the way of showing us more cool green shit.

That being said, I can tell you right now there is a ton of cool green shit in this movie. Since the Green Lantern suits are mostly CGI, I must give credit to the effects team on this one. Little things like the electrons zapping around the suit give it so much more credibility and is vastly more interesting than anything they could’ve done in reality, which is ultimately what makes Green Lantern worth watching.

Making a good superhero movie is hard. Making a good superhero movie with cosmic battles and legit aliens is even harder, trust me. But Lantern does it pretty well. It’s just a shame the rest of the cast (and characters for that matter) are rushed and ultimately pretty dispensable to the story. The closest we get to knowing or caring about any of them is Carol, and we’re still pretty distant from her even by the end of the film.

I wouldn’t say Green Lantern is a good movie but I really wouldn’t say it’s a bad one either. I question some of its editing, as it tries to inter-cut Hal’s journey with Hector (scientist who becomes a villain, the description is as generic as the character really) but starts that too late in the film for us to really follow both their journeys and how they ultimately become different people. And if that wasn’t their intent, we never really worry or feel threatened by Hector because we know the real villain is Paralax.

However, despite the gripes, I can say the effects are worth the price of admission, as is Reynolds. I’d watch it if it were on TV, but I wouldn’t fly across the universe for it.

Rating: 3 out of 5