If you thought I knew nothing about Thor, you'll be self assured that I know less about Green Lantern. He has not appeared in any of my Saturday cartoons, nor have I read a proper analysis on him (to my benefit, he was in Kingdom Come, but he was a secondary character, so when I read it, he was about as familiar as the Flash). So, seeing a bunch of green stuff fly around while Ryan Reynolds spouts his swagger seemed slightly intriguing, and other times like Batman and Robin.
To say the least, I've been curious about this character for the sheer fact I don't even know what his powers are and why he wears a Green Hornet mask (woops, mixing properties. Sorry) and hangs with space dudes. I wanted to give him as much of a chance as I gave Thor (which paid off).
Walking out of the movie, I had a bizarre sensation that I hadn't had since the Last Airbender. The movie flat out blew. Sure, it had some cool looking scenes, but it sucked... however, I really wanted to do independent research on qualified Green Lantern source material. After all, the character was cool, the execution wasn't.
So, what I gathered is that Green Lantern is essentially Hal Jordan, a test pilot who is seen as a fearless hero. After gaining access to a power ring, he becomes a member of a sector called the Green Lanterns, a space conglomerate organized to protect different sanctions of the universe. Jordan has dibs on Earth, where he learns his powers. Awkward moments ensue as he dates Carol (Blake Lively) and fights Hector (Peter Sarsgaard), who has been mutated.
It can't go wrong, right? As a doubter of the Computer Generated Imagery to Advance Story (CGIAS) Organization, this already had so much going against it. The most notable offense for me was a character named Parallax, who looked awfully like brown, wet Play Doh. It was repulsive, and you couldn't but feel that budget cuts could've been cut had they just removed him entirely, choosing arc the story in a more characteristic manner.
In fact, that's what the story missed the most... character. Sure, Jordan looked pretty cool flying around, but even the scenes with Carol felt stilted as there was a vague basis to base their relationship on. It was mostly about fighting bad CGI monsters eventually.
The Green Lantern planet looked cool (the trailing goo, not so much), but I also felt that despite some convenient costume changes, the CGI costume was another hazard to the budget. The continually glowing and moving suit did little but make the costume look a little ridiculous. I would've thought it looked cool in the normal spandex way an average bus ad would make you imagine it.
Essentially, Hector's character is wasted, choosing to make what is the best character (and actor) in this movie into a pointless, 40 minute ploy for something "greater," making me wonder if the five writers of this movie could find a consensus on good storytelling. The eventual payoff feels more tangent-based than the brilliant build up we need to believe that Jordan is the hero this movie deserves.
It's a shame, because Ryan Reynold has the correct amount of charisma to carry this movie, and he does for the most part, making whatever green stuff he creates look kind of cool (if too much like Jello, but that's CGIAS' fault). The initial concept of overcoming fear was also very intriguing, but didn't seem like much when it turned into a fight against Parallax, more turning into the bigger guns battle.
Finally, this movie fails notably because there is so much promise in the initial concept and underlying tones. An average Joe overcomes fear and saves the world. There is plenty to work with. The fact they scrape the barrel for most of it in a character with limitless possibilities makes me kind of sad. This character is ridiculously broad, but felt too restricted to ever achieve that status.
However, I am intrigued to see if the comics fare better. Will the movie make my Top 10? On the worst, next to Sucker Punch. In a summer where I have been won over by Thor, burned out by X-Men: First Class, it's sad that DC has to come in dead last, embarrassing the company that gave us the Dark Knight. I hope any further properties they make will at least have senses to hire good writers and better effects, even if they're practical.
As for possible sequels that this rumored franchise plans to make? Stick to making t-shirts. They at least look cooler.
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