First Real Positive Review For Green Lantern

"So, it was during this relentless blast of unselfconscious sci-fi/action plotting when I got completely tuned-in to Green Lantern's wavelength and realized this may very well be the most "comic book" of all comic book movies.

Perhaps now's a good time to look in the mirror and admit that, by and large, your average issue of a superhero book perhaps isn't an intellectual text worthy of the McSweeny's-style lionization comics have enjoyed of late. For every Alan Moore there are dozens of writers pushing a plot and tweaking a retcon and making a deadline. Which is not to say they don't have value. But perhaps that value rests more in plain, dumb fun than in a representation of "our modern mythology." Green Lantern is, more so than most, an accurate representation of this artform: brisk, enjoyable and, like a 30-page single issue, ephemeral.

Ephemeral, but not flimsy. There isn't a moment to spare in this movie. We've got to start with Hal Jordan's father issues, his cocky attitude and his strange relationship with his ex-girlfriend/boss. Then we need to explain the history, culture and powers of the intergalactic Green Lantern Corps. We need to train Hal Jordan, then frighten Hal Jordan away, then get him back in the fight while also making sure there is parallel action with the home-planet villain Hector Hammond. Don't think we can take a breath there, because we've also got to keep the REAL villain going, the space-borne floaty dirt-squid Parallax, and we've also got to imply the weird blue midget Guardians are up to something no good.

Man, that's a lot. By some miracle Green Lantern fits it all in, and also finds space for Ryan Reynolds to be funny and charming, Peter Sarsgaard to be completely insane, Mark Strong to be iconic and for Blake Lively to be beautiful and, at times, interesting.

At the very center of this picture, more so than the weird assortment of aliens or skin-tight CG suits, is Ryan Reynolds' ambitious performance. He is debonair but also vulnerable. And knows how to milk a joke. He sells the CG suit and even that absurd domino mask. He's great in the action scenes, ring-slinging clever green constructs that never fail to impress. He may remind you a bit of Chris Pine in Star Trek, but that's hardly a complaint. He loves playing this role and it shows.

Green Lantern isn't perfect. James Newton Howard's score is a forgettable and the lack of feasible reaction to Green Lantern's appearance on Earth feels like something got cut in the editing room. But we all have the ability to overcome great quibbles. This story has chosen us, and if we answer to its call we can all have a kick-ass time at the movies."