Imagine for a second that it is 2011, yet again and the recipient of Spike's Scream Awards Most Anticipated Movie of the Year Award, Green Lantern, is about to be released. You're a DC fan, you loved Geoff Johns's take on the character, and you might even want to see Mark Strong's take on the iconic Sinestro.
AND THEN YOU SAW IT!! Granted, it wasn't the WORST CBM to invade innocent movie theaters, but it was a wreck, especially after its horrible marketing campaign, the success of another DC Superhero film, The Dark Knight, three years prior, and two other Superhero films released earlier that same Summer Movie Season, Thor (cheesy, not horrible), and X-Men: First Class (very good). The question on everyone's mind was simple: Where did it all go wrong? Where did the idea of a Green Lantern movie from the director of Goldeneye, The Mask of Zorro, and Casino Royale turn into DC's Fantastic Four?
Worry not, for Good Ole Uncle Geektality is here to set things as straight as Tom Selleck's epic facial hair. I will painstakingly dig deep into why, or how, the Green Lantern movie bombed. I will try my best to stay as objective as possible, keeping my opinions out of it and focusing instead on why it failed to attract mainstream critics or score big with audiences.
To kickstart this Superheroic mystery, we must first teleport ourselves to the November of 2010 when the first teaser trailer for Green Lantern hit theaters and video-sharing sites. I would hesitate to call it bad on a trailer standpoint, more of just disappointing. This was attached to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One, one of the most anticipated films of 2010. Hundreds of millions of people were bound to see it. Hundreds of millions more would watch it on YouTube and various other sites. For months prior, reporters, including a good number here at CBM, were on their hands and knees for anything remotely connected to the film's production. It isn't a bad trailer, just not up to par with the movie's huge hype.
This trend of "meh" trailers and TV Spots would continue up until the film's theatrical release, and return for its Home Video release. Again, the worst parts would only be highlighted in the final product. Granted, people should NOT have anticipated this film to meet The Dark Knight's legendary reception.
Fast forward to spring, 2011. News breaks that Warner Bros. increases the budget of The Green Lantern by $9 MILLION to complete the 2,000+ Visual Effects shots in the movie to meet the hard release date of June 17. Normally, with such a large summer Blockbuster, this is not an issue. The movie will be finished. However, just in case, Warner attaches a small annotation to some marketing-related releases stating "release date subject to change," effectively proving that Warner is biting its nails as to whether or not the movie would be finished in time for a World Premiere of June 15, 2011.
Finally, the release. Green Lantern was a HUGE deal when it was released. Toys, a video game, TV appearances, etc. Warner was clearly spending big bucks on this flick, most likely over $100 Million, set in their ways about GL becoming the biggest blockbuster of the year. Heck, even if the movie barely breaks even, Harry Potter's finale would make enough money for them to compensate. However, while Deathly Hallows Part 2 DOES gross over ONE BILLION DOLLARS, Green Lantern tracks lackluster numbers and receives phenomenally mixed reviews by top critics such as Roger Ebert, Peter Travers, Richard Roeper, and Leonard Maltin and scoring a 27% on Internet review tracking site Rotten Tomatoes.
Why (or how) did Green Lantern fail? Well, as mentioned above, Warner was so confident they had a hit, they not only increased its $200+ Million by $9 Million, it also spent an astounding amount of dough marketing the blockbuster, an estimated $100 Million. When it became clear to them that the effects for the movie would not be done in time for release, they just decided to keep the (sorta) finished effects be, while taking a hatchet to the scenes that had unfinished (or flat out MISSING) visual effects, including a large portion of a sub-plot regarding Hal Jordan's nephew, whom it is abundantly clear has a strong bond with his uncle in one early scene, and is never seen for the rest of the movie.
When audiences first saw the early footage of the movie, which sported some terrible CGI and hammy acting, they naturally were deterred by it, opting instead to skip it to see Super 8, released the prior weekend. When they heard that the movie was receiving negative reviews, they skipped the movie entirely.
Green Lantern went on to make over $290 Million against a total budget (production and marketing budget included) of over $300 Million. With both the studio and audiences writing Green Lantern off as a box office bomb, plans for a sequel, teased during the film's end credits and rumored months prior, were scrapped.
Then came the Home Video Release. The Extended Edition Blu-Ray promised to include previously unfinished footage, footage that was omitted by Warner Bros. However, the sad, honest truth was that it included a total of nine extra minutes and sported several deleted scenes. Deleted scenes that would have dramatically helped the narrative of the movie.
Audiences didn't want to buy an unfinished product, which was what Green Lantern was, sporing an Unpolished narrative, Unfinished effects, and unclear direction. The movie could have been so good, and failed so hard. The failure of Green Lantern would lead Warner Bros. to abandon a planned Flash movie, written by Green Lantern co-writer.
Today, in 2012, stacking Green Lantern up against this year's four Superhero movies, it is an even bigger disappointment. Ghost Rider 2, while not a huge winner, won back its budget, though it DID receive a critical lashing from every mainstream reviewer on Earth. Avengers made over a $1 billion and entertained critics and audiences. The Amazing Spider-Man won back its budget in a little over a week, while receiving positive reviews from the Critical Powers That Be. Dc's only 2012 film, and the biggest movie of 2012, The Dark Knight Rises, is tracking to score the biggest opening weekend of all time, while also receiving standing ovations at critics screenings.
Compared to these movies, Green Lantern falls flat, failing to be captivating to audiences or critics. The films was a failed experiment, proving again comic book movies need the heart of a filmmaker to make it a success.
With The Dark Knight Rises on the horizon, this movie's failure is sure to play a microscopic role in the film's success. Truly, this film will sure be forgotten in ten years. With that in mind, I believe it's time to look over the The Dark Knight Rises to judge what constitutes CBM's success.