If you find yourself among a group of people talking about what the worst superhero movies are, one of the top picks will most likely be Green Lantern from 2011. Starring Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively, and directed by Martin Campbell (Casino Royale), the project was a big bet for Warner Bros., having a reported budget of $200,000,000. Yet, as fate would have it, the movie released and... nosedived. Hard.
Green Lantern was a critical dud (RT Score: 25%) and a financial failure, bringing in only $237,201,172. Thus, a movie that was envisioned as the start of an ambitious new franchise for DC crashed and burned. And boy, did it crash. While upon flopping, most movies vanish into obscurity, Green Lantern only grew in infamy over the years, with audiences, and even its own star, Ryan Reynolds, making fun of it constantly.
The movie has been the butt of the joke in films like Deadpool, Deadpool 2, Teen Titans Go! to the Movies, and even — believe it or not — Sonic the Hedgehog 3. But you know what? The hate directed at the film is unwarranted. Someone has to say it. Green Lantern isn't just good... it's pretty great.
... What? Here's Why Green Lantern's Great
To this day, I cannot understand why Green Lantern is disliked as much as it is, because there's a lot to enjoy about it. First of all, we have the casting. Ryan Reynolds was an inspired choice for Hal Jordan. I remember reading about his hiring prior to production kicking off and I was ecstatic. Everything about Reynolds' face screams classic Hal Jordan.
Then, came the rest of the cast. Blake Lively was an amazing pick for Carol Ferris, Angela Bassett was a fun choice for Amanda Waller, and the one thing that almost every fan out there can agree on: Mark Strong as Sinestro was just, *chef's kiss*. Then, there's the story.
Green Lantern's comic book mythology is complicated. It is a vast, vast canvas to play in. And, although the prospect of having so many story elements to choose from for a big-screen adaptation is, on paper, quite exciting, it can also be dauntingly difficult to decide what aspects to use. The movie had the difficult job of condensing all of that worldbuilding into a coherent 2-hour movie, and it pulled it off.
In a short amount of time, we get to understand what the Green Lantern Corps are all about, how a Green Lantern's powers work, and most importantly, we get to delve into Hal Jordan as a character fairly in-depth, which was an important feat to accomplish, given how obscure the hero is for general moviegoers.
Even the comedy is good at times, bringing to mind this particular exchange which could, frankly, go down as one of the funniest lines in the superhero genre:
Bob: "Watch your back."
Hal: "That's impossible, Bob."
One could understandably say that kind of humor is more in line with Deadpool, but it fit the scene, and played into Hal Jordan's cocky attitude.
The Visuals
Another thing I cannot wrap my mind around is the disdain for the special effects and production design. The visuals of the movie are striking. They capture the majestic nature of the Green Lantern world and successfully translate it to a real-world aesthetic, making Oa and its inhabitants feel like something that would actually exist, somewhere deep in outer space.
Then, there is the matter of Hal Jordan's superhero duds. Ryan Reynolds (well, Wade Wilson) famously made fun of the suit in 2016's Deadpool with the line:
"And please don't make the super-suit green... or animated!"
Don't let the Merc with a Mouth fool you, though. The costume is an amazing translation of the Green Lantern uniform in the comics. The idea of it being based on the human muscles, with light flowing through the muscle fibers, is inspired. The concept also allowed the movie to brilliantly translate the skintight nature of the suit's comic book counterpart without making it look silly.
The colors are bright, the mask feels like it was taken straight ouf of a Neal Adams drawing, and it feels like a costume that we would cheer for in 2025. Yes, the effects look somewhat outdated from time to time, but that doesn't take away from the striking design choice, or how good the suit looks throughout the movie overall.
In fact, I'll go as far as to say that Green Lantern's costume is as good of a design as other superhero outfits of its era, such as Captain America's in 2011's The First Avenger, Superman's in 2013's Man of Steel and Spider-Man's in 2012's The Amazing Spider-Man.
Now, I'm not saying Green Lantern is a perfect movie. It's not. There are flaws to it, some significant, and it's important to point them out, as well. For example, the comedy falls flat sometimes; the special effects aren't always the best; superhero-movie tropes are littered throughout the story, and the portrayal of Parallax — one of Green Lantern's most important villains — falls flat.
Yet, those details don't justify how much of a pariah Hal Jordan's standalone adventure has become among superhero circles. Green Lantern is a good movie that does justice to its source material. Luckily, I am not alone in this sentiment. As it turns out, beloved actor Ryan Reynolds would somewhat agree with me.
In 2021, Reynolds did a Green Lantern watchalong, tweeting his reactions to different parts of the film. When the movie came to an end, the Deadpool & Wolverine star had this to say:
"Maybe it's the Aviation Gin talking, but ['Green Lantern'] was nothing to fear. Hundreds of incredible crew and cast members did amazing work — and while it's not perfect, it ain't a tragedy. Next time I won't wait a decade to watch."
Now, finally, after over a decade, Green Lantern is getting the opportunity to shine once again with HBO's Lanterns — a part of James Gunn's new DC film universe.
However, as exciting as the prospect of a new take on the Emerald Knights is, it's important to give credit to the first time Hal Jordan got the chance to make his mark on the big screen, because it was a good one.