Rewind to three years ago and you will find me reading 'Green Lantern: Rebirth'. I cannot remember the reason why I chose this book among the many other books at my local library but after reading the first issue of the volume, I realised I struck gold. I became fascinated with the character, Hal Jordan and I believe the merit should go to the brilliant storyteller - Geoff Johns. Suffice to say, the Green Lantern title was what really got me into comics.
I caught wind of the cross-over event that is Blackest Night later that year and tried to follow it as much I possibly could, this was difficult because DC were yet to go digital,I wasn't ready to pay a lot for a monthly subscription via internet and comicbook stores are a rarity in England. Only a few stores sold comics and even then they were few and they were not the titles I wanted. A few individuals uploaded titles on Youtube (Yes, Youtube! Full issues as well!), this was my only means at the time to read the cross-over event and its tie-ins. High off the sight of superheroes fighting zombies, I heard a Green Lantern movie was in the works. I was excited, I was full of anticipation!
Art by Alex Ross
When I heard Ryan Reynolds was attached to play the titular role of the Green Lantern, I didn't complain. I knew he was a good actor so I had no problem with the casting choice. Last year prior to the film's release I copped Green Lantern: Secret Origins to fuel my anticipation for the film. A week before the release I see a plethora of reviews on the net filled with nothing but disappointment about the film. When I saw the film for myself I understood why.
I had high hopes for the film, very high hopes. The film could have been the new Star Wars. It could have been brilliant, but the film was plagued with thinly written dialogue from a script that elicited uncertainty and clumsiness on the big screen. What happened?! There was a good director, there was plenty of time to get the story right. Geoff Johns was attached as a consultant for the film!
Maybe there was a disunity among the people involved in the film, maybe the pressure got to everyone. We may never truly know. What we do know however is that Mark Strong was a solid choice for Sinestro and the choice of Blake Lively as Carol Ferris was equivalent to Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane in Superman Returns.
As you already know, the movie was an embarrassment to Warner Bros. It was a critical and commercial failure. The chance of seeing a Justice League movie has never seemed more unreleastic until the Green Lantern movie hit theatres. If I'm honest, the film had it's good moments but they were few. Marvel dominated the theatres with Captain America and Thor. Thor was relatively an unknown but the movie raked in 450 million in the box office. There was no excuse for the failure of 'Green Lantern'.
November last year I decided to watch the pilot for Green Lantern the Animated series. I was more frustrated. I was frustrated because the likes of Bruce Timm brought to us 'Green Lantern' on a television budget. The TV series was much better than I hoped for. It is simply awesome, colourful, funny, well written and chuck-full of brilliant voice talents. This was true entertainment. From the pilot is was obvious the show had no intention of shying away from the theme of death.
Green Lantern The Animated Series Season 1: Lost Planet
I hate to come off as an angry fanboy on the pretence of being a professional film reviewer but the execs at the Warner Bros. film division do not know what they are doing. After watching some episodes, what I now see is a perfect contrast between strict studio involvement and creative freedom. The likes of Bruce Timm I understand do not need to worry about product placements, just good story-telling with subtle allusions to the Star Trek Television series.
In my opinion Warner Bros. should not exploit DC property blinded with monetary gain but should see patience, a strong script and true effort as a prerequiste for a commercially successful film. In my opinion Wonder Woman could have been a better choice for Summer 2011 which was dominated by testosterone. I say this mainly because it may have been a better way to use their budget since it could have been cheaper to make than the overproduced garbage we got last year.
Art by Don Kramer
Since it doesn't look like Bruce Timm would be involved in any Live Action projects soon, I believe we should not see a Justice League movie soon because Warner Bros. obviously don't want our money.
Art by Mauro Cascioli.