Outer Space? In a COMIC BOOK movie!?

Outer Space? In a COMIC BOOK movie!?

The Green Lantern could be the best thing that happens to Comic Book Movies...

Editorial Opinion
By MikesPants - Nov 27, 2010 11:11 AM EST
Filed Under: Green Lantern

Boy that Green Lantern trailer was something am I right?
All Green and Lanterny? OK, you got me. I'm not hugely versed in Hal Jordan and his adventures with the Green Lantern Corps.

What I do know is that a large portion of this film would appear to be set in space, and not just space, but honest to goodness Outer Space. We're talking stars, alien worlds the lot, and I'm delighted. Utterly thrilled in fact, because if The Green Lantern works and if it is a commercial success it could change Comic Book Movies forever.

For comic book movies the last ten years have been significant to say the least. We've suffered some turkeys (why?... why would you sew his mouth shut? I just ... never mind) but the way the genre has grown and matured in that time is staggering. Darren Aronofsky developing a Wolverine movie would have been unthinkable four or five years ago, but it's happening right now. These stories and characters are being treated seriously with real talent getting involved. And yet despite that, most of these films, even the great ones, still seem reluctant to completely embrace the pulpy roots of their source material. Instead, every attempt is made to keep things smaller to ground them in reality. Let me be clear, I'm not outright opposed this, it obviously worked for Chris Nolan's take on Batman, but just because "real" and "gritty" worked for The Dark Knight doesn't mean it's a suitable take for every super hero.

When that first image of Ryan Reynolds appeared on EW everyone attacked it. Was I the only one just relieved he wasn't wearing green Kevlar? It's garish, it's sci-fi, it's a little bit silly, but it's comic book. It's fantasy. Which is just what Gil Kane had in mind when he redesigned The Green Lantern all those years ago. Likewise, when Jack Kirby designed Galactus' costume, he wasn't trying to design a practical outfit, he was creating something fantastic and awesome (and I use those words in the traditional sense), something bizarre and outrageous. It's the very essence of escapism and the definition of fantasy. So why should these concepts and designs be so hard for a mainstream audience to swallow? I'm no filmmaker nor am I the head of multi billion dollar film studio but I do know that this...



Is scarier than this...



Let's be honest, would a faithful portrayal of Galactus really have made Rise of the Silver Surfer any worse?

After Revenge of the Fallen I'm reluctant to use Transformers as a positive example but to his credit Michael Bay did a very good job of taking a particularly daft concept and making it work for a mainstream audiences. I have always been of the opinion that no matter how outlandish the idea if it is approached with enthusiasm and care it will translate.

Seeing things like Abin Sur and Oa in the Green Lantern trailer and Marvel revealing the Infinity Gauntlet at comic con makes me hopeful that we could be nearing a new stage in this wave of Superhero Movies. There is a huge wealth of material to be mined if Hollywood is prepared to explore the more fantastical side of comic books. I'm not suggesting that the Spider-Man reboot take place on the moon, just that some truly epic cinema could come from opening the films up a little.

Hal Jordan flying into space might be the first step
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Ibz
Ibz - 11/27/2010, 11:39 AM
guardians of the galaxy movie would be epic
golden123
golden123 - 11/27/2010, 1:12 PM
What is it with people and the word pants in their usernames? The author of this article is the second person I've seen today with pants in his name.
DetBullock
DetBullock - 11/27/2010, 1:38 PM
I think the cloud was better: it reminded me of the V'ger entity in Robert Wise' Star Trek.
ThreeBigTacos
ThreeBigTacos - 11/28/2010, 4:51 AM
though it may take a while for films to head into space so to speak, i believe you're right. And quite honestly I agree that a full version of Galactus should of been seen in FF4:ROTSS.
nomats
nomats - 11/29/2010, 10:57 AM
graet post on turboexp.blogspot.com also.
TheDarqueOne
TheDarqueOne - 11/29/2010, 11:56 AM
I have read this Editoral twice and I am still not sure of the exact point of it.

To me CBMs are flying as high as they can be. A few bad ones and tons of good to great movies in the last 10 years have made me one happy Fan.

I am all for more Epic stuff in CBMs but I am not so sure going back to comic book roots is the way to get there. Remember that any comic made before oh 1990 was created for children. The farther back you go the sillier they become. Not really anxious to see any of that stuff again.

Marvel has the right of it. Iron Man II is a full CBM with all the trimmings. A CBM set in an actual multi-Hero Universe.

On other thing. While I think the picture of the white fluffy cloud was kinda funny it is also not exactly fair. I would have rather had the traditional big guy myself but the effects were kinda spooky. If a planet-sized cloud appeared in space it would be a bit worrisome at least.

MikesPants
MikesPants - 12/2/2010, 2:08 PM
I'm just reading it back myself and it's a bit of a ramble isn't it?

I'm glad you used Iron Man 2 as an example, that's a CBM that I think got the balance right.

Also the image of the cloud I used was tongue in cheek, I can't pretend I wouldn't soil myself if FF:ROSS Galactus appeared in the sky. What annoyed me about the design they went with was that it just seemed like a lazy alternative. They didn't want to go with the original design (which in all honesty I get) but it seemed lacklustre, it lacked that grandeur that I thought the comics had. I'm rambling again aren't I?
TheDarqueOne
TheDarqueOne - 12/2/2010, 4:35 PM
Generally best to clearly state your point at the beginning and again at the end of an Editorial. Doing it in 2 different places and ways helps to make sure it gets across. After all that is the point of an Editorial -- to make a specific point.

I understand what you mean but in this film just like any other many, many people, and a whole lot of money, thought, and time went into creating that Cloud. In a movie with the kind of budget that FF2 had everybody is taking things very seriously. It was just a bad choice to make.

Very Hollywood though. They wanted Silver Surfer but could not deal with the giant G. So they thought they could just alter G and it would still work. They were wrong but that is something we know in hindsight. With the random nature of people's reactions to films it could have worked. Hard to see but I think that is very true.

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