Warner Brothers is risking a lot on Green Lantern. It's the first movie of the DC comic book superhero's besides Batman and Superman. Green Lantern is a tougher sell too because he is definitely not as well known as Batman or Superman. So WB goes out and spends 200 million dollars making the movie and that price is without marketing costs. The result is mixed at best but I have to say I did enjoy Green Lantern and it is pretty much my guilty pleasure of the summer.
Let's start with the Green Lantern himself Ryan Reynolds. Going into the movie I believed he would be great for the part. For the most part I was right but there were still a few flaws. The character of Hal Jordan was definitely not fully developed. He starts out as a cocky guy who you don't really care for at all. Then of course, he gets superpowers and starts to care for other people. The thing that gets me is that when Hal goes to the planet Oa and meets the other Lantern members, he doesn't seem the slightest bit freaked out that he is on a distant planet conversing with aliens. I mean I guess Reynolds did fine with what he was given but the writers could have worked on the character of Hal Jordan a lot more. There is also the part of the movie where Hal deals with his own fear because the members of the Green Lantern Corp. are supposed to be fearless.
Hal's fear comes from witnessing his own hot shot fighter pilot dad being blown to pieces right in front of him as a child. While this element of the film is cheesy, it worked for me and I believe that is where Ryan Reynolds brought some emotion to the character. Overall Reynolds was good, but if is character was written better, then he would have been better. I do believe Reynolds is a good actor ever since seeing Buried, in which he really showed off his acting chops. The rest of the cast was hit and miss. Blake Lively was pretty useless as Carol Ferris and love interest to Hal Jordan. She wasn't horrible but not very good either. Again I believe it had to do with the script because her character was not interesting. So any scenes between her and Hal slow down the pace of the movie. Mark Strong was good as Sinestro, who is a mentor to Hal and helps him learn about his powers on the planet Oa. Oa is basically the home planet to all of the Green Lantern Corp. members.
Peter Sarsgaard plays a scientist who gains telekinetic powers after being infected by a dead alien. He is definitely a villain but unfortunately not a good one. I'm sorry but the character looked absolutely ridiculous since he looked exactly like the Elephant Man with his giant disfigured head. He just isn't a very convincing villain and doesn't come off as very threatening. Sarsgaard did fine but again the script screws up another character. Luckily there is another villain called Parallax (where they came up with that name I have no idea). Parallax is basically a giant brown cloud that devours planets. I know it sounds stupid but the scenes with Parallax look great and they provide some really cool action scenes including the climax of the movie.
The story was pretty good though and it did entertain me throughout. I have to say that the special effects were very solid and looked good throughout the film. Since Hal Jordan's powers are limitless, the special effects are put to good use and are very creative. For your information the power of the Green Lantern's come from their rings and the skin like material that covers their entire body. Their rings and body suit harness energy that comes from their will power. Anything they think up in their head becomes a reality in the from of green energy. I know it sounds kind of lame but the way it translates on screen is pretty cool and once again looked pretty badass. Here are just some of the things Hal conjures up in the many action scenes: swords, machine guns, a giant fist, and a cannon to battle the evil Parallax. I also have to say that Green Lantern actually worked in 3D. The images came out clear and the action scenes looked good.
Green Lantern is by no means a great film and nowhere near the top 10 superhero movies, but for what it is I enjoyed it. It is light summer fun and definitely isn't meant to have the tone of superhero movies like The Dark Knight. Ryan Reynolds does decent work as Hal, Mark Strong is good as Sinestro and the film has cool action sequences. If there is a sequel to this movie (by no means is it for sure though since the film did garner bad reviews and had a so-so opening weekend) I have faith that it can get better. They just need to hire GOOD screenwriters, work hard on the script and develop the characters. If Warner Bros. and DC can do that and keep the cool stylish action, there can be a Green Lantern franchise.
B