The Gorgeous Geek Green Lantern Review

The Gorgeous Geek Green Lantern Review

It's actually a positive review and has no spoilers. I think the critics are too mean with this one.

Review Opinion
By gorgeousgeeks - Jun 20, 2011 04:06 PM EST
Filed Under: Green Lantern
Source: TheGorgeousGeeks.com


So if you were curious and you looked up what the critics said about Green Lantern, you would know that it’s not getting good reviews. It’s literally been called "Hell" by some critics. But does the film deserve to be bashed as much as it is? No! Absolutely not. Is it the best movie of the year? Heck no. Is it the best comic book movie of the year? I highly believe that honor goes to Thor, but I did like Green Lantern.

No, we didn’t receive any stellar performances in Green Lantern, though Mark Strong was very fantastic as Sinestro. I was very worried about Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively. I didn’t think I’d be able to take them serious in their roles. I thought I’d be watching typical funny Ryan and Serena from Gossip Girls. Well, Ryan toned down his funny and had just enough humor to make it entertaining. Blake Lively did a good job as well. I still would have cast someone else for those roles, but they were believable for what they did. Ryan would have made a better Wally West where he could have really been more in his element, but what can you do?

I think it’s worth supporting because the film was set up well for a sequel, since Sinestro was done fabulously! He took his job as a lantern very seriously, but it was still easy to see how his sense of duty could be corrupted and used for evil. And of course I want to see Kyle, John, and even Guy. If you keep going backwards and rebooting, we’ll never get to see what we need to see. Move on and let them try to fix some problems in the next film.
I would have liked to see more of the other lanterns in action. I liked the training sequences, but it would have been nice to see some more battles, but that can easily be put in the next film. Hal didn’t really feel apart of the Corps until the end anyway.

The CGI was very good. The aliens looked fantastic. Something still bugged me about the mask, but I got over it. Don’t wait to see it on DVD, because it probably won’t look as impressive on your TV. Experience it in theaters. I don’t know about the 3D ,because I didn’t see it in 3D.

There are some complaints about the pacing, but I thought it was fine. It was on the verge of a little fast, but I don’t see why it would need to be any longer to grasp the concept of the power. If you have will and imagination, you’re one of the most powerful beings in the universe.

I also disagree with people saying the film wasn't serious enough. There were deaths from heroes and civilians and some were even quite brutal. Just because there weren't a dozen funeral scenes doesn't meant it didn't happen. And there were a couple of scenes in this movie that I found more realistic than most other comic book movies.

I think one thing the critics couldn’t get behind was the concept of the Green Lantern's powers in the first place. It's very fantastical and they apparently have this lame mindset that all of our comics should be as realistic as possible like Batman Begins, when technically, Batman isn't a "super" hero, just a brilliant ninja with a lot of money. I think when it comes to comic book movies, you have to trust the opinions of your fellow geeks and personally weigh the pros and cons and decide based on your own wallet whether you’re gonna support the film because you want to see the franchise continue, or if you’re willing to let it die and wait to watch it on Netflix. I only paid $4.25 or my ticket. To say it wasn't worth the cost is not true. I didn't even feel like seeing it when I saw it and I still enjoyed it.

The best way to explain Green Lantern would be to call it a popcorn flick for the summer. It’s not a deep concept, but neither was Avatar and the critics loved that. It’s not meant to change the world. It’s a pretty straight forward film. I don’t understand people who say the film doesn’t make any sense. It just is what it is. The script was solid, not fantastic. Now since Green Lantern has some of the best story lines in comics, is "solid" okay? I guess not for some. Most people would hope for amazing, but I believe it can get better. Just because something isn’t "great" doesn’t mean it was "terrible". I enjoyed it.

If you haven't seen it, I say give it a chance.

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Ethic
Ethic - 6/20/2011, 4:35 PM
I've been behind this movie the whole way, I thought it was going to be amazing.
The comic character and stories are great and I liked the casting choices, but I thought the film was total shit to be honest.
I was genuinely bored for over an hour.

I'm glad you enjoyed it, but I'm a film fan first and foremost, and it was quite bad in my eyes.
I would rather sit down and watch a Green Lantern-centered episode of Justice League Unlimited.

I also absolutely disagree about the CGI, I thought it looked way behind our time.
Or as if there were moments where Pixar took over.

I was very disappointed with it.
TorturedXGenius
TorturedXGenius - 6/20/2011, 4:40 PM
"Geek Pride" can GET IT!
Dmon
Dmon - 6/20/2011, 5:33 PM
Gorgeous Geek great review. I enjoyed the movie as well. I also want to see John Stewart in the future with him and Hal as partners. And maybe Guy but never cared much for Kyle.
superbatspiderman
superbatspiderman - 6/20/2011, 7:26 PM
I loved this movie I thought it was pretty good. Blake Lively was super hot. I agree with your review 100% keep up the good work.
xBlaze96x
xBlaze96x - 6/20/2011, 7:50 PM
@Ghostfly
You basically spoke my every thought about GL
vermillion
vermillion - 6/20/2011, 8:32 PM
It was a good movie. But it was suppose to be "epic." Not just good/average. So I walked out disappointed. Still adding this to my blu ray collection. The first half is very entertaining, but loses it on the second half, IMO.

Oh well. I hope for a sequel, but it's looking doubtful.

Why do people not like Kyle? I always thought he was awesome.
BellHorneKing
BellHorneKing - 6/21/2011, 12:46 AM
Fun review, ladies! Thanks!

Valar1
Valar1 - 6/21/2011, 2:08 AM
I had fun watching this film, but I was pissed too, pissed that I bought into all the bullshit spewed around here by the "critics" and the fanboys jumping on the band wagon.

Then I get there and lo and behold it didn't suck, hell everyone had a great time. The kids loved the 3d bullshit, my wife liked the romantic stuff, and I liked the humor [that "he proposed?" line still makes me laugh thinking about it now, my wife liked the mask cheekbones line]. Good solid entertainment, and none of us felt cheated or that we wasted our time.

I think critics go to these movies predisposed to a guilty verdict and if they find one reasonable doubt they back off. In thor it was Anthony Hopkins and the Loki actor that made them scurry away. In First Class it was the Magneto actor. Here, they only get Ryan reynolds who doesn't have that type of range or experience and thus they went apeshit on the film. i mean for crying out loud one reviewer actually complained that the movie was written by more than 4 writers and thus he distrusted it going in [WTF?].
LEEE777
LEEE777 - 6/21/2011, 4:13 AM
GEEKS @ Cool review!

It should have been longer an more OA an the corps but I loved it much more than Fist Ass, at least we got some respect here!

Yup fingers crossed for a epic sequel, thumbs up!
Ichaos
Ichaos - 6/21/2011, 4:58 AM
I agree its a good popcorn flick and worth seeing. One problem with people getting so hyped with a movie is one small misfire people get all disappointed.

Also most superhero movies I wouldnt characterize as epic. Though Avengers could be the exception.

At least the mask made sense. I mean superheroes have been some how showing their expressions through their masks for years but given the mask is generated with the ring there is some logic to it. I loved how the girl called how inneffective the mask is "what you think I couldnt recognize you because I couldnt see your cheekbones?"

Hmmm good poll for that pollmaster guy to post. Most unaffective disguises. I would put Green arrow on top of the list with Spiderman and ironman as having the most effective.
BlackLanternJake
BlackLanternJake - 6/21/2011, 5:03 AM
Thor and Green Lantern have two very distinctive things in common. Both were movies the respective fanbases could enjoy, but I think we can all agree that both films could have been a whole lot better. I blame the directors. I really do. Neither Branagh nor Campbell went as far as they should.

Deep down I think this has been a disappointing Summer for those of us who were banking on those two movies to succeed. What makes the process even more bitter tasting for some of us is that the movie we all were CERTAIN was going to stink (X-Men: First Class) turned out to be the best CBM of the year so far. I know that for me, at least, that's kind of hard to swallow.

But from the standpoint of a DC fan like me, after the disaster that was Jonah Hex, and for the sake of future enterprises (like Flash/JLA) Green Lantern needed to be an absolute EPIC and it wasn't. Now I just don't have the confidence that WB is going to stick this out and are just going to retreat back into their "shell" where they only produce Batman and Superman movies over and over and over again.

Aw Hell! I wrote an entire Editorial on my feelings already, why am I rehashing them? Basically, I'll still buy Green Lantern when it's available to buy. I still like the movie. But when I see the potential is there for me to LOVE the movie and that potential is not met, it's just very painful for me to watch...
BlackLanternJake
BlackLanternJake - 6/21/2011, 5:07 AM
BTW, as an aside, Blake Lively was VERY easy on the eyes as a dark-brunette in Green Lantern. In fact, she looks much better in dark brown locks than she does in her actual strawberry blonde-ness.
StrangerX
StrangerX - 6/21/2011, 5:50 AM
I think everyone has to agree that the pacing was a little off, and that's what really killed the movie. It was almost like they removed half the movie so you have no choice but to get the dvd to see the rest of the film. Oh wait!!
BlackLanternJake
BlackLanternJake - 6/21/2011, 6:03 AM
@StrangerX-- If that turns out to be DC/WB's ingenious strategy then I will be the first in line to forgive them for what we saw in theatres. But there better be a lot of quality deleted scenes thrown back in. I'm talking like at least an extra half-hour's worth.
deanwilkins
deanwilkins - 6/21/2011, 6:16 AM
Having seen it a second time, I actually found it grew on me. I really like Reynolds as Hal. I thought it was an ideal fit. Didn't care much for the rest except for Strong. There was very little "Green Lantern" in the film, which was upsetting.
Overall, it wasn't as bad as people say. I hope they make a good sequel.
Ancar
Ancar - 6/21/2011, 6:26 AM
I totally agree with every word from ghostfly70.

People have been attacking this movie like lions over lambs and didn't even watch it. It's crazy.

The movie deserves to be seen. Go out to the movie enad watch it. Then come back here and tell what you really think about it.
woodsy100
woodsy100 - 6/21/2011, 6:47 AM
I love that second-last line:
Just because something isn’t "great" doesn’t mean it was "terrible".
A lot of users of this site could do with a bit of that perspective sometimes.
PirateOpossum
PirateOpossum - 6/21/2011, 7:38 AM
- Thank you ladies!!
- GL was fantastic!
- Agree with you 100%
- I see what you mean about Reynolds as Hal
- I will be going to your website..
- thanks again.
PirateOpossum
PirateOpossum - 6/21/2011, 7:46 AM
Oh.. btw .. The "top" Critics are paid to give their reviews.

- That means when the "Top" critics give a movie all bad reviews and every one actually liked the movie ......... - some one is making them (or paying them) to write bad reviews..
- someone out there doesn't want GL to succeed.
JosePetrelli12
JosePetrelli12 - 6/21/2011, 8:06 AM
@Jar Jar Binks - Agreed about the critics getting paid to write bad reviews on GL. I saw the movie twice, my brother saw it twice, and some of my friends saw it twice. They all said people were laughing in the movies, and the atmosphere was great as well. I have never let critics dictate my opinions on a movie. Hell, I even went ot see Jonah Hex on the first showing the Friday it came out (it sucked though)... I though GL was awesome. And will be going a third time with my son!!
MoonDoggyX
MoonDoggyX - 6/21/2011, 8:30 AM
@Ghostly - "It amazes me that so many people fall in line with whatever others tell them." Very True, my friend. If you don't agree with what the "smart" people (critics) say then you yourself ane not smart. People "follow the herd" a lot on this site. The only thing that matters is whether the movie was enjoyable or not. Don't get me wrong, what the critics said was wrong with the film was accurate, but it didn't ruin the movie. It was still enjoyable.

@BlackLanternJake - You had me up until X-Men: First Class. lol. To be truthful, its been a pretty disappointing summer so far. X-Men, Thor and GL were all supposed to be "EPIC", but they all fell short in that aspect, IMHO.
blueorangeny
blueorangeny - 6/21/2011, 8:43 AM
Gorgeous Geeks – great review

Ghostlyfly – you’re correct

Leee – true they needed more time in OA and with the Corps. If it was the other way around maybe it would have been loved a lot more from cb followers besides DC fans. The critics would have still bomb it though

BlacklanternJake – Don’t get discourage, I don’t think DC/WB will hide after this. They learn from their mistakes and move forward. They just need a better group and I mean script writers and directors. Campbell wasn’t meant for the film imo after watching this and script it was….well you know…the poor editing had a lot to do with it as well. Anyway stuff that can be fixed in future films.

And yes Thor wasn't that great either. If the editing was better and more scenes in OA with the corps fighting the movie would have surpass Thor imo.
CaptainPresley
CaptainPresley - 6/21/2011, 9:08 AM
Nice review! Very well said. I really enjoyed GL. So many complain that they wanted more OA and The Corps. but I don't think that's what this movie was ever to be about. It's about Hal. I think the producers wanted to touch on the entire history of GL, and the early adventures were mostly earth bound. This movie is exactly what I thought it would be and what I wanted it to be.
gorgeousgeeks
gorgeousgeeks - 6/21/2011, 9:21 AM
That's for that props guys and I'm glad to know other people liked the movie. Halfway through the film, my dad turned to look at me and said "There's nothing wrong with this film! What are people talking about?" And I had to agree with him. I didn't even feel like seeing it when I saw it and I was expecting somewhat of a disaster, but I liked it. I don't get how they could love First Class so much and hate Green Lantern.

@JarJarBinks My dad made the same point that it seems like the critics are genuinely trying to destroy this film. It's political crap that goes behind the sidelines. I'm sick of it.
naterator
naterator - 6/21/2011, 9:22 AM
Great Review girls! I thoroughly enjoyed the film and believe that there is massive potential moving forward. I also believe that an extended version of this film exists and that we should be getting that with the release of the dvd/bd. This is a tale that has much potential and you have expressed exactly what i have to others here that want an immediate reboot of THIS film...and its this : "I think when it comes to comic book movies, you have to trust the opinions of your fellow geeks and personally weigh the pros and cons and decide based on your own wallet whether you’re gonna support the film because you want to see the franchise continue, or if you’re willing to let it die and wait to watch it on Netflix."

there are far too many spoiled brats on this site that want EPIC from the beginning and arent willing to let anything BECOME epic. and there was another article on here where someone expressed this very same thing and its true....there are too many cry babies.

No to a reboot and lets get to something great. Martin Campbell wont be back but there will be another director to fill his shoes that will be able to do what he could not. This will be a great beginning to a JLA franchise,.,..we just need to give it a chance and not be willing to let it go straight to netflix.

Thanks ladies for your review!
chuckg313
chuckg313 - 6/21/2011, 9:31 AM
I understand the review but i just think we want more from our cbms now days.The studios focus on making the movies appeal to kids (and their money bag parents)with thoughts of selling tons of merchandise. the result of that are these lame sorta movies where the tone is odd with killing and comic relief strangely mixed making the movie hard to get into this isnt art its business. we just have to hope for the few decent movies we will get here and there
HulkPool
HulkPool - 6/21/2011, 9:38 AM
To anyone that dosent believe Ryan reynolds can act need to watch Buried!! He truly shows he has a wide range of acting skills and not always the funny guy!!!
NiteSoul69
NiteSoul69 - 6/21/2011, 9:50 AM
this review is precisely how i feel about the movie, no one should HOPE a movie fails based on what company is involved with it, the more a cbm is successful the more cbms will be made, its a pretty simple concept
NiteSoul69
NiteSoul69 - 6/21/2011, 9:54 AM
oh by the way, i think this movie will make money with being released in other countrys and with dvd/blu-ray buys, i plan on buying it on blu-ray when it comes out, i prefer marvel but really enjoyed GL, and hope a sequel is made, looking forward to seeing more of the story
justblaise
justblaise - 6/21/2011, 11:08 AM
all good points made above-people just followed the masses and didnt even go see it. i loved it-yes more than THOR and on par with Xmen.
great review ladies especially with the comparison to bats.
Aiiwolf
Aiiwolf - 6/21/2011, 11:51 AM
X-MEN FIRST CLASS was the best Comic related movie this year so far. I saw it TWICE. I love DC, and I was really excited about the Green Lantern movie until I saw the reviews, and read a few of them. When I went to the midnight show with my buddy, even he said XMEN RAPED THE GREEN LANTERN movie.

THIS MOVIE WAS A REAL EXPENSIVE CARTOON...Didn't even live to to being SERIOUS. They practically turned it into a tale for 12 year olds. :(
DarkKnight4ever
DarkKnight4ever - 6/21/2011, 12:09 PM
Man, I was so looking forward to this movie. Then, I saw all these bad reviews and started getting depressed and even considered not going for a brief time. Then I woke up with thought..Hey dips%$t, you have been a Green Lantern fan for over 50 years when you let go of $ .10 to buy that first Showcase comic. You must honor that with the purchase price of a movie. So...I went to the movie and can only echo the comments of so many others here who actually went to see the film. Great..no...Good...yes..and very enjoyable. Next time...and I hope there is one...we need a great Sinestro script with a serious director who has a true respect for the character. 'Nuf said. (yeah, I know that is Marvel, but I love all comic books)
Aiiwolf
Aiiwolf - 6/21/2011, 12:21 PM
@ Ghostfly70

I agree with you. I enjoyed Green Lantern, it was a fun flick to watch, BUT it was a bad movie as well. It was lacking character development on those characters based around Hal Jordn's life. If anything they should of focused on Hal's relationship with Sinestro before Sinesto focused on yellow ring of Fear, and also the focus on hal and his relationship with Carol Ferris. The guardians whats up with them? Theyre supposed to be stubborn, and obnoxious and they would of NEVER let Hal go and take the Parallax on his own. The movie was silly. I wouldnt have been so mad if they had just ripped off the cartoon movie FIRST FLIGHT....than this story and the way it was told.

Thor was silly too. "Do you always dress like that" (Me - rolls eyes...ughhh)
gorgeousgeeks
gorgeousgeeks - 6/21/2011, 12:28 PM
@Aiiwolf I honestly don't get the love for First Class, especially to anyone familiar with X-Men and I really tried not to think about the comic books, but Emma Frost was a disgrace, Raven was your dose of teenage angst. It's a shame how they killed off Darwin, one of the coolest and most powerful people that they've made in a very long time. Why put Angel in there? The only thing worth truly bragging about when it came to First Class was the portrayals of Xavier and Charles. Should have been a Magneto movie only. Why bother putting in Moria when she wasn't anything really like her character? She didn't even have much of a romance with Charles. I honestly like Green Lantern more than First Class overall. After watching First Class I was like "Magneto was great...but I don't know how to feel about this movie." And that's how everyone else I saw it with felt like.

And Thor was practically perfect for me.
gorgeousgeeks
gorgeousgeeks - 6/21/2011, 12:37 PM
How much more developed did you need Hal and Carol's relationship to be? They were together but he basically bailed on the relationship, which was a common theme in his life. When things got tough, he bailed. He has a lack of commitment, which is shown with him with the girl in the bed and saying "There's water in the tap" and Carol talked about how he would sleep with a lot of girls and they talked about how he forgot her birthday.

And as far as Hal's personality, you got that he was reckless, living his life afraid but afraid to admit he was afraid. He drove like a maniac, he flew like a maniac, and his family is uneasy with him because he apparently does stupid stuff like that all the time, which reflects back to how he lost his father. He lost him early in a tragedy, therefore he has problems forming serious bonds with people.

No, they didn't do a lot with the other Lanterns, but I did see how Sinestro was very committed to the Corps, which showed in how offended he was for Hal to be chosen. He was duty bound, but able to be corrupted, believing in power and strength so much.

But I thought they were douche bags for showing up at the last minute AFTER Hal defeated Parallax all on his own. I would have gone straight ghetto on all of them. But I guess the meant to help since they eventually showed up...
MoonDoggyX
MoonDoggyX - 6/21/2011, 1:17 PM
@Naterator - I'm admittedly one of those "spoiled brats"... lol... Blame Michael bay and the Wachowski brothers... even Sam Rami and Chris Nolan a little. These are comic book movies, summer comic book movies no less, where was all the action??? That's what these Thor and GL is missing that made them not "EPIC". The action on Thor was lame, no "wow" at all. GL's action was cool, but there was maybe 5-10 minutes of "ring-slinging" in the whole thing...? Looks like the new Harry Potter has more balls than GL and Thor combined. People talkd about how retarded the plots and acting is in Transformers, but apparently that's what summer movie-goers like. RotF $800 mil+. TF is fun and exciting. Thor and GL were enjoyable, but that's about it.
StephenJ
StephenJ - 6/22/2011, 11:06 PM
@Gorgeous GEEKS
Great review, but my main problem with this movie was that Sinestro is one of the biggest villains in the DCU, but the build up for the character was not good at all to me. And the fact that Hal defeated Paralax with ease gets to me. I give it a 2/5. The story wasn't to bad, but the movie seemed rushed. Hopefully the rumor of the directors cut is true. Probably the only way I can love this movie like I wanted to
gorgeousgeeks
gorgeousgeeks - 6/23/2011, 7:16 AM
@THABATMAN He defeated Parallax easy this time, but I have a hard time completely thinking that he's gone for good. Thor shouldn't have defeated The Destroyer the way he did. Iron Man beat all his villains in like five minutes. I think Parallaz could come back and the villain they had Hal fight was Hector, who I thought had enough back story and drama. I think they dabbled enough with Sinestro in the movie to give me a taste of his sense of duty along with his darkness. But I'm sure we'll see much more development in the sequel with Sinestro because he probably will be the main one.
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