Let me start by saying I did enjoy most of this movie, I don’t regret spending the 20 dollars for my fiancé and I to go see it. The $5.25 on a bottle of water on the other hand…I definitely regret! As much as I enjoyed this film I couldn’t help but sit in the theater and wonder just how good this movie could have been.

My biggest problem with this movie was its lack of focus, likely brought on by the fact that there were 7 screenplay/story writers or maybe a lack of conviction for the character and story by Martin Campbell. Whatever the case, this movie definitely had a lack of center. There were scenes that were way too jumpy and didn’t flow. If you have ever gotten up half way through a movie to go to the bathroom and when you got back you felt like you missed something important? Well I got that feeling 4 or 5 times in this movie. There were times when it felt like an entire scene was cut out, for example when Hal and friend Tom flee the scene of the Abin Sur crash and are speeding away in the Jeep, after a couple of lines about responsibility and a surprising jolt from the lantern, we jump to the next scene with Hal in his apartment trying to figure out this ring/lantern deal. What happened to Tom?!? I mean Hal just discovered an alien space craft and is given this ring and Lantern by a “dying purple alien” and Tom doesn’t stick around to find out what the heck is going on? I’m sorry but if my buddy calls me up to get help with some alien artifacts, I think I might stick around to find out where this goes or at the very least ask a couple questions about what the hell is going on. Tom just disappears and we don’t see him again until the Senators party later in the movie, and even then Tom doesn’t say anything to Hal about the events that transpired earlier. This wasn’t the only scene like this though it’s the best example of it. I’d be lying if I didn’t say this makes me very curious of how the Blu-Ray is going to be like. I also didn’t like the love story between Hal and Carol. It felt unnatural and forced into the story. I wish they had put less focus on them and more focus on developing Hal and the Lantern. I understand wanting to put something in there for women to connect with but not at the expense of the main narrative of Hal and the Green Lanterns.

I also had problems with some of the acting and characters like Hector Hammond were overblown and over the top. I was surprised at how annoying Tim Robbins and Angela Bassett’s Characters were. They bored me immensely and other than Robbin’s being Hector’s father, they felt pointless to the plot and just felt very cliché driven. I felt like I saw those characters in a hundred other films. Blake Lively had her moments but most of the time felt a little forced and her chemistry with Ryan Reynald’s didn’t work for me. I don’t think she did a bad job I just think it could have been better, and that of course could have been poor direction from Campbell. Back to Peter Sarsgaard, I was very happy he was cast as Hector Hammond, I loved him in Jarhead and thought he would do well in this part. Unfortunately I was wrong, his lines and scenes, between him screaming at the top of his lungs, never felt genuine. His character never developed like I would have hoped and I just didn’t like Hammond as an antagonist in this movie. My favorite scene of his is when he is sucked dry by parallax. Its sad but true.

Not all the acting was bad though, Ryan Reynold’s was great as usual, aside from a couple of awful scenes that should never have made it past the cutting room floor, he really shined as Hal Jordan. He was funny and brought a real depth and likability to the character. It was easy to connect with Jordan. Mark Strong was great as Sinestro, he is one of the few reason’s I would be excited about a sequel. Sinestro was tough and dedicated to the Core, but later in the movie showed a lighter side. It will be fun to see what they do with him and the yellow power ring if they make a sequel. I loved the small parts by Michael Clarke Duncan as Kilowog and Geoffrey Rush as Tomar-Re. I would have liked to see more of Tomar-Re in this movie. I felt a surprising connection to that character and would have liked to see more of him.

There was some great action in this movie and honestly was the only thing keeping me engaged, which is sad because I love to watch the characters develop and I just didn’t get that here. I thought from the trailer that the helicopter/racecar scene would be goofy and too silly but it actually worked. I loved the back and forth Hal and Tom have about that. The space fight scene between Paralax and Hal was Epic in scope and I can even over look the unconscious Hal floating toward the Sun. Come on people, he should have be Kentucky fried Chicken in a matter of seconds. But maybe his suit was protecting him unconsciously or something. I won’t get in to that. The best parts of this movie all took place in space, either on Oa or flying through black holes, or the three aliens in the lost sector. I know this movie had to take place on earth to bring in the audience. If it had been primarily in space I don’t know if people would have been able to connect as well. But I found myself wishing it had been entirely a space based movie. Some of the CGI was a little poorly done. The mask didn’t bother me but my fiancé hated it and she also didn’t like the CGI suit. I actually liked the suit, but I can see why it rubbed people the wrong way. For some reason all the other suites, especially Sinestro’s looked great but Hal’s never really worked like the others.

To sum it up, and I thank you if you have read this far, I had fun watching this movie and won’t say it was bad but I definitely think it could have been a lot better. With fewer writers and a director who was more dedicated to the movie I think Green Lantern could have been the “Star Wars of Comic Book Movies” everyone wanted it to be, but it ended up just being a fun popcorn flick. I will definitely buy the Blu-ray in the hopes that it has what I was missing, but there are much better films out there this summer and I think this one will get lost in the sea of summer blockbusters. DC and Warner Brothers have a long way to go to catch up to the pace Marvel has set but I am excited and hopeful they do. Here’s hoping Green Lantern 2 is a better movie but as of right now the first installment only gets a 6 out of 10 from me.

6 Out of 10