It was the most anticipated movie of the year next to the epic finale of Harry Potter. Most critics bashed it, fanboys reviews and thoughts come out to a 'meh' response, and the mainstream audience seems to find it an enjoyable movie.
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I, for one, thought it was very good despite its flaws. It's gone on my top ten CBMs. I think the main reason why its struggling at the box office is due to the negative reviews from critics. I do believe that many haters on CBM.com were influenced by the reviews and went in with a negative attitude.
Why, may you ask, does this 'franchise' (quoted by WB) need a sequel?
I am a firm believer that this film won't make its budget worth domestically, but it will come close enough for WB to go ahead with a sequel. It cashed in the same amount that it took Quantum of Solace to make, and that movie didn't make its budget back domestically, and they're makin a sequel despite that MGM went bankrupt. I predict the range of 150-170 for GL.
Martin Campbell's Green Lantern is an origin story; merely focused on Hal Jordan.
But that's not what it should be. It should be Hal and Sinestro. Not Hal and Carol.
If a sequel is to happen, WB should think more carefully on the people they choose. So here are examples that WB should consider in order to make a great sequel.
1. Find a director that knows what he's doing.
In my review, i may have put the blame on Campbell, but after a closer glance, i can see it really wasn't his doing. It was the fact that he didn't know too much about GL, and trusted the writers in knowing which direction to take the movie. He's a realism director; one that prefers stunts over CGI. The computer graphics in GL were spectacular and lived up to most expectations. But WB needs to take a director that can clearly see flaws in the screenplay and story line. Meaning that a director that wants to tell a great story and showcase awesome characters before laying down memorable special effects. Directors such as Steven Spielberg, or J.J. Abrams. Bottom Line is that Campbell is still a respectable director, its just he wasn't the right choice for GL.
2. Better Screen writers.
In some cases, this is where it hurt the movie, but not hugely (in my opinion) i think WB should go out and get Paul Haggis (screenwriter to Crash, Casino Royale, and Quantum of Solace) to do the screenplay and storyline, which in effect would turn out to be a great product if they did. They need a writer that won't throw in cheap one liners or bring in undesired characters into the mix (...like The Matrix...)
However, they should have a little humor in there.
3. More Focus on Hal and Sinestro.
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The theatrical version was too much on Hal-Carol than Hal-Sinestro. For the sequel, it needs to establish a positive relationship between Hal and Sinestro before Sinny turns bad and becomes Hal's nemesis. While they shouldn't focus too much on the action, the filmmakers would have to keep a balance between action and storyline in order to make a formidable movie. But Keep Ryan and Mark in for their roles. And keep JNH as the composer. I know a lot of fans out there disliked the Soundtrack to GL, but you have to admit, this track is fantastic:
JNH would be able to add a little more tension to a must anticipated duel between Hal Jordan and Sinestro.
4. MAKE IT LONGER THAN THE FIRST
When the ring chooses Hal, that's where the movie tends to speed up a bit. With a Sequel, they need to adjust details like this. Where a movie rushes itself is where it looses the audience's trust and likeability. Grant it GL still got a positive response from the audience, but for WB to get a MEMORABLE POSITIVE response from the audience, they would have to shoot from the range of 130-150 minutes. The filmmakers (like i said in # 3) need to establish a smart balance between action, story and characters in order for it to be great and memorable. And a longer movie from 130-150 minutes can do just that.
5. Have a responsible Marketing Plan.
WB spent an estimated 100 million on advertising for this film, bombarding the audience with new TV spots every week, FOUR trailers, quite a few behind-the-scenes documentaries and many ad campaign commercials. They revealed several spoilers for those who were paying very close attention to the trailers, and for the Sequel, they just can't do that. And an embargo as far as reviews backfired greatly, but people still went despite mediocre ratings.
Hopefully GL makes it from the range of 150-170 million domestically in order for sure seal in a sequel, but if it hits a little bit under, then i think WB should still consider it. Honestly, reboots in Hollywood need to stop. Shit's gettin' out of hand these days. Sequel needs to happen if WB wants a Justice League movie and it gives them a chance to greatly improve on the first.
6. LISTEN TO THE DIRECTOR'S PERSPECTIVE
However...from speculations and rumors jumping around the web now, it seems Campbell wants to do a directors cut. Apparently it would contain a dozen deleted scenes that would resolve some fans complaint about the editing. I do think, however, that Campbell's reason why he wontreturn for the sequel because of WB's meddling with what he wanted this movie to be. Campbell's movies are usually two+ hours, and it sounds like he wanted GL to be 2:20. WTF? If that's true, good goin WB. Way to ruin a movie. If there is a Director's Cut, and it shows more involvement with the Corps, then wow. DC deserves to be run by Dreamworks. Yes it is only a rumor, but if you put the pieces of this puzzle together, you can see that it starts to make sense. If a Director's cut is to come out and if it completely blows the theatrical version out of the water, then people are gonna start asking, 'why wasn't this the original version?' As you can see from its trailers, there were several scenes cut out. Like from the first trailer-it seems Hal steps in front of a kid to save him from something. And if you look closer, the kid looks like his nephew.
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bad quality i know, but its the only gif of it I could find :P
And when Parallax is chasing him through space, it is very clear that scene was cut down. I'm sure if there isn't a Directors cut, there will be a least several deleted scenes that'll make us go, 'Um okay. Why wasn't that in the movie?' Just like the deleted scene in Revenge of the Sith where yoda lands on Dagobah....
Don't get me wrong. I loved the version that is in theatres right now. But it could've been so, so, so much better. And I believe Campbell's true version would bring this movie up to the level of Iron Man.
Bottom line is that the Fans want a sequel. The mainstream audience would enjoy to see one hit the big screen, and I'm sure Critics would give the sequel a chance. I mean, they're giving Dark of the Moon one. Warner Brothers should consider doing GL2 after they finish off The third Batman and Synder's Man of Steel. And if it makes its budget worldwide, expect a sequel, one much better than the first, to roll right along. All I know is, that if I'm sitting in the theater in the next 3 to four years, and I see a GL2 theatrical trailer (and it probably won't be comedic) I'll be more than excited.
it should be like this:
Not this:
Thoughts?
Comments?
Let me know.