Green Lantern review

"In brightest day, in blackest night, no evil shall escape my sight. Let those who worship evil's might beware my power, Green Lantern's light."

If you Google search or visit rottentomatoes.com, you're sure to find that more than not critics are destroying this movie. From top to bottom, I've read it all in only two days and their criticisms are sometimes valid but some are so downright harsh that it makes me wonder how much these reviewers are projecting their own frustration with having to sit through comic adaptation after comic adaptation during the summer months for the last 11 years or so (since comic book movies became the norm at least).

I, for one, am not one of them. I'm a geek. I'm a fanboy. I'm also someone who loves escapism and being entertained when I go to the movies. I want to see the moments that get to me, like when the hero is born and starts out on their journey. I love to see the moments when a hero is down for the count and somehow still manages to get back up to stand tall even when the odds are so stacked against them you don't know how they'll manage to get through. And don't even let me rant about the moments when the hero and their love interest have a moment when the love interest backs the hero up to the hilt and then some, confirming that they believe in our hero even if the hero doesn't understand why at that moment. It's the typical stuff you expect from the standard summer movie comic book adaptation, almost screenwriting 101 for comic book movies.

Those are just some of the reasons why Green Lantern works for me. It's not a perfect movie, but neither are half the movies I enjoy. But it's a damn fun movie that has managed to stick with me most of the night after seeing it. That's a feat that another summer offering, Thor, wasn't capable of doing after I left the theater.

Just the basis of Green Lantern as a comic and character is daunting, even to comic fans if they aren't fans of the character. I'll admit I stuck my toe in the water with the title only a few years ago and while I collected story arcs in trade, I'm not an afficianado by any stretch. I don't have years of love for the character like I do with ones like Superman or Spider-Man. I always thought the idea of a guy using a ring to get his powers was a little odd. The whole weakness to yellow bugged me for years since I didn't understand how something green could have a weakness against yellow when yellow and blue MAKE green. Plus the idea of it being in space with thousands of other Lanterns, the whole deal with the Guardians who created the Green Lantern Corps to serve as a space police force, the making constructs using your willpower and creativity... I won't fault anyone who might consider it crazy or unaccessable.

Still, what got me to fall in love with the idea of Green Lantern was two fold: Geoff Johns' take on the character, especially with his build up to the Sinestro Corps War and Secret Identity and The New Frontier by Darwyn Cooke who proved why Hal Jordan is a vital player in the DC pantheon. That's when I realized that the basic premise of Green Lantern is some of the romance and daring from the golden and silver age of movies mixed with some of the sci fi movies of the 50s. Throw in a little Star Wars possibly and you have Green Lantern.

Since technology in movies has finally managed to catch up with the imagination of comic book artists, we finally have a Green Lantern movie in theaters. Even though I'm a late bloomer to the character (I've always known about him though) I did have a certain expectation to what I wanted to see in a movie adaptation. Did I get everything I wanted? No, not quite everything but a lot more than expected. Is the movie as horrible as everyone says? Hardly. Either I'm very easy on it or I'm a sucker. Or maybe it's just a fun movie if you give it a freakin' chance. (Not every comic movie should be Dark Knight, which, by the way, is not THE perfect movie that people seem to believe it is. There's definitely flaws and plot holes to be found there too.)

Sorry for all the build up but I am long winded, folks. Green Lantern tells the story of Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds) who is the first human ever to be chosen to become a member of the interstellar police force that bears the title's monicker. Hal is a screw up. He's a test pilot that manages to always get in trouble, both personally, professionally and romantically. He's managed to walk away from anything that involved any sort of commitment. Still, when dying alien, Abin Sur's ring chooses him as the new recruit into the Green Lantern corps, it sees something in him that Hal doesn't: the ability to overcome great fear.

Ryan Reynolds was a wildcard for me when he was cast in the role of Hal Jordan. Admittedly I was in the corner of having Nathan Fillion or even Josh Duhammel from Transformers play Hal over Reynolds. Reason being is Reynolds (with some exceptions like Definitely Maybe, The Proposal and Buried) tends to fall back on being a bit hammy in some performances. Luckily in Green Lantern, Reynolds doesn't rely on that and instead does a pretty faithful representation of Hal. He does have a few one liners, one of which was in the early previews for the movie that involved him taking off his pants and flying some planes. But these don't stick out like sore thumbs. Instead Reynolds really seems to invest himself as Hal Jordan, a screw up straight arrow without fear. When he gets the ring from Abin Sur, the way he played the scene was exactly how I hoped to see the moment playing out. Even in the trailers, the moment he told Abin Sur his name, I felt it was the moment Reynolds BECAME Jordan. There's a humility he brings to the role once the ring is on his finger. It humbles him that the ring saw something in him that he doesn't quite see about himself. Even though a friend of mine felt that he seemed whiney about that, I felt it worked well to have Reynolds more in awe of this power and the fact that he was chosen. After all, if an alien came from the sky, gave you an awesome power source that allowed you to become a super hero because of something that you might not see in yourself but the power source does, wouldn't you have a few moments of self doubt. Considering what the Corps is up against, I know I would.

As for the supporting cast, I thought they all did a good job of showing the audience who they were and why they were a part of Hal's life, either as Hal Jordan or Green Lantern. Blake Lively's Carol Ferris has been raked over the coals in the reviews I've read and I feel that is ridiculously wrong. I didn't notice much about her acting that seemed to fall flat. The moments she's reminiscing with Hal at a local bar or when she discovers Hal's Green Lantern is when there's a certain something special in her performance. If anything, the issue with Carol Ferris is she's underwritten. Though I will admit that Ms. Lively is definitely easy on the eyes throughout the movie as a brunette.

Mark Strong as Sinestro was perfect casting as far as I was concerned and this proved to be right. Again, either through editing or writing Sinestro doesn't come across the way he should from the comics. While in the comics he is strict in keeping order of his own sector of the galaxy to the point of becoming a dictator to his home planet, in the movie he isn't given the chance to show that side of the character. Instead, Sinestro is played as someone mourning the loss of one of his best friends and feels that Hal Jordan's joining of the Corps is disrespectful to Abin Sur's memory. He does test Hal, which is something that happens in the comics, but they don't become partners in what could have been a galactic version of Training Day. Although, what's cool about that is if you want to catch that version of the Hal Jordan origin story, just check out Green Lantern First Flight, the animated direct to DVD movie. Still, Mark Strong both in looks and personality is exactly how I hoped Sinestro could be in a live action movie.

Peter Sarsgaard's Hector Hammond is a worthwhile character to see evolve throughout the movie. In some says I imagined Hammond as a grown up version of Tobey Maguire's Peter Parker portrail, if Peter had never gotten bit by a radioactive spider and never got the chance to stick up for himself. A quiet guy who keeps to himself, playing chess on his computer (I'm guessing it was against the computer and not some online deal that would require him to play with an actual person), Hammond seems like the guy who got picked on to the point where he withdrew into himself. When he teaches class you can tell the only person interested in what he has to say is himself because he doesn't know how to relate to others that don't have a common interest to his own. His autopsy of Abin Sur after the government recovers the body leads to Hammond being infected by Parallax which mutates Hammond into an elephant man looking creature who uses telekineses to inflict pain on others. Sarsgaard brought more than you'd expect to such a character, managing to make him somewhat sympathetic yet very creepy at the same time.

Another major player is the CGI, both through depicting characters like Tomar Re, Kilowog, The Guardians, the Green Lantern Corps, and Parallax and the alien landscapes of Oa, the home world from the Green Lanterns. I enjoyed seeing the various nods to all of the different aliens who make up the Corps. Watching the movie on DVD will help pick out all the various characters they managed to fit into the Oa scenes. But I definitely felt that the way the CGI, while trying to make the characters feel real, added to the comic book feel of the movie. That in no way is a slam, it's more of a compliment that the overall look of the characters felt like they were lifted from the comic page and brought to life, yet another reason I couldn't help but smile.

The idea of the Green Lantern suit being CGI is an interesting and bold move. I understand why the filmmakers would go in that direction, since the idea is the ring helps create the suit for the Lanterns. As someone who is used to seeing an actual suit on super heroes since watching Superman as a child, there is a part of me that thinks the CGI is awesome and at the same time it's a little sad to think there isn't a Green Lantern outfit in a wardrobe somewhere in Hollywood. Still, once the effects were added (the crackling energy glow around the suit is a great detail to catch, depending on the scene) the suit did look awesome. As someone who always loved the Prince Adam transformation to He-Man, I got a kick out of watching Hal turn into Green Lantern each time. If I can come close to being able to pull off that transformation by being a Lantern, sign me up.

There's been so much negative talk about this movie that I've gotten to a point where I've taken offense on a personal level. It's like critics only expect Oscar worthy movies to come out. Movies must be serious and brooding, especially comic book movies, otherwise they aren't worth the time of day. Even though The Dark Knight made people sit up and take notice based on it being a crime drama that had a guy dressed up like a bat as the main character, critics and fans point to it as the pinnacle of what a comic movie should be. I'm sorry, as much as I appreciate The Dark Knight as a movie, I don't want every single comic book movie to BE that. The trend of being dark, adult and brooding doesn't need to be applied to every comic book adaptation. Sometimes you just need to have a good time and enjoy the ride, which is what Green Lantern offers. In the vein of movies like The Rocketeer, The Last Starfighter, Spider-Man and even Star Wars, Green Lantern embraces it's roots as a sci fi comic book adventure and I love it for doing so.