There’s one of two ways to look at a comic book film. Either the crew takes the subject matter seriously and creates something that’s quite remarkable to view, or they go over the top on special effects budget – and an underdeveloped story – creating a product that misses the mark more than we could’ve anticipated. Now the question regarding Green Lantern, Warner Bros.’ latest foray into superhero films, is this – which way does it lean? Well, if you were hoping for something along the lines of the first answer, you’re in for some disappointment. Director Martin Campbell and his crew do try to create a comic book-like atmosphere for Green Lantern, and in the first half of the film, it almost seems like the team’s getting it done. The film tells the story of Oa, a home planet that’s the place for Green Lanterns, warriors with powerful rings that enable them to create constructs out of anything they think of. These guys govern the galaxy, trying to keep peace at bay. However, a dangerous new enemy called Parallax threatens to consume everything, leaving the Lanterns in a quandary.
Meanwhile, Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds) is a hotshot test pilot looking to move on in his military career. However, he’s continuously screwing up, something that’s becoming a growing frustration to his partner, Carol Ferris (Blake Lively). Just when he thinks he’s hit rock bottom, however, he finds a downed alien craft, with its pilot giving him to the ring, insisting that it’s chosen him. From there, Hal flies his way to Oa (not entirely expected on his part), where he meets several fellow Green Lanterns, including Sinestro (Mark Strong), Killowog (voiced by Michael Clarke Duncan) and Tomar-Re (voiced by Geoffrey Rush), each trying to counsel him in the ways of the Green Lantern code. Not a moment too soon, as trouble begins brewing on Earth, between the pending arrival of Parallax and a rogue scientist named Dr. Hector Hammond (Peter Sarsgaard), whose exposure to the alien pilot leads to him turning into something along the lines of Frankenstein’s monster – big brain and all.
Considering the factors here, we can’t honestly seeing the film going all super-serious along the same lines as, say, Batman Begins or The Dark Knight. But still, you’d think that the filmmakers behind the project would’ve tried much harder than THIS. A lot of elements from Green Lantern are actually borrowed from prior superhero movies, and they’ll not even formulate well enough to make you care about what’s happening on-screen. Hal comes across more as a jerk than a hero that we could actually give a damn for, and yet he’s the primary focus, becoming something that he doesn’t really deserve to be. What’s more, the other characters in the film, outside of the Green Lanterns, don’t serve much purpose. Lively is decent eye candy as Ferris, but doesn’t provide much past that. Sarsgaard looks ridiculous and acts even worse as he becomes the ever-changing Hammond. And other actors are completely wasted, including Tim Robbins as a Senator who’s watching over Hammond (his son) and Angela Bassett as Dr. Amanda Wailer. Her story’s just as quickly as forgotten as it is explained. As we said, the Lanterns fare much better, but it’s hard to really identify with them because they look so freaky.
This feature movie review concludes on the next page, please click Page 2 below to see our final thoughts on Green Lantern.
