Rated PG-13 (Intense Sequences of Sci-Fi
Violence and Action)
Running Time: 1 Hour & 54 Minutes
Cast:
Ryan Reynolds-Hal Jordan/Green Lantern
Blake Lively-Carol Ferris
Peter Sarsgaard-Dr. Hector Hammond
Mark Strong-Thaal Sinestro
Temuera Morrison-Abin Sur
Geoffrey Rush (voice)-Tomar Re
Michael Clarke Duncan (voice)-Kilowog
Taika Waititi-Thomas Kalmaku
Tim Robbins-Senator Robert Hammond
Angela Bassett-Dr. Amanda Waller
Clancy Brown (voice)-Parallax
Directed Martin Campbell
 |
| All those special effects, and the film still sucked. |
When it comes to comic book films, Marvel
is currently dominant, even if some of their adaptations do end up falling
flat. Their production company, Marvel Studios, has been really pushing at making
all their films take place in a shared universe, all leading up to “The
Avengers” in summer 2012. As for DC, they’ve been slow to respond and with the
exception of Superman and Batman, all of their other characters have not made
the leap to the big screen. “Green Lantern” seeks to change all that. The
original incarnation of Green Lantern, Alan Scott, made his first appearance in
All-American Comics #16 in 1940 and was created by Bill Finger and Martin
Nodell. The film is based on the current incarnation, Hal Jordon. I started
reading Green Lantern during the lead-up to the Blackest Night limited series
so I’m not as well-versed in its lore compared to Spider-Man but I am familiar
with the fundamental aspects of the character. Unfortunately, if this film is
to jump-start a string of new DC Comics film adaptations, than “Green Lantern”
is a massive disappointment as it ends up being dull and lifeless, its drama
buried under a deluge of iffy visual effects and hindered by too much expository
dialogue and poor editing that leaves large chunks of the story missing.
“Green
Lantern” begins with a narration by Tomar-Re (voice of Geoffrey Rush), who
reveals that eons before the formation of the Earth, a group of immortal beings
known as the Guardians of the Universe discovered and harnessed the green power
of will. They forged emerald rings to utilize this power and sent one to each
of the 3600 sectors of the universe to select a person who is worthy to join
the intergalactic peace-keeping force known as the Green Lantern Corps. The
most formidable Green Lantern was Abin Sur (Temuera Morrison) of Sector 2184,
who managed to defeat the living embodiment of fear known as Parallax (voice of
Clancy Brown) and imprisoned him on the planet Ryut in the Lost Sector (Sector
666). In the present day, three aliens become stranded on Ryut and come upon
Parallax, who awakens and consumes their essence. He breaks free from his
prison and escapes into space. Six months later, Parallax finds Abin Sur and
mortally wounds him but he manages to escape to the nearest inhabited planet,
which happens to be Earth. Knowing he will die soon, Abin tasks his ring to
find one worthy to replace him. Hal Jordon (Ryan Reynolds) is a cocky test
pilot working for Ferris Aerospace in Coast City, California. His fellow test
pilot is former girlfriend and vice president to the company, Carol Ferris (Blake
Lively). The two participate in a simulation to test a pair of prototype UAVs
(unmanned aerial vehicles) to secure a government contract but Jordon manages
to outsmart both of the machines. Unfortunately, due to his risk-taking, Ferris
Aerospace loses the contract and is forced to lay off most of its employees.
After leaving his nephew’s birthday party, Hal is enveloped by an emerald
energy orb and is whisked away to Abin Sur’s crashed ship. Abin gives his ring
and lantern-shaped battery to Hal before he succumbs to his wounds. When Hal
unlocks the ring’s power, it takes him to space and he arrives at the Corps’
homeworld, Oa. There he meets his two mentors, Tomar-Re and Kilowog (voice of
Michael Clarke Duncan). Abin’s best friend, Thaal Sinestro (Mark Strong), takes
an immediate disliking to Hal, believing that humans are too primitive to wield
such power. However, to succeed as a Green Lantern, Hal must learn to overcome
his fear and finally take responsibility as Parallax descends upon Earth and
Oa. He must also contend with Dr. Hector Hammond (Peter Sarsgaard), who becomes
infected by Parallax.
“Green Lantern” the film is largely based upon writer
Geoff Johns and illustrator Ivan Reis’ story-arc Secret Origin, which ran from
Green Lantern Vol. 4 #29 to #35 in 2008. It is one of many preludes to the
limited series Blackest Night. Unfortunately, the film struggles to explain
the background of the Green Lantern Corps and its exposition eats into the
running time and main story. This is something that could’ve used some
stream-lining as a comic book can utilize multiple issues to tell one story,
while a film has only two hours, give or take. The screenplay was written by
four people: Greg Berlanti, Michael Green, Marc Guggenheim, and Michael
Goldenberg, making the film a patchwork of half-baked subplots and ideas.
Events either are too brisk or just happen without any logical rhyme or
reasoning. One of the best scenes in the film is when Hal is whisked away to
the planet Oa to begin his training as a Green Lantern. It’s a visually
stunning sequence and offers brief glimpses of several well-known members of the Corps
but it lasts no more than fifteen minutes. The training scene is to emphasize
that Hal is not fully ready to accept his newfound responsibilities but in a matter
of minutes, he calls it quits after being thrashed by Sinestro. He returns to
Earth and the film ends up being dull and tedious as it meanders towards its
climax. For a character we’re supposed to sympathize with, Hal comes off as a
coward. Yes, we know he is afraid that he will fail and is haunted by his father’s
death but his growth is poorly handled. He spends most of the film unsure of
himself but after a little pep talk from Carol, all of a sudden he’s ready to
take on Parallax just like that! Such abruptness rears its head again when
Sinestro tells the Guardians that the only way to fight fear is with fear and
insists that a yellow ring be forged. From what we’re told, the green ring
seems to have served the Corps just fine since its inception but they’re
willing to abandon what they stand for at a drop of a hat.
Large chunks of the
story appear to be left on the cutting room floor. Apparently, Hal, Carol, and
Hector used to be childhood acquaintances but it fails to make sense in
the context of the story. When Hector becomes infected by Parallax, his brain
enlarges and he gains telepathic and telekinetic powers. He attempts to kill
his father, Senator Robert Hammond (Tim Robbins) but Hal arrives just in time to save the
day. How did Hal know where to find Hector? It’s as if director Martin Campbell
realized the film was almost over and just decided they should fight. Also,
Parallax ends up changing course from Oa and heads towards Earth to get revenge
on the successor of Abin Sur. He could end the Corps in one swift victory
stroke but instead wastes time by worrying about Hal. The Corps are
under-utilized as well and despite having 3600 members, Hal is forced to go it
alone to battle Parallax. What kind of peace-keeping force is this if it
abandons its own members to their deaths?! “Green Lantern” is a series of
illogical scenes and missed opportunities, wrapped up in a dull, derivative
tale, which is shame given the comic book’s rich mythology.
The film features
an overabundance of special effects and as expected, they’re nicely done but it
ends up overwhelming the story. My skepticism of rendering the Corps’ uniform
in CGI proved true; while it looks fine in medium and wide shots, the illusion
fails in close-ups and looks like someone just took a giant green paint-brush
on Reynolds. Parallax is just an amorphous yellow cloud and recalls Galactus
from 2007’s sequel, “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer” but his
climatic battle with Hal does end up being exciting to watch. The constructs that Hal
makes also lack imagination. He saves a crashing helicopter by making a race
car track and ramp that resembles something out of Hot Wheels. “Green Lantern” is
also being shown in 3D but it’s another one of those post-conversions. While
not last-minute and planned from the beginning, I decided to stick with the 2D
version, although reviews seem to indicate that while it does not serve as a
hindrance like other lazy conversions, it also adds little to the film.
The
cast give their best but the script fails them. Ryan Reynolds manages the
comedic bits just fine and has great timing but flounders when showing us his
inner struggle with his fear of failure. We are told he is afraid (over and
over again!) but we never actually feel he’s afraid. Blake Lively (who is
currently on the television show “Gossip Girl”) is gorgeous eye-candy and while
she’s fine in her role as the obligatory love interest, it’s hard to buy her as
a skilled test pilot when looking like a supermodel. Peter Sarsgaard fares the
worse, his sniveling portrayal of Hector Hammond is cheesy and borderline
laughable and once his brain grows, he looks even more ridiculous! Mark Strong
makes for a fine Sinestro and his make-up work is impressive but the film gives
him very little to do except stand around giving speeches. The script fails to
get across his beliefs of the ends justify the means, which leads him down a
dark path. Characters such as Tomar-Re and Kilowog end up being wasted and
under-utilized.
“Green Lantern” was released in 2D and 3D on June 17, 2011 and
has received largely negative reviews with a paltry 23% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Critics called it ‘noisy, overproduced, and thinly written, [the film]
squanders an impressive budget and decades of comic’s mythology.’ The film
seems to be on track for a $60 million debut which isn’t bad for a comic book
character unknown to the mainstream audience. Word-of-mouth will decide if it’s
profitable given its massive $200 million production budget, and that’s not
even counting the marketing costs! There’s a good film buried in “Green
Lantern” somewhere and it shows glimmers of it but too often the poor script
and editing undermine everything, leaving us with a dull adaptation and a ton
of wasted potential. Who will enjoy it? Easily thrilled children and teenagers,
and adults who have no standards. Everyone else will be disappointed by all of
its lost opportunities.
Final Rating: 2 out of 5
“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!”
Note: Make sure to stay during the end
credits for a special scene that sets up a potential sequel.
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