“The one thing a Green Lantern is supposed to be is fearless. That isn’t me…”
-Ryan Reynolds, as himself
-Ryan Reynolds, as himself
“Is it possible that the comics franchise is inherently retrograde? Does the commitment to childish characters and mindless action prevent creativity, believability, intelligence? Hal Jordan’s magical ring of virtue, given to him by the intergalactic Green Lantern Corps is a talisman devolved from Wagner and Tolkien. […] The action stays superficial despite Campbell’s advance in the depiction of disaster as spectacle; disaster doesn’t just happen but is full of threat and, importantly, witnessed by many.”
-Armond White, New York Press
“Filled with unintentionally laughable characters, intergalactic gobbledygook, sudden pacing shifts and a hero whose superpower is downright cartoony, this latest comic adaptation makes something like ‘Spider-Man’ look both grounded and brilliant. It's ‘Star Wars’ meets Tex Avery with blotches of feel-good therapy thrown in, garnished with light shows and destructo scenes.”
-Armond White, New York Press
“Filled with unintentionally laughable characters, intergalactic gobbledygook, sudden pacing shifts and a hero whose superpower is downright cartoony, this latest comic adaptation makes something like ‘Spider-Man’ look both grounded and brilliant. It's ‘Star Wars’ meets Tex Avery with blotches of feel-good therapy thrown in, garnished with light shows and destructo scenes.”
-Tom Long, Detroit News
“Overall, director Martin Campbell and his screenwriting quartet do a much better job with the film's Earth-based story lines - especially its gothic horror arc - than the portions set on Oa. Many of the effects are good, trippy fun, and the 3-D conversion is A-OK. But a movie that advocates the power of imagination might have tapped a bit more of the stuff itself.”
-Amy Biancolli, The Houston Chronicle
For something as potentially epic as a Green Lantern film, it’s sad to hear comparisons to the much-maligned “Daredevil” film. There’s nothing particularly bad about the new “Green Lantern” starring Ryan Reynolds as the title character…but on the other hand, nothing particularly outstanding about it either. It’s basically an unimaginative, by-the-numbers, CGI-filled superhero film.
"Green Lantern” was directed by Martin Campbell, who was at the helm for films such as “Casino Royale,” “Goldeneye,” and “The Mask of Zorro.” On top of this, the screenplay was provided by nearly half a dozen writers. So what could have gone wrong?
Well, if you asked me, and you asked my friends, not much, if anything at all. Ryan Reynolds (not to be confused with his replacement in the 90’s, or the original one, or the black guy from “Justice League,” or the nearly 3,000 other Lanterns from all over the universe) gets his ring, gets the girl, creates a freaking machine gun out of pure willpower, and saves the day. A couple of my friends went to see it in 3-D (which, even without the glasses, I could tell the filmmakers easily capitalized on) and were blown away.
The sad truth is that, for all of the glowing green cosmic power and emerald constructs at a Lantern’s disposal, and all the glowing green CGI at Hollywood’s disposal, “Green Lantern” never really boasts anything truly original or unique.
You might remember in my review for “Galaxy Quest” that I mentioned being “turned off” of anything sci-fi, specifically by one crazed Star Wars fan. You see, every once in a while, you run into one of those Star Wars fans who will assure you that a Star Wars movie (or prequel, or game, or cartoon, or the endless list of EU novels) is “great” based on how much its characters throw around light sabers and Force powers. When this friend in question decided to show me five…FIVE!!!…different endings for the Force Unleashed, I couldn’t have cared less about this secret Sith apprentice Vader has apparently had all this time. In fact, I grew to hate the guy. (And as they all say, hate leads to suffering…)
“Green Lantern’s” cardinal sin is much the same, in that they “Force”-feed us a Luke Skywalker-in-training-type character whose starting powerset alone would probably put the Super Friends themselves to shame. There’s no tension when you basically have a magic “do-or-make-whatever-the-hell-I-want” button.
Comparisons to the original Skywalker aside, though, Ryan Reynolds is at least in that rare class of movie heroes (along with Iron Man, Superman, and possibly Spider-Man around the first hour or so) who seems to enjoy what he does. The movie also benefits from the presence of fellow Lantern Sinestro (excellently portrayed by Mark Strong and himself not a great victim of the film’s overuse of CGI), no doubt a potential General Zod should a sequel ever come up.
I would agree with the general consensus that the Earth-based portions of the movie were the strongest, especially upon the introduction of a human villain, one Hector Hammond (who is played either by the guy from “Jarhead,” or Hyde from “That 70’s Show,” it was hard to tell). One could argue he doesn’t necessarily make a great villain, but that’s probably the point; he’s basically the end result of an intellectual, introverted nervous wreck who ends up biting off more than he can chew, and he makes a disturbing contrast with the fratboy hijinks of Reynolds’s character—a contrast that doesn’t quite escape the attention of Hammond’s father (“Some people are thinkers, and some people are doers…”).
Other than that, though, there isn’t much to say about “Green Lantern” that can’t be said about lots of other superhero films, or other films in general. Despite the conflict eventually degenerating into an almost embarrassing CGI-fest once Parallax finally shows up, the movie still manages to end on a high, if somewhat cheesy note.
Note: The Brewksy is an enthusiastic contributor and movie reviewer.
He wants you to see this movie. -Amy Biancolli, The Houston Chronicle
For something as potentially epic as a Green Lantern film, it’s sad to hear comparisons to the much-maligned “Daredevil” film. There’s nothing particularly bad about the new “Green Lantern” starring Ryan Reynolds as the title character…but on the other hand, nothing particularly outstanding about it either. It’s basically an unimaginative, by-the-numbers, CGI-filled superhero film.
"Green Lantern” was directed by Martin Campbell, who was at the helm for films such as “Casino Royale,” “Goldeneye,” and “The Mask of Zorro.” On top of this, the screenplay was provided by nearly half a dozen writers. So what could have gone wrong?
Well, if you asked me, and you asked my friends, not much, if anything at all. Ryan Reynolds (not to be confused with his replacement in the 90’s, or the original one, or the black guy from “Justice League,” or the nearly 3,000 other Lanterns from all over the universe) gets his ring, gets the girl, creates a freaking machine gun out of pure willpower, and saves the day. A couple of my friends went to see it in 3-D (which, even without the glasses, I could tell the filmmakers easily capitalized on) and were blown away.
The sad truth is that, for all of the glowing green cosmic power and emerald constructs at a Lantern’s disposal, and all the glowing green CGI at Hollywood’s disposal, “Green Lantern” never really boasts anything truly original or unique.
You might remember in my review for “Galaxy Quest” that I mentioned being “turned off” of anything sci-fi, specifically by one crazed Star Wars fan. You see, every once in a while, you run into one of those Star Wars fans who will assure you that a Star Wars movie (or prequel, or game, or cartoon, or the endless list of EU novels) is “great” based on how much its characters throw around light sabers and Force powers. When this friend in question decided to show me five…FIVE!!!…different endings for the Force Unleashed, I couldn’t have cared less about this secret Sith apprentice Vader has apparently had all this time. In fact, I grew to hate the guy. (And as they all say, hate leads to suffering…)
“Green Lantern’s” cardinal sin is much the same, in that they “Force”-feed us a Luke Skywalker-in-training-type character whose starting powerset alone would probably put the Super Friends themselves to shame. There’s no tension when you basically have a magic “do-or-make-whatever-the-hell-I-want” button.
Comparisons to the original Skywalker aside, though, Ryan Reynolds is at least in that rare class of movie heroes (along with Iron Man, Superman, and possibly Spider-Man around the first hour or so) who seems to enjoy what he does. The movie also benefits from the presence of fellow Lantern Sinestro (excellently portrayed by Mark Strong and himself not a great victim of the film’s overuse of CGI), no doubt a potential General Zod should a sequel ever come up.
I would agree with the general consensus that the Earth-based portions of the movie were the strongest, especially upon the introduction of a human villain, one Hector Hammond (who is played either by the guy from “Jarhead,” or Hyde from “That 70’s Show,” it was hard to tell). One could argue he doesn’t necessarily make a great villain, but that’s probably the point; he’s basically the end result of an intellectual, introverted nervous wreck who ends up biting off more than he can chew, and he makes a disturbing contrast with the fratboy hijinks of Reynolds’s character—a contrast that doesn’t quite escape the attention of Hammond’s father (“Some people are thinkers, and some people are doers…”).
Other than that, though, there isn’t much to say about “Green Lantern” that can’t be said about lots of other superhero films, or other films in general. Despite the conflict eventually degenerating into an almost embarrassing CGI-fest once Parallax finally shows up, the movie still manages to end on a high, if somewhat cheesy note.
Note: The Brewksy is an enthusiastic contributor and movie reviewer.
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