The Film…
The Players…
Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Peter Sarsgaard, Mark Strong and Tim Robbins.
The Plot…
Hal Jordan, an ace test pilot, is chosen by galactic peace-keeping force the Green Lantern Corps to become their representative on Earth. Now wielding a mighty power ring, Jordan soon learns that with great power—
Wait a minute. That’s some other guy. What Jordan needs to figure out now is how to get the damned ring to work, not piss off his employer/occasional girlfriend any more than he already does (and excels at) and keep a malevolent space entity at bay from devouring Earth’s populace.
To this, flying untested fighter jets seems preferable, and a lot safer.
The Rant…
I’m a comic book head. I adore comics. I collect them and read them on my days off. Every Wednesday is comic book day, and that’s when I head off to my local comic shop, where Jeff, the curmudgeonly proprietor, waits with my haul. I go pick up the weekly adventures of costumed heroes the likes of Spider-Man, the X-Men, the Avengers, Daredevil. All Marvel characters. In case you haven’t heard, Marvel’s had quite a bit of success in translating their books to cinema. I’ve seen a few of them myself. It’s no real matter, though. I prefer my superheroes on paper than film anyway. Call me a hipster (I dare you).
That’s not to say that Marvel’s cinematic endeavors haven’t been entertaining. The first two Spider-Man movies were awesome (I’ve heard the third was eh. It might be a RIORI candidate down the line). Iron Man was thrilling. Hell, the second X-Men film brought tears to my eyes (really, and shut up). I guess it really comes as no surprise than in Marvel’s 70-plus years of publishing, somebody with cash to blow in Hollywierd would get the smarts to do big screen versions of these guys in tights. It’s paid off well, too. Almost to a fault. In any event, Marvel’s been cleaning up at the box office, and good for them.
DC—Marvel’s “distinguished competition”—has had a harder time at it, so I’ve heard. In case you didn’t know, DC’s been the publisher with the longest teeth. Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman. Those lady and gentlemen.
Not to mention Green Lantern. My favorite DC character. The only DC character I followed regularly. Sure I loves me some Spider-Man and X-Men, but if you were into epic sci-fi action and intrigue, GL was the best place to go for many years. The pages were like Star Trek met Star Wars met Law & Order met Fringe met—right. That and a metric sh*t-ton of insane art. Green Lantern’s world—universe—was big with a capital big, and the writers and artists were very aware of the job they had to do. And did quite admirably for many, many years.
So when I caught wind that (finally) GL was going to make it to the big screen, I was both happy and hesitant. Simply put, most DC characters that make it to Hollywood get treated scattershot. Don’t get me wrong. There were the delightful first two Superman movies with the late, great Christopher Reeve. There were also the two Batman films with the brooding and surprisingly convincing Michael Keaton. Later on came the fantastic reboot starring Christian Bale. The successes with the few others? Not so much. For instance, I’ve already covered the up and down adaptation of Alan Moore’s (though he’d been wished to remain anonymous) Watchmen, which my wife, oddly enough, enjoyed by the way. To this day I don’t know how she managed to both A) stay up that late and, B) respect the character that was Rorschach) which…
Where was I? Oh yeah, Green Lantern…
DC hasn’t been as a hot a commodity for the silver screen as Marvel characters have been. But Hollywood must have been champing as the bit to get the glorious sci-fi universe that was Green Lantern to the box office. I hoped so. It had the pedigree for a fantastic sci-fi adventure, replete with alien worlds and creatures, engaging stores to unfold and, yes, a great deal of opportunities for CGI scramblings. Yet despite my enthusiasm for the prospect of GL being rendered on the silver screen, in the end-run I couldn’t bring myself to go the multiplex. Why? I mean, why man, why?
Cuz I figured they’d screw it up. The GL universe is so vast and varied that there would be no room, even in a comic book head’s imagination, to do it justice. That and Green Lantern ain’t exactly a household name like Supes and Bats. I don’t know many kids with bedsheets sporting images of Kilowog pounding Manhunters into rusty slag. That is, it’s not like I snoop around in kids’ bedrooms. Not since “the incident.”
Well, whatever. Shut up, kids. Like I said: GL’s a second tier character, despite being a key member of the JLA. That don’t mean much to Hollywood execs who—probably hailing from Warner Brothers, DC’s parent company—wanted to jump onto the Marvel money-making movie machine. I can almost imagine the discussion in that Warner Bros. boardroom:
“Marvel’s making a killing with all their movies!”
“Well, we’ve had some luck with Superman and Batman…”
“Yes, but they’re icons. People know all about them. What we need is a superhero that most folks’ve never heard of.”
“Like who?”
“Someone who’s flexible. Someone that we can warp.”
“Um, Star Trek‘s a Paramount property—”
“Quiet! What I’m saying is we need some cape that is unknown. Untested. Green.”
“Uh, sir? I think I have an idea…”
So then came the film. And our (ring) fingers were crossed…
The Story…
Hal “Highball” Jordan (Reynolds) is a maverick and some would claim fearless test pilot. He’s always pushing the limits, the envelope and his luck. He’s cocky, callow and has an ego the size of Texas. But despite the reckless attitude, he’s pretty much a normal guy. Boring apartment, a car that he dotes on, tough job, girl and money troubles. It’s the makings of a rather simple existence, save the cool gig at Ferris Aircraft. Except for the occasional scrapes at work (most of which are his own doing), Hal’d never get picked out of a lineup for doing anything remarkable.
Of course, that’s his life on Earth. Meanwhile, in other distant parts the Milky Way, rather remarkable things are transpiring to jaunt our man into some pretty remarkable circumstances…
Planet Oa, the center of the Universe, a distance so far from Earth it cannot be measured. A citadel of justice, law and order for the galaxy. Home to the immortal Guardians, undying aliens of profound acumen in the balance of good and evil in the Universe. In their infinite wisdom they created the vaunted Green Lantern Corps, for great justice and to repel Fear.
Aeons ago the Guardians discovered that emotion is the most powerful force in Creation, and that energy can be divided into a spectrum of color. The colors could be harnessed in “lanterns,” a technology so advanced it seems like magic. The lanterns would serve as batteries for a Green Lantern soldier’s only and most awesome weapon: a ring. These rings are capable of channeling incredible power to enhance, control, focus by mind and generate astounding feats of psychical and physical energy made real. Their color is green, the color of Willpower. Willpower, the ability to overcome Fear.
Fear destroys all according to the Guardians’ logic. The power of Fear is vigilant and always creeping at the periphery for every sentient being in the Universe, waiting to strike. And it’s up to the Green Lantern Corps to flush it out. So while following orders, solider Abin Sur pursues a lead on some serious fear-mongering in a distant sector of our galaxy, our solar system. What he finds there may lead to the extinction of every intelligent being in space, and Earth is squarely in the crosshairs.
After his mission fails, Abin Sur crash lands on Earth. Aware he’s near death, he needs to find a new recruit to carry on the mission. And, you guessed it, fearless Hal Jordan becomes that new recruit. Now all Hal has to do is master the ring’s powers, learn to work well within the Corps, prevent a galactic cataclysm and try to woo his boss and on-again, off-again girlfriend Carol in the process.
Starting a new job is never easy…
The Review…
There. I did the geek legwork for you.
I will warn and re-warn you that I have a soft spot for Green Lantern. No one was more enthusiastic than I to see the GL universe translated to the screen. In the final analysis, was I pleased? Despite all the bad press the film earned, I can only respond this way:
Sorta. Here we go.
The movie’s opening says it all, and is overall accurate by comic book history. Keep in mind this is coming from a comic book head to boot. The images are boldly ripped from the comics from the past decade. Shamelessly, I might add. That’s a good thing. Fan service. That’s a bad thing. Fan service. Never in my time that a comic book superhero movie needed so much dialogue and visual cues to explain what needed to be explained. Well, that with the assist of a lot of red wine.
Of course, I got it all within the first 12 minutes. I timed it (I am that lonely). And throughout the film they kept keeping on hammering the same note. Yes, Hal Jordan in a fearless pilot. Yes, he has an attitude. Yes, he has a smart-ass mouth with a demeanor to match. And yes, he has the critical ability to overcome fear (that key component to grant entry into the GL Corps). And that third thing is the film’s greatest flaw. Stilted dialogue. Ryan Reynolds should act with as little dialogue as possible. Fortunately, he does. But he does have to talk once in while. Therein lies the tragedy.
Once and again Reynolds seems awkward here, unsure if he’s a pilot or a ladies’ man or a superhero. He’s only good as a physical presence, which oddly enough Campbell may have recognized since that most of the best scenes are when Reynolds is robbed of dialogue. Even the post superhero act of saving the day at Carol Ferris’, Jordan’s former flame and current employer, is delightfully cheesy and self-aware, so much so that Reynolds’ character is cut short. It’s pretty funny.
The film’s kinda predictable as far as superhero tales go. Reynolds indeed seems awkward at times, like his lines were written for someone else. On the flipside, as far as dialogue goes, Blake Lively is very smart, whereas the polar opposite, Tim Robbins as the Senator, as always plays sleazy very well. The best dialogue seems to be spoken by the supporting cast in Hal Jordan’s new sci-fi family (e.g.: Kilowog is mighty cool).
As if you haven’t figured it out, Lantern gets heavy on the exposition. How the lines are delivered is key in keeping this film aloft. Despite it being a sci-fi adventure, there sure is a hell of a lot of chit-chat going on here. I suspect it might have something to do with introducing an unwitting American studio audience to a semi-obscure superhero, and water wings are needed. Still, the chatter is at least lively, funny and relatively unobtrusive. It’s a tempered version of “show, don’t tell.” Yeah, there’s a lot of telling, but it’s in an interesting, bouncy, almost comic-booky way. Hey! Who’d’ve thunk it?
On technical side Lantern was directed (handily, I might add) by Martin Campbell, the man that brought us the very cool James Bond reboot Casino Royale and Pierce Brosnan’s first outing as 007, GoldenEye. That alone lends the film some props. Martin’s a guy who understands how a franchise works outside the proverbial box. Lord knows how much coin was laid out for him to direct this film. In the final analysis it was worth every penny. A smartly spent budget and solid directing goes a long way in a would-be summer blockbuster like Lantern, even if the revenue was less than stellar. In these days of big budget movies run amok with GCI and crazy locations scouted, every farthing matters. Considering Campbell’s steady hand, Warner Bros. was able to sleep easy, at least with that factor.
The greatest accomplishment this film can claim is being able to coax Ryan Reynolds to quit acting like Ryan Reynolds. Lo and behold, he isn’t acting like a smartass (prime example: Waiting) 24/7! He plays the innocent for once, and it’s a really welcome thing. I mean, considering the circumstances his character was plunked into, would you humble yourself? He actually holds back on the smarm and freaking acts a little! Y’know, with emotions other than smug. Right! Just don’t talk so damned much! Listen to your supporting cast! There you go! Ah, it’s like Sprite enema. Now granted, no awards will come of this, but then again, it was squeezed out from a guy who directed James Bond for f*ck’s sake. It’s such a nice change of pace you forget it’s Ryan f*cking Reynolds up on screen, slingin’ the ring, if only for a little while. In simpler terms, Reynolds made a decent Hal Jordan. Not good, but decent.
My carps with Lantern are mostly minor. Questionable acting, a few plot holes, the need to immerse yourself in back issues, stuff like that. Despite me picking on Reynolds (who does ask for it), there’s really nothing to get in a twist over. If you’re a comic book head however, the screen would’ve been pelted to death by errant popcorn kernels after the aforementioned 12 minutes. If you’re not, as most of you who get sex on a regular basis are, you can lean back and let yourself go along with the ride. Lantern is harmless, and feels like one of those movies that pop on F/X from time to time to fill space and/or kill time.
In fact, that’s just what Lantern does. It sure beats watching Batman & Robin again. Wait. Again? Don’t you people own a streaming Netflix account?
The Verdict…
Rent It or relent it? A mild rent it. Green Lantern isn’t amongst the hallmarks of, say Superman II or The Dark Knight. It doesn’t try to be. Then again, those two had smarter writing and acting. So what the hell, go ahead, rent it. It’s not so dumb and off the mark to be insulting to one’s sci-fi sensibilities. That being said, it would also be the first comic book film made that would ever need required reading. And reading sucks, right? Right?
Sh*t, I gotta get out of the basement more often.
…In brightest day…
The Musings…
- “Ring. Finger.” Says it all.
- Was the super secret lab scene lifted from the Stargate SG-1 set?
- “Run.”
- The green eyes against yellow eyes were a subtle but cool edit. Like I’ve noted before on other comic book adaptations, it’s the small touches that get ya.
- Parallax is supposed to be a giant bug-thing. Just sayin’.
- Hey. For you readers out there I personally recommend Green Lantern: Rebirth by Geoff Johns and DC: The New Frontier by Darwyn Cooke for a solid Green Lantern fix. This was brought to you by a comic book head. And don’t judge me.
- There ought to be a sequel. At least as a chance to repair what was broken. There was a lot of wasted potential in this movie.
- “There’s water in the tap.”
The Next Time…
Leo DeCaprio has to explore the mystery that is Shutter Island.
Not to mention his memory.