Hal Jordan is bestowed a ring from an intergalactic peace keeping force known as the Green Lantern Corps and must use it to stop an evil being.
ACTION/SCI-FI
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Green Lantern (2011)Directed by Martin Campbell
Written by Greg Berlanti, Michael Green, Marc Guggenheim, Michael Goldenberg Starring Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Peter Sarsgaard, Mark Strong, Tim Robbins, Jay O. Sanders, Taika Waititi, Angela Bassett, Geoffrey Rush, Michael Clarke Duncan, Clancy Brown Based on characters from DC Comics |
I'm not going to lie, I don't hate this film as much as everyone else seems to. While it definitely has its faults, Green Lantern was a decent first outing for the character. Had it been successful enough, there could have been some improvements made in the following sequel. Alas, that was not the case and now we have a film that gets just as much right as it does wrong.
To begin with what it gets right, the cast does a mostly solid job across the board. Ryan Reynolds is actually pretty good in the lead role of Hal Jordan. He does a good job of portraying one of the more iconic characters to wear the ring. Mark Strong was also very good as Sinestro. While he didn't start out as a villain in this outing, it appears that would have been the case for a then planned future sequel. Speaking of which, this movie actually features one of my more favorite post credits scenes as it promised one of comics' most iconic villains would be getting the limelight. The movie also moves at a pretty brisk pace, never really dragging too much. As for what it gets wrong, the main offense pertains to the main villain, Parallax. Instead of making him a terrifying force to be reckon with, he is conceived as a cloud that consumes everything it comes across. This isn't the least bit intimidating, causing the villain of the movie to come across as a joke. Also, the CGI suit doesn't look all that convincing. All it does is make you wish they had used a practical suit. Finally, while Angela Bassett's performance as comic character, Amanda Waller, is good, her characterization is off. Green Lantern is a mostly entertaining film, but it could have been so much better. While it was cool to see the ring in action and the film embrace the cosmic nature of the comics, it stumbled hard in its main villain. Let's hope they get it right this time with the announced reboot. |