Green Lantern Movie Review

Earlier in the night I saw the new Green Lantern movie, and after reading reviews elsewhere, I had a mixed bag of expectations for it. I expected to see some great effects, decent storytelling, and an oddball mixture of casting choices for the characters.

I was generally right. The movie isn't as bad as people have said it is, but it's also not the best thing going this year. It's just okay.

I am a big Green Lantern fan, and have been following the comic for years now. I love the epic scale and scope of the comics, with the Green Lantern Corps fighting against major adversaries (Sinestro, Black Lanterns, Krona, etc.) in what has become one of the great space operas of our time. I'm not sure which of the human Lanterns is my favorite, but Hal Jordan remains quite iconic for me.

The review proper is after the jump

SPOILER ALERT****************



The movie's biggest gamble wasn't Ryan Reynolds, who did pretty good as Hal Jordan in the movie. In fact, all of the acting was generally solid (I especially approve of Angela Basset as Amanda Waller, DC Comic's version of Nick Fury). The biggest gamble was the director and the script.

Martin Campbell has a good pedigree as a director (Goldeneye, Casino Royale, and kinda/sorta The Legend of Zorro), but I think he should have paid more attention to the works of Sam Raimi, John Favreau, and Christopher Nolan. They were willing to push the boundaries of what a "superhero" movie could be. Campbell doesn't. He spends more time doing paint-by-numbers directing in half the movie. It only opens up when they're on Oa, the alien homeworld of the Green Lanterns.

The script should have been written by Geoff Johns, who's a longtime (and current) Green Lantern comic book writer, who knows the characters best. It wasn't, and it shows. They rush through certain scenes without really giving it any gravitas or time to grow on the viewer. Blake Lively does a good job when she's on screen (and looks like a dead-on ringer for a young Jane Seymour), but the script gives her mostly cliches to run around with. That's the problem with the film: it tries hard to find the epic scope of the comic books, and in it's attempt, it rushes through scenes that should have been explored more and established with greater clarity.

I don't mean to bash the film. It's good. It's just not great. The effects are generally top notch, and the acting was surprisingly good (Mark Strong perfect as Sinestro), and it is alot of fun.

Don't hate on the film, and ignore the reviewers who were complaining about it- they just don't want to admit it's the summer. Show some willpower, and see the movie. And don't forget to wear something green.