Well, it’s been a couple of years since I’ve seen this
movie. My Green Lantern phase is still going and I had to touch on this movie eventually.
So, I’ll just start at the beginning with the live action version of Green
Lantern.
I don’t remember when I first heard there was a GL movie
coming. I don’t think I was that excited about it, though. I didn’t see it in
theaters since word of mouth said that the movie was bad. I still remember the
Cinema Snob’s Midnight Movie feature where he said the villain was a literal
piece of crap. The first time I laid eyes on the film was actually after my
grandad’s funeral in 2014. We were at my uncle’s house the day after his
funeral and I didn’t feel like going to church that day. It was playing on TNT
and I came in sometime around the last act, I believe.
I ended up finding it in a cheap bin in 2016. I eventually
got around to watching it…. and then turned it off at the halfway point. I
actually think I was going to sleep, so it wasn’t making me stay up. Eventually,
I finished it and then lost track of the thing for a couple of years. I ended
up finding it at my sister’s house last week, so I decided it was time to give
this thing another watch. I gotta say that I was surprised this time.
Green Lantern was released during the Summer of 2011. It
starred Ryan Reynolds as Hal Jordan, Temerua Morrison as Abin Sur, Blake Lively
as Carol Ferris, Peter Sarsguard as Hector Hammond, Mark Strong as Sinestro,
Angela Bassett as Amanda Waller, and Michael Clark Duncan as Kilowog. In the
movie, Hal Jordan is an irresponsible test pilot who becomes the first human Green Lantern for his sector. He’s given
a ring that has the power to do anything he can imagine. He must face his fears
as Parallax, the yellow entity of fear, threatens Earth and the universe as a
whole.
PROS
I perked up whenever I saw Sinestro.
Yes, this movie actually has some pros. I was prepared to
tar and feather this thing, but as I was watching it, I realized I couldn’t do that.
It has some serious problems, but I can’t call it one of the worse superhero
movies. I guess this is what happens when the Internet constantly throws out
statements without anything to back it up. There was something there hidden
under all the “meh-ness.” It wasn’t much, but it was something.
Even though I wouldn’t have chosen him to play Hal, Ryan
Reynolds was okay. I believe that if he had a better script, he would have been good. He at least looked the
role. How do I get abs like that? The rest of the cast are fine for the most
part. The only one who was good in his role was Mark Strong as Sinestro. We
didn’t get much of him ( I’ll get to that later), but he fit and looked the
part. It was also nice to see the Corps for all of five minutes… as I said,
later.
This scene between Hal and Carol was actually pretty funny.
I’m a little mixed on the effects, but there were some that
worked. Hector Hammond’s deformities looked pretty creepy. I’ll give credit to
Peter Saursguard with putting up with those prosthetics and trying to act. While
Parallax was “like a turd in the wind,” at least it got voiced by Clancy Brown.
A couple of the action scenes were okay like Hal’s training scene and the final
fight with Parallax. Hal got use that ring of his in some fun ways.
Hmm... that shield looks familiar!
Well, that’s a I got for this section. Oh boy.
So, what in the name of Appa Ali Apsa went wrong? While I
can’t call the movie a complete loss, something just felt missing. It’s really
hard to say what went wrong since it’s kind of all over the place. The
story felt underwhelming. It had the basics but that’s about it. Hal felt underdeveloped
to me. We get he has fears, but they don’t really come out well here. The stuff
on Earth also felt a little underwhelming. Even the space scenes felt
undercooked a bit. It would’ve have been nice to actually have Hal interacting
with more than 3 Corps members.
Aahhhh!!! Put it back! Put it back!
Then, there are the villains. As a comics fan, why was
Parallax used as the first big villain? I’m not even going to nitpick the
backstory changes since those really don’t matter. Then, there’s the look he
had which was a big space cloud. That sounds familiar! I know a giant space bug
would be silly, but then again, we’re already dealing with a intergalactic police
force that has some weird aliens in it. As for Hector Hammond, he was okay, but
that’s not saying much. Obviously, there was supposed to be more there with his
character, but some things got cut out. When I saw that Stuart Baird, the
director of Star Trek: Nemesis, was the editor, the pieces came together quickly because that movie got important bits cut out too.
It all just looks a little off.
Then, there are the special effects. As I said above, I was
mixed on them. I did think the practical stuff held up well. As for the CG…
well, it can’t all go good. Something about the CG looked off. Everything from Oa’s look to Hal’s
costume just lacked something. The action
scenes (as well as the okay ones) looked lackluster. Even the CG Corps members
look weird. Whenever Hal had that costume on, I had to grimace at it especially
with those useless lines on it. Why were they there anyway and why was his costume
CG to begin with? I know it’s supposed to be ring-generated, but it just didn’t
look good. Add a couple of wasted actors and a cliffhanger ending for a sequel
that won’t come to the list.
Okay, I'll bite. How the _____ do you mess up having Angela Bassett as Amanda Waller? Apparently, this is how!
………………………………………………………………..
In the end, this wasn’t a good movie. Apparently, the production
for this wasn’t that good and it shows with the movie. I do believe that if the script was worked out
and the effects were better handled, this movie wouldn’t have been a failure.
At least Ryan Reynolds got another gig and Mark Strong found another DC villain
to play. At least this movie did bring something good out of it: the Green
Lantern animated series. So, guess what I’ll be talking about next time? Until
then, Peace, God Bless, and if a brown cloud invades and starts to feed off
fear, just get some Lysol. Also, get a mop since the evil cloud leaves a mess!
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