Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Peter Sarsgaard, Mark Strong, Angela Bassett, and Tim Robbins
Bringing the mythology of comic books to the big screen in live action films is one of the toughest jobs a director can tackle. Not every hero is easy to bring to theaters like Batman or Spider-Man. Some of the most popular comic book heroes are just not meant for live action films. Green Lantern is one of those heroes. Martin Campbell falls flat on his ass in his attempt to bring this famed DC Comics superhero to life on film. Green Lantern is a cartoonish and buffoonish flick that simply doesn't do justice to the famed superhero. Maybe it just wasn't meant to be.
Alien Abin Sur (Temuera Morrison) is part of an intergalactic police force known as the Green Lantern Corps. For millions of years, they've protected the universe by harnessing the power of willpower. Long ago, one of their elders tried to harness the power of fear but failed. He became a great evil and a major threat to the entire universe, so Abin Sur imprisoned him. The elder known as Parallax (Clancy Brown) has returned though and mortally wounded the great Abin Sur who is now looking for a successor. Abin Sur's ring, his source of power, will choose the individual to whom this awesome responsibility and power will be granted.
Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds) is a test pilot and the man chosen by the ring to succeed the great Abin Sur in the Green Lantern Corps. Instead of pissing off his employer and disappointing his on-and-off girlfriend Carol (Blake Lively), Hal now gets to acclimate himself to a little green ring that gives him a whole lot of power. He becomes the first human member of the Lanterns. Like his predecessor Abin Sur, Hal will have to confront the great challenge of his time — Parallax. If he doesn't face his fear, Earth, along with the rest of the universe, will be destroyed.
It was always going to be a challenge to bring the Green Lantern to the big screen. He's a space cop with a ring that grants him the power to do anything he can imagine. Everything he envisions is green. There are so many ways that this premise can go wrong in a live action film. Luckily, Green Lanterndoesn't do everything wrong. It only manages to be a campy, cartoonish comic book flick that feels much longer than it actually is. It could have been much worse.
Green Lanternhas quite a few problems. There are certainly plot holes in this comic book flick. The movie acts like it's much funnier and cooler than it actually is. It doesn't take itself seriously enough to tell a rich, engaging story about one of the most popular superheroes of all time. Blake Lively gives an uninspiring performance as Hal Jordan's love interest Carol Ferris. The list goes on. Hell, I could probably write a thesis on how much Green Lantern fails to live up to its potential.
With all these issues, Green Lantern doesn't do so well on the Sobriety Test. I can overlook all these problems though. With a few Cosmos and some popcorn, I can ignore these flaws and have a good time. Green Lantern is a comic book flick with all the right talent. It just doesn't have the right act. This mediocre superhero movie gets a 0.09% rating. Get tipsy for this one.
