Day 60 - Green Lantern

Green Lantern (2011) directed by Martin Campbell

First, I will point out that it would be impossible to make a Green Lantern movie without extensive use of CGI. It's just not possible. His ring is extraterrestrial in nature, his allies and enemies are aliens, he can fly, travel through space and his power is unique in that he creates whatever he imagines into reality. Need to combat a relentless enemy? No problem, create a machine gun out of pure energy and blast away. How to block an oncoming attack? Create a brick wall. Save a falling girl? Make a pool of water to catch her. You get the idea.

So naturally, Green Lantern is full of special effects and CGI. The opening sequences are much like Thor. We see the backstory in outer space with alien and mythical beings, Earth light years away. For some reason I wasn't as perturbed about this as I was in Thor perhaps because I have grown more tolerant of it and that this backstory isn't nearly as long. Also while Thor at times feels like Lord of the Rings, Green Lantern is more like Star Wars. (I don't know what that's really supposed to mean, but I'm using it as a compliment for Green Lantern even though I like Lord of the Rings. It just seems like Star Wars is better source material for a super hero.)

An ancient cosmic being named Parallax breaks loose from his prison and is out to wreak havoc on the universe. The universe is guarded by the Green Lantern Corps, a sort of intergalactic police force. They are powerless to stop Parallax as he grows stronger and stronger. One of the Green Lanterns who encounter Parallax is gravely injured and he manages to escape and crash land on to Earth. One of the qualities of the Green Lantern's ring is that if its owner dies it will choose a new hero to wear it. Of course, it picks our hero, Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds).

Hal is brought to the Green Lantern headquarters on the planet Oa. After the obligatory moment of shock which lasts like 45 seconds, Hal starts to learn what it means to be a Green Lantern, how it must require great responsibility and fearlessness. Hal is unsure if these qualities fit him. He is a brash and seemingly irresponsible guy and while he won't admit it to himself, he is deeply afraid. "I'm only human," he says. "The ring chose you for a reason, Hal Jordan. The ring is never wrong." Naturally, Hal must spend the rest of the movie finding his courage and figuring out what it means to be a hero, face evil, care for others, show that being human is a virtue, not a weakness, etc etc. All the while, Parallax draws closer and closer...

Especially grand comic book titles must deal with the impossible task of explaining what the hell is going on while establishing characters, setting up a plot and filming big action sequences, so a lot of the time its going to be a mess. Spiderman's story is pretty simple, he's bitten by a radioactive spider and gets his power. Batman is just a dude with lots of money. But once you start introducing more grandiose elements like a mystical force, alien beings and their intergalactic battles, things get a lot dicier and harder to keep track of. Green Lantern tries to take its story and themes seriously, but in its heart its really just a big silly action picture and basically a vehicle to show off all the visuals.

Ryan Reynolds is charming and funny, but he looks pretty goofy in his green suit. Once you get past that though, you'll zig and zag and fly around with him throwing big green punches. He does the best he can with a script that tries to humanize Hal, show him as cocky and vulnerable, but there are no real big revelations about his character. It sort of just follows the standard script. Blake Lively plays his love interest and is pretty flat, something about her voice throws me off, but she is quite pretty. While Parallax is the ultimate evil force on his way to earth, Hal's human counterpart is Hector Hammond, who looks slithery and kind of like a pedophile with his wispy mustache. Being a villain is always more fun and you can tell. Though he has limited screen time compared to Hal, you get a greater sense of his complexity.

There are stupid moments with corny dialogue. There are cliche moments and predictable turns. There are also some laughs and thrills, heroes and villains, a damsel in distress and all that comic book goodness you come to expect. Just sit back with some popcorn and try not to think too hard and just enjoy all the pretty lights.

Grade: B-