3 HELL YEAH's out of 5
The Green Lantern has been around for more than 60 years but doesn't have the fan base of say a Batman or Superman. Often the most remembered of comic heroes however after being seen in comics, TV, or movies. (only 1 movie has been made with the Green Lantern)
A little History - The Green Lantern is basically a "Space Cop", whose job it is to protect their "sectors" of the universe. Hal Jordan, a test pilot was chosen to be the first human Green Lantern, when an alien craft crash lands on earth. The Alien dies and his ring seeks out a replacement wearer. The Power Ring works via the Power of WILL...which happens to be green. Other Powers also have colors associated with them...Yellow/fear, Red/Rage, Blue/Hope, etc... Ultimately the Green Lantern Mythos is one that spans the Universe, and has untold number of alien green lantern counterparts.
The Green Lantern Movie...starring Ryan Reynolds is flawed but still manages to capture some of the best parts of the Character.
What they did right:
First the casting was excellent. Mark Strong who plays Sinestro is PITCH PERFECT...in my option...HE IS SINESTRO. Reynolds GL is pretty good. This is a character that can go one of two ways...brash and cocky much like it was done in the film or brash but somewhat serious, which is what we see in the comics. Hal Jordan in the Comics is a bit of a Serious Paternal figure and not a jokester. They walked a line with the movie and did so very well.
Next, is the CGI. The CGI was excellent. I was a bit scared about the Suit when it was first previewed. BUT the finished product was RIGHT on. It looks organic, yet durable, and natural as if it was meant to be there. The Green Lantern planet OA is colorful and vibrant, and has an alien feel. Almost cartoony...but not too much. Instead you feel like a comic page has been brought to life. The other more alien lanterns are EXCELLENT. There are so many that fans will know who is who...others will just see awesome alien characters.
Lastly, the story or direction could have gone in one of two ways. Either keep everything on earth and encapsulate the story or have it span the universe in a LARGE scoping way. They chose to keep the story more grounded. I think this is fine as an introduction to a new character like the Green Lantern. However, they also included the necessary larger scope universal feel. As a viewer you do know that this guys world is so much bigger than just earth. Any sequels should definitely not revolve around earth.
What they did wrong:
I think the director didn't fully understand or get "comic book" movies or this character. He missed so many opportunities for that WOW factor, or the iconic imagery, and even fell a little short on the climax of the film. I did get goosebumps a few times but average viewer will not get what I got as a fan. This is really too bad.
Second, the strength of the character is also the weakness of this movie. Because the mythos is so large and expansive, keeping everything "earthbound" is lackluster. This also creates too much Ryan and Blake time on screen which is flat.
Next Editing is heavy handed. Some of the edits flash to other things going on and then back to earth again...it's better than nothing, and not hard to follow, but I would have liked more procedural context.
Lastly...when you have giant "world killer" monsters...you either nail or not...most movies do not, think Fantastic 4. Green Lantern hits a middle ground but doesn't nail it.
Overall this is a pretty good movie and I really hope the cost of making this one doesn't hurt future sequels. It was better than THOR, but nowhere near Batman, Iron Man, or a few other recent comic films. Still it's a good entry point. The next film (keeping my fingers crossed) should definitely be a UNIVERSE scope and deal with clashing lanterns corps (Green vs Yellow vs Red etc...)
I liked it, and recommend it. I didn't see it in 3D once I heard it was converted and not shot in 3D. I hate it when I hear that as usually the shots weren't setup for 3D and thus make a movie that's a waste of 3D money...both as a viewer and from a production point of view. I wonder how much money was spent on conversion?
Go see this film at a matinee or rent it...it's pretty good.
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