SPIDERMAN, this isn't. GREEN LANTERN is a colossal disappointment for what is supposed to be DC Comics' new second place superhero for the big screen. It is one of those movies where you just wished the actors would just stop the proceedings and go on a staged strike until the crew can get the calamities under control. Anyone can notice the extensive cinematic surgeries done to keep the movie in somewhat stable condition and clear to understand. The film is utterly bankrupt in its creativity when it should be drawing a lot from its massive comic-book bank.
Hal Jordan is a young reckless loose cannon pilot who is dangerous and doesn't play by the rules of engagement. He tries to hide his childhood trauma of losing his dad by constantly posing as a smug, fearless jerk who is willing to walk away whenever he feels like it. However, his internal warmth and willpower causes him to be chosen by a dying purple alien and his power ring to become the next Green Lantern, a space cop and protector of Sector 2814 (a.k.a. The Milky Way Galaxy). His first assignment: to stop a mammoth entity of fear known as Parallax from conquering the universe.
See the description above? That's how easy this film should have been to show and tell. Instead, director Martin Campbell and his four writers blunder every opportunity of coherency to insert pointless characters and complicated storylines. There's this whole other plot involving a recluse scientist and government cover-ups that is only added to make comic book fans wet in glee but ultimately serves no purpose besides padding. Hell, I love the character of Amanda "The Wall" Waller and really enjoyed Angela Bassett's portrayal, but what does learning about her past matter to the audience when she only has four scenes? Then there's all the scenes on the hollow and lifeless Oa, the head planet of the Green Lantern Corps, that just adds more plot dumping and speeches, speeches, and more speeches. But it has cameos of other Lanterns, so it must be good right?
Stuart Baird's editing should be a new example of how not to edit or save a film in distress. Scenes often seem to end prematurely or inserted at random. Be ready to see multiple shots of Hal worrying and looking at his ring. There's also the big problem of spoiling Oa, the Green Lantern Corps and the Guardians early on instead of starting with the material on Earth before making the quantum leap into space drama. Baird even failed to do the cliffhanging stinger right, putting it after a couple of credits instead of the very end. Not even the extensive CGI effects can cover up the scars. For all of the money into the making of a CG Lantern suit and the alien Lanterns, it seems that it wasn't spread around to the other departments as some shots suffer greatly with horrible special effects. A floating syringe, robotic arms in a lab, and anything involving electricity are the clearest examples. As for the big bad Parallax, instead of being an intergalactic space bug (Comics everyone!), he goofily looks like the Shang Tsung version of THE BLOB.
The only saving grace is the overall cast, which is shockingly very effective. Ryan Reynolds gets his biggest Hollywood chance as Hal and does well with some nice charm to the role. Blake Lively fits as love interest Carol Ferris, bringing a suited tomboyish quality to her. The supporting cast delivers greatly, with the ham-meister Peter Sarsgaard as the scuzzy Hector Hammond and Mark Strong as Sinestro being the standouts. When these people are given some good moments, such as a bar talk and a meta-play on secret identities, they make you feel enthralled. However, the script is unable to properly work right, with all of its plot holes and lack of payoffs.
Like the now infamous Batman film dilemma during the mid-90's, you should stay home a watch the animated film version of the Green Lantern mythos instead of this theatrical attempt. GREEN LANTERN: FIRST FLIGHT was able to balance out the fun and dark material and focus only on the space storyline to become an entertaining epic movie. This mass of confusion can't handle anything right unless you are an actor or product placement. Now please excuse me while I go get a five dollar footlong at Subway while staring intently at my Verizon LG phone.
FINAL REVIEW: 2 / 5
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