Here we see Ryan Reynolds donning the famous green suit in which some may ask, "Ryan as a superhero?" Well, I guess many have already erased from their minds his previous superhero stint as the awful adaptation of Deadpool (oh God!) in X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
Anyways the Green Lantern might be less-known than DC's more famous stars like Superman and Batman, but anyone familiar with comics and the Justice League should know about this chap. The film adaptation marks a serious attempt by DC to pit their superheroes (other than the famous duo) against Marvel's Avenger movie onslaught.
The film is essentially an origin story and sees how fighter pilot Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds) gets chosen by the ring and becomes the Green Lantern.
We are also introduced to the Green Lantern Corps, an intergalactic group of beings (all chosen by rings) who help defend the galaxy from evil. You see, times are bad and the galaxy is in peril because of an escaped entity of fear called Parallax, a powerful being once imprisoned by the great Abin Sur (Temuera Morrison). With the Corps seemingly unable to defeat Parallax without Abin Sur (who before his death sent his ring to find a successor, which turned out to be Hal Jordan), all hope seems to lie on our little new Green Lantern (who also happens to be the first human to get this privilege).
And oh, I forgot to mention that the ring enables its user to turn any thought as a weapon.
If this all sounds like a lot to swallow, well, it is. The movie tries to cram most this within the the first 15 minutes of the movie and it might be an overwhelming information overload for those unfamiliar with comic characters or superheroes in general. But it's still quite a ride. The action is entertaining and there are plenty of neat details like how Hal's suit seems 'alive' and glowing. The various weapons he uses are also real cool, although occasionally bordering on the cartoonish. The filmmakers also did a splendid job on the Corps home planet of Oa, which appears rich and vast. And boy did they do a good job showing the diversity among the Lanterns.
You could see plenty of budget was spent on the effects and action scenes for the movie. However you might wish that more attention be spent on the plot and characters. The motivation for lead guy Hal for instance, wasn't really fleshed out much and some might even wonder why the ring chose him.
Indeed there are parts like how his dad's death while flying affects him but I felt he needed a more concrete reason to rise up and be the green hero everyone needs.
But Reynolds does a decent job portraying a conflicted reluctant hero who rises to the occasion and also brings in good laughs (some were unnecessary though).
The film has quite an assortment of other characters that add color to the story as well, like the great Corps leader Sinestro (Mark Strong), fellow Lanterns Tomar-Re (Geoffrey Rush) and Kilowog (Michael Clarke Duncan).
While nicely adapted (an voiced) for the big screen, I couldn't help but feel they weren't fully utilised. And 'The Guardians' reminded me of Mojo Jojo for some reason. Peter Sarsgaard on the other hand, did quite well as Hector Hammond, the revolting creepy guy who has quite a disturbing obsession over Hal's love interest Carol Ferris (Blake Livey).
And oh, Lively makes nice eye candy, but is terribly under-used.
Parallax however, looked like space diarrhea and reminds everyone why super-villains like these don't work well on the big screen (Galactus in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer anyone?). But to give him some credit, scenes of him sucking the fear out of his victims was disturbing and nicely done.
Overall The Green Lantern might have its flaws, but it isn't a bad movie. In fact it's quite entertaining. Just treat it like what it's meant to be (a summer flick), grab your popcorn and you'll have a fun ride. It's just a little unfortunate that it comes out right after X-Men: First Class. Don't watch expecting it to be the next The Dark Knight and you'll enjoy it.
PS: Stay back after the credits until the movie title appears for an extra scene that fans will certainly be able to associate with.
3 Stars
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