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Here’s the thing…
movie viewers and
critics have been a
tad too hard on
Green
Lantern.
Was it a perfect
movie? Far from it.
But was it a decent
movie that told an
origin story and set
up a cool character
for future sequels?
Absolutely.
Green
Lantern
had flaws and it had
lots of them. But
after I watched it I
walked away
entertained and
ready to see a
sequel.
Hal Jordan is a
grown-man who acts
like he’s 16 years
old. He’s reckless
and he’s emotionally
detached from anyone
who tries to get
close. This goes
back to watching his
father die in a
horrific plane crash
when he was a kid.
Hal took to the
skies and became a
pilot just like his
old man because
that’s what he was
meant to be. But
after a scare at
work he gets taken
in a green orb to a
crash site to become
a warrior in the
Green Lantern core.
In the core we get
to meet a few
different of key
characters in the
core and Hal learns
to fight with his
ring. While all of
this is going on, a
huge threat to
existence is
brewing. Parallax, a
giant force that
feeds on fear has
broken free from his
holding place. He’s
angry and he’s out
for some revenge
against the Green
Lantern core. He’s
consuming entire
planets and heading
straight to the
Lanterns’ planet of
Oa to get his
revenge. Between him
and Oa? Earth. And
it’s up to the
newest Lantern, Hal
Jordan to save the
day.
If
you read any
Green
Lantern
comics growing up
(or if you just read
them now) you had to
have the feeling
that this movie
wasn’t going to be
seen as a success by
critics or really
anyone for that
matter. The
Green
Lantern
books are so
exciting…
intelligent alien
species of all kinds
fighting on distant
planets for good… It
just sounds cool.
But here’s the
thing, to make
movies about Hal
Jordan as the
Green
Lantern
then you have to
have some kind of
origin story on why
he dons the green
mask. To watch the
movie that takes
place on distant
planets with only
one human character,
you have to watch
this movie. That’s
why this is viewed
as such a huge flop
by most fans… ‘Why
didn’t they spend
more time on Oa?’
‘They have all these
crazy alien
characters but we
only see them for
ten minutes.’ If you
spent more time on
Oa, Hal Jordan’s
character never
develops and we
never sympathize
with him. Granted,
the first 20-30
minutes of this
could have been done
a lot better and
casting on the
bad-guy side of
things could have
been done better
too. But look… if
they get to make a
sequel for this
franchise we’re more
likely to get
Sinestro vs. Hal
Jordan on planets
afar. You can’t make
that movie without
making this movie.
Green
Lantern
is not an ignorable
features though…
it’s the opposite of
that. There are some
great special
effects. Ryan
Reynolds’
performance as Hal
Jordan is spot-on.
(He’s shallow mixed
in with a cup of
crazy.) And when the
action scenes get
rolling they get
rolling good enough
for fans to enjoy.
There was more
potential here than
what ended up being
the final product
but it’s not as bad
as some people make
it out to be. The
product placement
for Hot Wheels tries
to be subtle but
it’s not and the
first act of the
movie could have
been written better
but it is what it
is, I don’t regret
watching it and I’ll
watch it again.
The
special features on
Green
Lantern
are ample. There are
loads upon loads to
watch and go through
including a
picture-in-picture
viewing mode,
several behind the
scenes looks, and a
digital comic of
Justice League #1,
part of the new 52
series DC just
rolled out with.
That’s just
scratching the
surface on the
extras, there are
hours of
entertainment to be
had here after the
movie is over.
Green
Lantern
isn’t a bad movie
and it’s a shame
that it’s been
labeled as such. For
some reason people
are focusing on all
of the things it
does wrong instead
of the things it
does right. It could
have better. There’s
no denying that. But
we get to know one
of the most complex
characters in the
comic book universe
with this movie.
Hopefully we get a
sequel and for
perceptions sake, a
new director. Now
that we know who Hal
Jordan is, let’s see
what he can do.
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