Green Lantern: The Early Reviews Are Bad. Really Bad.

So I just got back from watching the movie with a friend and I thought it was a good movie.

My friend, who is a big GL fan and a reader of the comics/etc (I'm not), said it was good but there is some nitpicks that are wrong in the movie.

Edit:

Oh and I didn't read any of the posts in the thread (except a few) but...I think the "best" origin story comic book/hero one is the Iron Man movie. Really, really liked that movie. If it had a longer fight (more drawn out fight) between Iron Man and the main villain (forgot his villain name War Monger?) it would have been perfect.

Iron Monger

Why does adding the word "Summer" to the description "Good movie" somehow allow a lower standard then the words "Good movie" alone?

I see this all the time, and it rather perplexes me. Am I the only person that thinks a good summer movie does not come out every summer?

And is it the season or the budget that allow this lowered expectation?

I notice that I can not add summer to "It is a good steak" and permit lower expectations. If the cook makes it in a different season he gets no lowered expectation. If he gets a bigger budget with which to prepare my steak, expectations for a good steak rise should rather then fall.

There were a lot of good ideas in this movie, but not a whole lot that is well executed. The major theme that I saw that Hal brought something to the Corps that they lacked: as a being that felt fear easily enough and yet could overcome it, he had a distinct advantage over the other Green Lanterns who couldn't recognize their own fear until it was too late. But they did a poor job selling this point. Instead we get way too much focus on a weak villain, and too little focus on the Corps.

Maybe if Hal could have nearly been consumed by Parallax, but at the last moment rip his soul back out of a sheer force of will. Maybe if he was joined by a contingent of the Corps and he and his very human way of dealing with fear turned the tide of battle. Maybe if they made more of the fact that Sinestro came to believe that fear was stronger than will and showed that he resented that Hal was victorious through will, his actions in the stinger would have made a lot more sense.

Also, while Green Lantern does need Hal's life on Earth to ground the character, Green Lantern works best when its basically space opera in spandex. It deals with a lot of color-coded characters wielding emotions as weapons and makes no apologies about that. It should all be silly, but it takes itself seriously and just asks you to go with it, and if you do you're in for a fantastic ride. That's what Geoff Johns brought to Green Lantern, turning it into a perennially struggling property into one of the most popular superheroes going right now.

But that's not what we got here. Instead we got a lot of what made Green Lantern a struggling property for many years: too Earthy, too small, trying to be like every other superhero instead of showcasing what makes Green Lantern unique and great.

It's not a bad movie. It's definitely not as bad as Spider-Man 3 or the Fantastic Four movies. It's entertaining, but it fails to tap into its potential. No one is going to see this movie as their first exposure to Green Lantern and say, "Ohmygosh, Green Lantern is AWESOME!" And that's exactly why you do a superhero movie in the first place: to expose people who haven't yet experienced the character to just how awesome they are. And that's why this movie is so disappointing as a Green Lantern fan even though I did kinda enjoy it.

Here's a review of the movie by Brad Jones (The Cinema Snob) and his friends.

http://thecinemasnob.com/2011/06/17/...-penguins.aspx

And here's Linkara's thoughts on the movie.

So, Hal Jordan is summoned by otherworldly technology to encounter a dying alien being, transported across the universe, and awakens on another planet clad in a wondrous energy uniform. And how does he react to these awe-inspiring experiences?

Well, as played by former standup comedian, Ryan Reynolds, he playfully struts and poses, watching himself in a reflective crystal surface. Argh!

Warner Bros., you are the same studio that served as reverential caretakers of the Harry Potter property; why did you desecrate Green Lantern?!

I just wanted to say, Thank You, to all the critics and rottentomatoes for bringing my expectations for this movie down to a low enough level that I could enjoy it!

Best scene: Green Lantern and Carol on the balcony. Take that Lois Lane! Well played

The problem with Ryan Reynold's Hal Jordan is that it is an unfocused, irresponsible, immature d-bag.

Hal Jordan is a focused, angry, responsible character who seems to be uncaring due to his focus and anger.

I admit it's been a while since I last read the Emerald Dawn version of GL's origin, but I thought the movie borrowed a fair bit of Hal's personality from that. The irresponsible jackass who knew he was a bit of a screw-up but couldn't bring himself to admit it and take responsibility for how his actions affected others?

One thing that I really liked about the movie's portrayal of Hal was the moment after he's dropped off near Abin's ship. He's disoriented at first, then disbelieving when he catches sight of the ship. But the instant he sees Abin's arm drop into view he charges in without hesitation to try and help whoever's in there.