Green Lantern
Well I saw Green Lantern just before the weekend and I think the experience can be best summed up as that a lot of potential was wasted.
Now before I continue I point out that though I have some basic knowledge of the DC comic franchise this is based on I am not a Green Lantern fan, and I don’t know enough about the lore to say how well the makers have translated the characters in the comic onto the big screen. This review is from the viewpoint of someone coming in relatively fresh as it were.
I’ll continue after the cut but be aware there will be some spoilers.
My main thought while watching the film was that I would have been more impressed with this film had it come out a couple of years ago, or even if this had come out before Thor. Basically I’d be watching a scene in Lantern and thinking this has already been done and it’s been done much better.
For example both Thor and Lantern have epic sweeping alien vista shots but where Thor’s scenes actually had my eyes bugging out as I tried to take in all the Trogdor like majesty Lanterns just left me going “meh”. Being a total sci-fi and fantasy nut the sight of an alien world built round a planetary core sized battery of pure will should have had me masturbating like a wild monkey but I just didn’t find the designs particularly engaging or awe inspiring.
I was also somewhat disappointed by the character development and powers displayed by the other Green Lanterns. I know the focus of the film is meant to be on Ryan Reynolds human lead character Hal Jordan, but considering the amount of screen time and CG budget they dedicated to the alien stuff they were not very well used.
The Lanterns powers work by using their green will power rings to form constructs of anything they can imagine. A point is made about Hal Jordan while he’s being trained that as per the primitive nature of his race he tends to imagine swords and guns for his constructs. One of his trainers Killiwog demonstrates how powerful the rings are, and quite how piss poor weak Hals imagination is, by nearly killing him when he forms a small star with accompanying gravity well meters away from his head.
Yet despite this show of awesome power and imagination from one lantern a scene featuring half a dozen of them sent to deal with the films big villain Parallax has them conjuring up a giant net before being killed like little bitches.
Plot wise the film holds together reasonably well. Some things like Hals relationship with Hector Hammond could have done with more background and build up, the film suggests they do seem to know each other but the way their thrown together is quite arbitrary in my opinion. Other bits like Hals father issues were also quite roughly shoehorned in to the flow of the film:
Flying mah plane, flying mah plane, look at daddy’s photo… OH FUCK TRUMATIC CHILDHOOD FLASHBACK AND EXPOSITION ABOUT MY DADDYS TEST FLIGHT ACCIDENT, crashing mah plane, crashing mah plane.
It was so ridiculously sudden it was like watching Charlie Sheen (winning) in Hotshots. If a photo of your dad is going to kick off an anxiety attack it’s probably not best to have it with you on your important test flight.
The special effects generally work quite well I only had a couple of minor moments where things looked off and they were literally blink and you miss it moments. The rest of the film was sufficiently shiny and entertaining enough that I didn’t notice any other lapses. It’s just a shame that for all the money that was pumped into the effects they don’t really look that spectacular overall.
So is it worth seeing at the cinema? If you’re not a green Lantern Fan and just a casual cinema goer then no it’s not, wait till the DVD comes out. With the price of cinema tickets these days drop the cash on Thor or X-Men First Class. I’m not sure how much a Green Lantern fan will get out of this film but it has entertained me enough that if they do get to make a sequel I’ll gladly give it watch. Though they need to up their game significantly, especially considering how good the recent Marvel super hero films have been.
Before bringing this way too long entry to a close I will say two final things.
1. Definitely take kids to see this film, they’ll probably love it but the main reason to get them to watch is that the main villain Parallax is some great kiddie nightmare fuel. That shit will be haunting their dreams for years.
2. I’d never be allowed to have one of those rings for the same reason I’m not allowed a holodeck or a time machine. Because I’d be having sex with Diana Rigg in her Avengers prime as much as my chafing flesh would allow.
Now before I continue I point out that though I have some basic knowledge of the DC comic franchise this is based on I am not a Green Lantern fan, and I don’t know enough about the lore to say how well the makers have translated the characters in the comic onto the big screen. This review is from the viewpoint of someone coming in relatively fresh as it were.
I’ll continue after the cut but be aware there will be some spoilers.
My main thought while watching the film was that I would have been more impressed with this film had it come out a couple of years ago, or even if this had come out before Thor. Basically I’d be watching a scene in Lantern and thinking this has already been done and it’s been done much better.
For example both Thor and Lantern have epic sweeping alien vista shots but where Thor’s scenes actually had my eyes bugging out as I tried to take in all the Trogdor like majesty Lanterns just left me going “meh”. Being a total sci-fi and fantasy nut the sight of an alien world built round a planetary core sized battery of pure will should have had me masturbating like a wild monkey but I just didn’t find the designs particularly engaging or awe inspiring.
I was also somewhat disappointed by the character development and powers displayed by the other Green Lanterns. I know the focus of the film is meant to be on Ryan Reynolds human lead character Hal Jordan, but considering the amount of screen time and CG budget they dedicated to the alien stuff they were not very well used.
The Lanterns powers work by using their green will power rings to form constructs of anything they can imagine. A point is made about Hal Jordan while he’s being trained that as per the primitive nature of his race he tends to imagine swords and guns for his constructs. One of his trainers Killiwog demonstrates how powerful the rings are, and quite how piss poor weak Hals imagination is, by nearly killing him when he forms a small star with accompanying gravity well meters away from his head.
Yet despite this show of awesome power and imagination from one lantern a scene featuring half a dozen of them sent to deal with the films big villain Parallax has them conjuring up a giant net before being killed like little bitches.
Plot wise the film holds together reasonably well. Some things like Hals relationship with Hector Hammond could have done with more background and build up, the film suggests they do seem to know each other but the way their thrown together is quite arbitrary in my opinion. Other bits like Hals father issues were also quite roughly shoehorned in to the flow of the film:
Flying mah plane, flying mah plane, look at daddy’s photo… OH FUCK TRUMATIC CHILDHOOD FLASHBACK AND EXPOSITION ABOUT MY DADDYS TEST FLIGHT ACCIDENT, crashing mah plane, crashing mah plane.
It was so ridiculously sudden it was like watching Charlie Sheen (winning) in Hotshots. If a photo of your dad is going to kick off an anxiety attack it’s probably not best to have it with you on your important test flight.
The special effects generally work quite well I only had a couple of minor moments where things looked off and they were literally blink and you miss it moments. The rest of the film was sufficiently shiny and entertaining enough that I didn’t notice any other lapses. It’s just a shame that for all the money that was pumped into the effects they don’t really look that spectacular overall.
So is it worth seeing at the cinema? If you’re not a green Lantern Fan and just a casual cinema goer then no it’s not, wait till the DVD comes out. With the price of cinema tickets these days drop the cash on Thor or X-Men First Class. I’m not sure how much a Green Lantern fan will get out of this film but it has entertained me enough that if they do get to make a sequel I’ll gladly give it watch. Though they need to up their game significantly, especially considering how good the recent Marvel super hero films have been.
Before bringing this way too long entry to a close I will say two final things.
1. Definitely take kids to see this film, they’ll probably love it but the main reason to get them to watch is that the main villain Parallax is some great kiddie nightmare fuel. That shit will be haunting their dreams for years.
2. I’d never be allowed to have one of those rings for the same reason I’m not allowed a holodeck or a time machine. Because I’d be having sex with Diana Rigg in her Avengers prime as much as my chafing flesh would allow.