Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Green Lantern

Ryan Reynolds stars as Hal Jordan, a misunderstood hot shot who masks his fear with arrogance and sarcasm in the latest DC Comics adaption, Green Lantern. When he is chosen to succeed a dying alien as a member the Green Lantern Corps, an intergalactic police force, he must decide whether or not he can finally confront his uncertainty to help save Earth from a menacing threat. Reynolds gives a strong performance, as expected. However, the script never allows for him to showcase his ability to blend comedy and action like he did in ‘09’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine. But because of a few too many plot points, there isn’t really time for that.

The rotating storylines cause the film, which is fast paced and exciting for the most part, to seem drawn out in the second half. The fact that there’s support from actors like Peter Sarsgaard, Blake Lively, Mark Strong and others means that someone won’t get a ton of screen time. That’s okay. But the script tries to jam them all in there. With an origin film, a significant amount of time should be spent on building that single character.

What Green Lantern does have going for it is a unique concept. The Corps presence throughout the universe is different than any other comic book. Plus, his powers vary in each situation since his ring can create anything that his mind thinks of. I also like a little outer space thrown in there for some variety. The film opens tons of possibilities for a franchise that will no doubt be entertaining. Though it’s hard to even mention it on the same page as imprint/studio mate The Dark Knight. Warner set the bar so high that it makes their other movies look inferior when compared. But it's not even close to being the worst comic book movie I’ve seen. I’m looking at you Jonah Hex. (7.7 out of 10)

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