Guilty Pleasures: Green Lantern
By Felix Quinonez Jr.
September 18, 2012
BoxOfficeProphets.com
But even so, we all have our guilty pleasures. I’m talking about that song you stop humming when someone walks into the room. Or maybe it’s that movie you claim your significant other dragged you to. Whatever the case, we all have guilty pleasures and that includes me, of course. With this column I’m going to try to encourage people to stop being embarrassed for liking things they normally wouldn’t or that aren’t considered cool. I’m going to do this by celebrating movies that are my personal guilty pleasures.
As an avid comic book nerd, I remember being young and wishing my favorite characters would one day hit the big screen in a REAL movie. I used to read Wizard magazine and devour any casting and development news…so you can imagine how much I love this current comic book movie craze. (A LOT)
Studios have been turning to comic books in search of a blockbuster for over a decade now. But this past summer is going to be hard to top. We had two of the most anticipated comic book movies (The Dark Knight Rises, Avengers) and a reboot one of the most successful franchises. (The Amazing Spider-Man) Needless to say, expectations were high and, in my opinion, these movies definitely delivered the goods. Looking back on it, this year’s summer might go down as the high mark of the genre. Because of this it is easy to forget how good last year’s summer movie batch was.
Going into the summer 0f 2011, it seemed like we were getting the B-level movies out of the way, as if we were being given something to tide us over until the big boys came out the next year. On paper it seemed like it would be a mild summer for comic book movies. Three of the movies were based on characters that, while popular to fanboys, were not generally well known amongst the mainstream crowds. (Thor, Captain America, Green Lantern) The fourth one was a reboot/prequel to a franchise that started out hot but had cooled off considerably. (X-Men: First Class) But then something crazy happened…the movies were actually REALLY good. (Well three of them were) The movies were genuinely exciting, had great performances, and were way better than they had any right to be. Well, like I said three of them were…which leaves us Green Lantern. No matter what, there always has to be a weak one in the bunch, and that’s exactly what Green Lantern was. While the other three excelled, this movie went in the exact opposite direction. Most people were surprised by how good the other three were but with Green Lantern…well, it was the exact opposite.
Green Lantern, directed by Martin Campbell and starring Ryan Reynolds definitely had potential but I’m not even going to try to deny the fact that it was ultimately a disappointment. There is definitely a lot wrong with the movie so I might as well start at the beginning.
Acknowledging that Green Lantern is not the most recognizable of characters, the movie starts by trying to get some exposition out of the way. Millions of years before the Earth was formed, a group of beings called the Guardians of the Universe used the green essence of willpower to create an intergalactic police force called the Green Lantern Corps. They split the universe into 3,600 sectors, with one Green Lantern per sector. It’s completely understandable that they would try to bring the viewers up to speed but they do it so listlessly. It’s not a good sign when you find yourself already yawning and staring at your watch at the beginning of the movie. And that’s one of the major problems. It seems like every other scene you have to sit through chunks of exposition that’s as exciting as listening to someone read a phonebook.
Another huge problem is that the movie seems to be going out of its way to make the story seem bland. Instead of focusing on what makes the character unique and fun, the movie is forced into a clichéd story mold. It seems like they were working from a checklist more than a script. It is also apparent that the movie is not at all concerned with character development. Aside from Green Lantern himself, most of the characters barely qualify as one dimensional. And that’s not to say that the hero is developed very well. But perhaps the most surprising disappointment was the visual effects. Although it did have some bright spots, a lot of it is just really bad.
But the reason I’m writing about this movie is that in spite of its many disappointments I do still like it. But I have to admit that I’m a bit biased towards comic book movies, so I’m a lot more forgiving than the “average” viewer. While the movie wasn’t actually good, it had its moments and that was enough for me.
Ryan Reynolds is, in my opinion, the movie’s best asset. I think it’s clear that his performance was influenced by Robert Downey Jr.’s take on Iron Man. The only problem is that Green Lantern is lacking the smart writing or clever dialogue that made Iron Man such a wild success. But even so, Reynolds does a commendable job and is mostly tolerable and sometimes even good.
Although the supporting cast is mostly relegated to the background, two characters almost stand out. Peter Sarsgaard as Dr. Hector Hammond is actually quite good. The movie spends a good amount of time building him up as the antagonist. It’s too bad that when he actually does become the bad guy the movie turns him into a walking cliché. As a pretty big Green Lantern fan, I was very excited to see Sinestro on screen. He was a mentor to our hero and a badass Green Lantern himself. It’s unfortunate the movie barely uses him. But when he is on screen, he really shines. Mark Strong, although he’s not given much to work with, does a great job. He exudes confidence and is totally cool. I felt like they really got the character right.
Unlike other characters that try to be more “realistic,” Green Lantern has some inherent silliness - his weakness is the color yellow after all - and I liked that at times the movie embraces that. There is a great bit in the movie where Green Lantern’s love interest - played by Blake Lively - recognizes him under his mask. She asks if he really thought covering his cheekbones would hide his identity from her. I mentioned that sometimes the special effects were good. I think one of the highlights of the movie is how cool Green Lantern’s costume looks. I know a lot of people complained that it was completely CGI but I loved it. The costume is created by a ring that can materialize anything its wearer imagines and that ring was created by the guardians of the universe, so shouldn’t the costume look otherworldly? I always thought it was kind of lame that his costume looked like it was sewn together with regular fabric.
I agree that it doesn’t sound like there are too many reasons to watch this movie but it’s not as bad as people will have you believe. I also know that’s not high praise and I can’t really recommend this to many people. I will say that if you enjoy comic book movies and are forgiving then you should check out Green Lantern.