Review of Green Lantern (2011) by Jldyck — 17 Jun 2011
As someone who has been reading comic books since I was 12, I have to say that GL was great. After watching Superman Returns and the last three X-men movies I had almost given up hope that any superhero screenplay would be anywhere close to the source material (Superman having a son? Jean Grey killing Cyclops? blasphemy!) GL, and the Dark Knight before it, renewed hope that Hollywood can make a comic movie without completely rewriting 50 years of character development. Other than the presence of Paralax, 90% of the Hal Jordan origin story reflects what you find in GL: Secret Origin (by Geoff Johns), which keeps this from becoming just another cringe worthy attempt to cash in on the wave of superhero films since the late 90's. That being said it isn't Shakespeare, so if you're looking for a heady drama you're not going to find it here. Overall it was a great summer adventure that keeps you entertained for an hour and a half, which is just what it is supposed to do. The Pros - True to the source material.
- Ryan Reynolds plays Hal like he is supposed to be: flawed, but working to overcome his shortcomings.
- Amazing character design for the other GLs (Sinestro, Killowog, Tomar).
- Enough (but not too much) humor to prevent it from being dark and dreary. GL isn't Batman, and isn't supposed to be.
- Didn't feel like it was overloaded with visual fx, but they still looked awesome.
- Good dialog overall. no "are you an angel" (to quote phantom menace) lines in this to make you wonder what the writer's IQ is.
The Cons - needed a bit more action, if they make a sequel they should find a villain who's main ability isn't that he's a "thinker not a doer".
- not enough character development for the supporting cast. other than Carol the average audience wont really be able to tell you anything about Tom, Killowog, Tomar, etc. and if you haven't read the comics you really won't know why Hals older brother is an ass.
Bottom line: not a bad job for GL's first time on the silver screen. I'd give it an 8.
This review of Green Lantern (2011) was written by Jldyck on 17 Jun 2011.
Green Lantern has generally received mixed reviews.
Was this review helpful?
