Review of Green Lantern (2011) by Joanna B — 01 Mar 2016

After only a single solitary week's respite from superhero movies, I'm back in the perilous saddle of yet another peacekeeping comic adaptation. Unlike its marvel cousins, embroiled in the battle of good vs. evil, Green Lantern defines the line between the emerald energy of will vs. yellow force of fear.

Sworn for a millennia to uphold intergalactic order and maintain the delicate balance of good and evil in our vast and mysterious universe; a small but powerful band of warriors called the Green Lantern Corps stand as the protectors of peace and justice.

Residing on planet Oa, each member of the interplanetary 3,600 strong brotherhood is bestowed with otherworldly superpowers channeled through a mystical green ring. Granting the wearer the ability to incarnate anything that can be dreamt by harnessing the wearers' belief in triumph of will and conquering the weakness of fear.

Under threat of both their inhalation and Earth obliteration from a new enemy; the Parallax (voiced by Clancy Brown), the lanterns fate lies in the inexperienced hands of their newest recruit and first human ever selected to hold the green lantern post, Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds).

Historically humans have been unable to harness the infinite powers of the ring however Hal, a talented but opinionated, cocky, arrogant, rash and overconfident hot-shot test fighter pilot who pushes every boundary, is clearly the missing piece.

After witnessing the death of his father inside the cockpit as a child, Hal has ingrained determination, sheer willpower and a highly developed imagination and he alone holds the key ingredient to the supernatural squadron's success, his humanity.

Supported by his childhood sweetheart and glamorous fellow pilot Carol Ferris (Blake Lively), Hal must embrace his truest self. Quickly mastering his new powers and finding the inner courage to overcome his personal fears, Hal accepts his fate as the greatest but most flawed Green Lantern of all.

In extreme overdrive this season, the Sci-fi fantasy genre continues to rein supreme in 2011, however with an incoherent script, lazy background development and unnecessary 3D, DC comics first offering outside of Batman falls far short of expectation. For a concept that spouts the importance of humanity, it comes across as a lifeless spectacle.

Ryan Reynolds clad in an impressively tight eight-pack hugging suit, utilises his witty humour, infectious energy and good looks to be entertaining but fails to deliver any gravity whilst love interest Blake Lively is little more than window dressing.

Peter Sarsgaard however is a knockout as the creepy professor Hector Hammond. As the secondary villain, Hector a scientist with a passion for terrestrial life becomes inflicted by the same entity that gives Hal his powers. Morphing into monstrously menacing Quasimodo disfigured ball of rage, Sarsgaard delivers a wonderful sense of both physical and psychological unease.

The nebulous main villain Parallax consists of a diabolical face lurching out from rolling tendrils of foul, polluted matter is the CGI victim of the film. Lacking definition and general placement, it comes across mealy as an angry blob floating through space.

Another flaw is the pesky comic history. Fact: Hal Jordan has been falsely credited as the first human green lantern appearing in 1959, however in 1940 artist Martin Nodell and writer Bill Finger created the first one as a railway engineer Alan Scott. Oh well, no point in getting in the way of a mediocre story.

The Verdict: "Let those who worship Evil's might, beware my power - green lantern's light" Can Green Lantern ignite a franchise (which is clearly on the cards, once again wait for the end of the credits) or will the dull hue of light fizzle into nothingness?

Published: The Queanbeyan Age.

Date of Publication: 19/08/2011.