Review of Green Lantern (2011) by Matt W — 10 Jul 2013

Most critics slammed this one but I will go out on my own and say I liked it. That is not to say that it does not have a few shortcomings that keep it from being awesome. The concept and story of the Green Lantern is a comic book is quite good.

I really love the overarching theme of will vs fear, and how they translate to green energy & yellow energy. This movie does a respectable job of establishing the characters and laying good groundwork.

The villain is developed reasonably well and the internal conflict within the hero himself works as well. I do wish the discovery of the alien, the ring, and a new galaxy had been more dramatic and handled with a greater sense of awe.

I think the casting of Ryan Reynolds as the hero is a good choice, but he plays many of the important scenes too lightly. It is misses out on great opportunities to create that magical and emotional resonance that could have made this highly memorable.

I am thankful that it did not attempt to be super-serious and dark like the Nolan's Batman series, but the pendulum swings back a little too far the other direction here. I just cannot help but think a more skillful director could have made this even better.

Despite this it still has a great story, good imagination and is a fun watch.