Sunday 17 July 2011

Green Lantern (2011) Dir: Martin Campbell


Last seen playing a man buried alive in, erm, Buried, here Ryan Reynolds takes on one of the lesser known comic book characters, Green Lantern.
The plot:
A seemingly unstoppable force of evil known as Parallax is spreading through the universe. The Green Lantern Corps, a multi-species spanning group of Green Lantern's (!) set about trying to stop its destructive path and, in so doing, one of their most revered members is slain. The ring which gave him power leaves him and transfers to another worthy soul in the shape of Reynolds' Hal Jordan, a test pilot for the US Air Force. Propelled to the planet Oa, base of the Green Lantern Corp, governed by The Guardians, Hal learns the truth of his new identity and is himself thrust into the war against Parallax.
Any chance he might be the one to save the day?
Eh?
Though this is certainly entertaining, there are a few issues.
Parallax, the main menace in the movie, is nought but a CGI rendered monstrosity which instantly robs the movie of any genuine tension. Seriously, try and think of a movie where the main villain is a special effect that actually had any tension.
Keep thinking.
Given up?
I know I have.
Next, Hal Jordan's character is a bit of a problem. Here we have a spectacularly good looking man, with a body that looks like it was sculpted. The first time we meet him he is lying in bed next to a beautiful woman before jumping up and dashing off to his day job as a jet fighter with a rebellious streak. I mean, it's pretty hard not to hate his fucking guts.
Add on the ridiculously expositional nature of much of the dialogue - essential as the premise is a pretty complex one - and the one dimensional relationships Hal forges and what you are left with is something that looks spectacular, with the odd sprinkling of interest and humour but which generally leaves you with a sense of 'Meh.'
Not awful, just nothing of particular note, this falls way short of the comic book excellence of the original X-Men movie, Batman Begins or even this years fun and funder fest Thor.
Watch it if you are a die hard comic book fan, otherwise this can be safely ignored.

3 out of 5

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