Viewed in
2013
Formats
HDTV
Premise
Based on the the comic book, Ryan Reynolds stars in the adaptation about a test pilot who inherits a ring that gives him superhero powers.
Liked
Light-hearted middle section.
Disliked
Unnatural-looking CGI whenever Reynolds goes green.
Thoughts
It didn't suck, but it wasn't good either.
First off, I'll admit I'm an above-average fan of Reynolds. Nevertheless, he (and the movie) shined best in the middle section when things got cheeky and fun, as he played off of Blake Lively and Taika Waititi. I also liked some of the expensive CGI fight sequences (flying in space might've been cool in 3D), and Peter Sarsgaard's character arc in the first half actually intrigued me with a promising "every villain is a hero" arc. The voice casting of Lex Luthor (Clancy Brown) was logical and amusing.
But the rest of the time I was rather bored. Reynolds (and possibly the director) wasn't able to exude much charm/emotion out of Hal Jordan whenever the flick went into video game mode, which was very often. The rest of the cast wasn't that interesting either.
Story-wise, it was pretty standard. I pretty much expected trouble once a lengthy backstory flashback was followed by another backstory flashback. There wasn't really any surprises or creativity in the plot points, and none of the dialog really popped.
While it would be easy to point to the four(!) credited writers as the reason why the story and characters were weak, I think director Martin Campbell might've been out of his depth as well. Which is surprising given his pedigree of two entertaining James Bond movies, but Bond traditionally relied on practicals and stunts for action sequences, not computer graphics. I'm speculating that the heavy reliance and Campbell's inexperience might be a factor in the subpar performances as well as some really goofy/unnatural CGI, especially when Reynolds was in suit.
I've never read any of the comics, so I don't know if the spirit of the original characters was as stiff as the movie, or if it was a bit cheekier. As a flick, Green Lantern was forgettable, with fun moments few and far between.
