DVD Reviews

Green Lantern – Blu-ray Review

By Patrick Luce Nov 9, 2011, 17:14 GMT

In a universe as vast as it is mysterious, an elite force of protectors for peace and justice has existed for centuries. They are the Green Lantern Corps. When a new enemy called Parallax threatens to destroy the Universe, their fate and the fate of Earth lie in the hands of the Corps\' newest recruit, the first human ever selected: Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds). Bringing the popular superhero to the ...more

Green Lantern takes flight with a by-the-numbers origin story that isn’t awful, but falls short of some of the great superhero movies that have made their way to the big screen. The film attempts to be epic, but comes across as bland by the time the credits roll.

Based on the classic DC Comics character, Green Lantern was directed by Martin Campbell and had four screenwriters (Greg Berlanti, Michael Green, Marc Guggenheim, Michael Goldenberg) help bring it to the screen. The film has a more than capable cast including Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Peter Sarsgaard, Mark Strong, Tim Robbins, Angela Bassett, Jon Tenney, and Temuera Morrison. It also features voice-actors Geoffrey Rush, Michael Clarke Duncan, and Clancy Brown.

The movie kicks off with a quick introduction to the Green Lantern universe - which includes an intro of the film’s baddie Parallax (voiced by Clancy Brown) and the Guardians of Oa. It then settles in on an adult Hal Jordan (Reynolds) – a test pilot who is driven by the death of his father and the doubts caused by his own fear. Hal isn’t the typical straight-laced hero and seems very comical as he rushes to the airport to test some experimental aircraft with his boss and future love interest Carol Ferris (Lively).

In a demonstration of his recklessness, Jordan crashes his plane while showing the faults in the experimental planes he was fighting against. On the outs with his company, things are looking grim for the would-be hero.

While establishing Jordan’s story, the film jumps back and forth to Oa, and the showdown between Green Lantern Abin Sur (Morrison) and Parallax. The battle sends a mortally wounded Sur to Earth where his Green Lantern’s ring (the device that gives the Lanterns their power) begins a search to find a worthy successor. The ring chooses Jordan who is shot to Oa for Green Lantern training.

As the first human Green Lantern, Jordan is quickly overwhelmed by what is expected of him and the responsibility of wearing the ring. The scenes also provide the film a chance to fill the screen with classic characters from the comics including Green Lanterns  Sinestro (Strong), Kilowog (Duncan) and Tomar-Re (Rush). There are also a ton of Green Lanterns filling the background that will be recognizable to fans of the comic.

Back on Earth, the government has recovered Sur’s body and Senator Hammond (Robbins) has arranged for his scientist son Hector (Sarsgaard) to examine the alien. Hector, who seems full of fear, has always been a disappointment to his father, and the senator sees this opportunity as a way for his son to step up to be the man he should be.

As Hector is examining the body with Amanda Waller (Bassett), he is infected with some of Parallax and begins to develop mental powers along with some sever disfigurement.  He also starts to enjoy the power he is gaining and the fear he can inflict on those he feels have caused him wrong – such as his father, Carol and Hal.

Deciding the Green Lantern Corps are too much for him, Jordan returns to Earth in time to witness an attack from Hector and Parallax. With Carol in danger, Hal switches to Green Lantern and steps up to save the day. In the process, he also alerting Parallax to his presence.

This sets up a showdown between Jordan and Parallax as well as letting Jordan fully accept his role as the new Green Lantern.

Green Lantern does several things right to make the movie enjoyable and something fans of the character won’t fully hate. As a quasi-fan of the comic, I enjoyed seeing all the side characters during the trip to Oa, and found the origin story easy to follow. My wife hated the movie and was completely lost once Jordan heads to Oa.

Although he is a talented actor with plenty of charm, Reynolds as Hal Jordan doesn’t quite work. The actor has proven he has the chops for comic book films (he was perfectly cast as Deadpool even if the character was wasted in the Wolverine film), but seems to try too hard for Jordan.  It could be a lacking in the script or the bland feeling to the origin tale, but he just didn’t seem a fit for the ring.

Given the importance of the character in the comics, I enjoyed that the film’s baddie was Parallax, but hated that the film reduced him to a glowing yellow cloud (I guess they didn’t learn anything from Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer). I also liked how they teased a bigger role for Sinestro (a major character from the comics) in future films – if they are able to get another one to the screen.

When I first heard Green Lantern was headed to the screen, I thought it was a perfect fit given its epic space setting and vast gallery of characters. The film seemed to be in good hands with director Martin Campbell (who helped bring life back to the James Bond franchise), and the casting of Reynolds also seemed a good fit for the character of Hal Jordan.

All the elements are in place for a solid first film for Green Lantern, but the film seems to lack the needed elements to make it truly great or hold up to some of the other superhero films out there – Thor, Iron Man, Captain America and even Nolan’s Batman films (though those are grounded more in reality).

Since the Green Lanterns can make anything with their green energy, the film relies heavily on CGI effects and the results are a little less than stellar. Some of the effects are have a cool factor (I love the chain gun Jordan creates), but some seem not needed – such as the CGI’d suit and mask. The effects don’t hurt the movie, but they also don’t really help it – something that it really needed at times.

The film looks incredible on Blu-ray with a crystal clear picture and sound that capture the space epic feel the filmmakers were going for with the movie. The Blu-ray also comes loaded with special features that take you into the making of the film; sheds more light on the Green Lantern mythos; and even includes a Justice League #1 digital comic.

While Green Lantern isn’t a horrible film, it does miss the mark and is easily forgettable. Rather than achieve something great, the filmmakers present a basic origin story that will hopefully lead to better things to come.

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