Official Green Lantern News & Discussion Thread - Part 9

[Whiskey Tango]

Warner Bros' entire marketing strategy was misleading. This was a simple case of the classic bait and switch technique usually found when purchasing gizmos and gadgets from a street peddler or a lemon from a used car dealer. All of the promotions leading up to Green Lantern make promises of intergalactic action, adventure and heartfelt tension that somehow didn't make it into the film's final cut.

Bottom line: It was pitched (and quoted by cast/crew) as being the next Star Wars in scope; it's irrefutable that wasn't the case when 99% of the intergalactic scenes were revealed in the trailers/tv spots.

Unfortunately this is lost on the hardcore DC fans. They're determined to defend this thing to the death, logic and reason be damned.

edit - let's not say 'defend this thing'. More like, 'defend the questionable decisions and the idiots who made them'

 

[Poni_Boy]

Unfortunately this is lost on the hardcore DC fans. They're determined to defend this thing to the death, logic and reason be damned.

I'm not a hardcore fan of all things DC, but GL has slowly but surely become my favorite comic character. I also love reading stories about the JSA, but that convo is for another time and place.

I would think the bigger a fan you are the less concessions you're willing to take when a studio craps on your favorite character. They turned GL into a gimmick, not an iconic hero. If anyone disagrees, I'd like for them to name one truly iconic moment in the film that will be remembered and associated with GL for years.

 

[The Morningstar]

Exactly. I can't quite fathom how GL fans are defending this. It's a complete disservice to the character and mythos.

Now i'll be the first to admit, I think Hal Jordan is lame. He's a bland cardboard cut out cypher for the reader to imprint themselves onto.

But, the Green Lantern mythology is just sooooo awesome. It's probably the richest mythology in comic books. It just wasn't given the treatment it deserves. And neither was Hal.

 

[TheMadScientist]

I'm not a hardcore fan of all things DC, but GL has slowly but surely become my favorite comic character. I also love reading stories about the JSA, but that convo is for another time and place.

I would think the bigger a fan you are the less concessions you're willing to take when a studio craps on your favorite character. They turned GL into a gimmick, not an iconic hero. If anyone disagrees, I'd like for them to name one truly iconic moment in the film that will be remembered and associated with GL for years.

I can only see this movie in a few weeks.....but is it true that the movie doesn´t have the scene from the first draft, where Hal is doing all that heroic stuff?? That was one I was looking forward , too..

And haven´t they filmed a scene which was called "Battle of Oa " with Hal and Kilowog and TOmar re in a battle with Parry? It was supposed to be the penultima and the biggest battle scene of the movie? What happened?

 

[Marvin]

Unfortunately this is lost on the hardcore DC fans. They're determined to defend this thing to the death, logic and reason be damned.

edit - let's not say 'defend this thing'. More like, 'defend the questionable decisions and the idiots who made them'

I think the DC fans will start accepting this once the marvel fans do the same.
Asgard is not a couple of establishing shots and a few interiors...etc.

this will be the summer that unites.

 

[Whiskey Tango]

I think the DC fans will start accepting this once the marvel fans do the same.
Asgard is not a couple of establishing shots and a few interiors...etc.

this will be the summer that unites.

Did I forget to mention how they also aren't content unless they're trying to drag down a commercially and critically successful movie belonging to their hated rival company? Must have slipped my mind.

 

[Marvin]

Did I forget to mention how they also aren't content unless they're trying to drag down a commercially and critically successful movie belonging to their hated rival company? Must have slipped my mind.

oh don't worry about that,
it's far more effective if you just keep doing it.

and do you deny it, cause I seem to remember is came up often during that films release.

 

[HighFivingMF]

Look. Marvel Vs. DC. Haven't seen that old chestnut in a while.

 

[Whiskey Tango]

oh don't worry about that,
it's far more effective if you just keep doing it.

I'm not dragging down a critically successful movie, and it remains to be seen if GL will be financially successful. And my biggest complaint has been about the misleading ad campaign.

So you are wrong, that's not what I'm doing at all.

 

[Whiskey Tango]

Look. Marvel Vs. DC. Haven't seen that old chestnut in a while.

It's been going on for days, where have you been?

 

[Marvin]

Personally I a fan of comic book films, Spidey and Xmen being higher on my list than any DC releases. I'm not a fan of what's been going on with GL though.

deserved or not, it's been blown out of proportion any fool can see that.

 

[Marvin]

I'm not dragging down a critically successful movie, and it remains to be seen if GL will be financially successful. And my biggest complaint has been about the misleading ad campaign.

So you are wrong, that's not what I'm doing at all.

you mentioned fans not accepting a criticism, I merely pointed out that it's been happening on both ends of the spectrum. Especially when Marvel's scope has been called into question.

I also mentioned you showing up here to do it...

apart from that I agree with you. WB kinda sucks.

 

[Scarlet Spider]

There's a reason the new STAR WARS trilogy cost less money than it could have, and we all know what that is.

It's definitely no mystery as to why the cost of the Star Wars prequels were as low as they were.

George Lucas owns ILM, as well as every other company that worked on the films and almost every other major blockbuster (THX, Skywalker Sound, etc.).

When the director is also the owner of all those companies (especially the visual effects house, which usually a big portion of the budget goes to on films as VFX intensive as Star Wars), it's not hard to keep costs down.

 

[Metropolis_Man]

Exactly. I can't quite fathom how GL fans are defending this. It's a complete disservice to the character and mythos.

Now i'll be the first to admit, I think Hal Jordan is lame. He's a bland cardboard cut out cypher for the reader to imprint themselves onto.

But, the Green Lantern mythology is just sooooo awesome. It's probably the richest mythology in comic books. It just wasn't given the treatment it deserves. And neither was Hal.

I am a huge fan of the GL character in the comics and I enjoyed the movie a lot. It's actually the most enjoyable time I've had when watching a movie at the theatre. The whole experience of anticipating this and then finally getting to watch it was so exciting. I know many fans of the character were disappointed but I'm just not in that group. I understand that it didn't turn out to be what some expected and that's fine. To say you can't fathom how GL fans are defending this would be the same as me saying I can't fathom how GL fans don't love this. It's just a matter of opinion really. The movie should have been a little more grand in scope as they were indeed advertising it as that but that didn't take away any enjoyment I had during my viewing. With disappointing reviews and a sub part box office from what they were expecting I am worried that we won't get the chance to see a sequel with the true space epic feel. That being said this is still my favorite comic related film to date and I'll keep my fingers crossed for a sequel that gives us more of everything.

 

[Poni_Boy]

It's definitely no mystery as to why the cost of the Star Wars prequels were as low as they were....

I have nothing to add to your comment, but I will gladly use it as a segway...

SPEAKING of, as soon as this film was promoted to resemble Star Wars all I could think of was -- hopefully in either the second or third film -- a scene that mimicked Obi-Wan/Anakin's Revenge of the Sith battle but with Hal/Sinestro. I did not like 90% of the prequels, but dammit that scene had the emotional gravitas (while maintaining a completely sci-fi feel) that should have been evoked in a drag out and dirty space dogfight between Hal and Sin when they finally turn on each other.

"Only a Sith speaks in absolutes. I will do what I must..." could be replaced with something along the lines of "You've abandoned hope, justice.. and your will. But you're not getting away from me."

 

[Doctor Jones]

Exactly. I can't quite fathom how GL fans are defending this. It's a complete disservice to the character and mythos.

Now i'll be the first to admit, I think Hal Jordan is lame. He's a bland cardboard cut out cypher for the reader to imprint themselves onto.

But, the Green Lantern mythology is just sooooo awesome. It's probably the richest mythology in comic books. It just wasn't given the treatment it deserves. And neither was Hal.

So despite you not being much of a fan of Hal, if this film was of high quality and improved upon the things you don't like about Hal, you would have liked it? I shouldn't need to ask, but I suppose you would.

 

[The Morningstar]

Yea... space dog fights with power rings. Where the **** were they!?!?!

 

[The Morningstar]

So despite you not being much of a fan of Hal, if this film was of high quality and improved upon the things you don't like about Hal, you would have liked it? I shouldn't need to ask, but I suppose you would.

Most definitely. In all honesty i was never that big a fan of Tony Stark in the comics. I didn't dislike him, like Hal. But i didn't really think much of him.

Then RDJ came along... the rest is history. The same thing could have happened here with Hal Jordan, but it didn't.

 

[KalMart]

Well to be fair, The Guard is right. The trailers showed what was in the film... LITERALLY.

All the best parts were in the marketing.

But to deny the fact that WB lied to us all is just idiotic. WB made this movie out to be a sci fi extravaganza. We spend about 20 minutes in space.

I mean look at all those posters with Boodika, Green Man and co on them. THEY WEREN'T EVEN IN THE ****ING MOVIE.

They had to get people into the theaters somehow....same with SR when they showed the only two or three action scenes in their entirety in all of the trailers. It's all about opening weekend when you know you have a bit of a boat anchor on your hands, so you have to do what you can to make it out to be a rocket ship.

 

[KalMart]

There's a reason the new STAR WARS trilogy cost less money than it could have, and we all know what that is.

TDK had a budget of $185 million, so its not that far off what Green Lantern had to work with, really, if rumors of a $200 million budget are true. And The Dark Knight, while definitely a better overall film with better characterwork and story, easily had less fantastic action sequences. I suppose "grander" is in the eye of the beholder. Because while it may well be more satisfying viscerally, the action's scale in The Dark Knight, and the scale of the settings and surrondings (other than Gotham VS Coast City) doesn't really compare to what is found in Green Lantern.

The way I describe it with TDK is that even though movies like SR and GL try to show the world coming to an end, in TDK you FELT like the world was coming to an end more. Scale/scope is almost insignificant compared to how well you can immerse and engage your audience in the action...and that depends on the filmmaker/writer.

"Look what I did to this city with a few drums of gas and a couple of bullets." - Joker, TDK

 

[The Morningstar]

Yea, i'm not a big fan of TDK but the threat was there.

More threat from a guy in clown make up a few drums of gas than a "so called" world destroying force of nature.

 

[solidsnake86]

Warner Bros' entire marketing strategy was misleading. This was a simple case of the classic bait and switch technique usually found when purchasing gizmos and gadgets from a street peddler or a lemon from a used car dealer. All of the promotions leading up to Green Lantern make promises of intergalactic action, adventure and heartfelt tension that somehow didn't make it into the film's final cut.

Bottom line: It was pitched (and quoted by cast/crew) as being the next Star Wars in scope; it's irrefutable that wasn't the case when 99% of the intergalactic scenes were revealed in the trailers/tv spots.

Reading an article on deadline hollywood, they said marketing didnt see 70% until 2 weeks ago and were really upset. Also robinov wanted to push the alien aspect and marketing didnt (which is obvious because they werent in the film). It was an interesting read. Also are you the one who writes for daily blam?

 

[routhman]

Green Lantern was entertaining, but it had many many failures:

The script -- This is where it all commences. The script was inherently weak. It felt like a bunch of scenes thrown together more than an organically developing story. No great character development.

The direction -- No actor gave a memorable performance, though I liked Mark Strong as Sinestro.

The cinematography -- It was poorly filmed. The camera angles and establishing shots weren't impressive or pleasing to the eye. This might seem like a minor detail, but it goes a long way into affecting the quality of a film.

The locations -- Almost everything was filmed on a sound stage. It just didn't look professional being in Hal's apartment most the time or being in Hector's apartment.

All these contributed to crushing the film's scope. GL had the potential to be as good as TDK or any other superhero film. The film itself doesn't have to be dead serious, but it has to take itself seriously. Unfortunately WB still hasn't learned that.

 

[Poni_Boy]

Reading an article on deadline hollywood, they said marketing didnt see 70% until 2 weeks ago and were really upset. Also robinov wanted to push the alien aspect and marketing didnt (which is obvious because they werent in the film). It was an interesting read. Also are you the one who writes for daily blam?

Yes. It's my site. Guess my attempt at a super secret handle failed, huh?

 

[Doctor Jones]

The way I describe it with TDK is that even though movies like SR and GL try to show the world coming to an end, in TDK you FELT like the world was coming to an end more. Scale/scope is almost insignificant compared to how well you can immerse and engage your audience in the action...and that depends on the filmmaker/writer.

"Look what I did to this city with a few drums of gas and a couple of bullets." - Joker, TDK

Well said.

Like I mentioned, this may take place in space, but it didn't feel epic. I didn't feel the scale like it was suppose to show. TDK took place in a city, but Nolan pulled it all off. Gotham felt like this tremendous city with a huge canvas. The IMAX camera only added to it. But play it without the format, it still feels epic. The characters within them also made it feel that way. Everything goes back to the script. Nolan has a good eye for scope in relation to story.

Most definitely. In all honesty i was never that big a fan of Tony Stark in the comics. I didn't dislike him, like Hal. But i didn't really think much of him.

Then RDJ came along... the rest is history. The same thing could have happened here with Hal Jordan, but it didn't.

Ah, all right then. That's what I thought. I had no problem with Reynolds and the other actors. Even Lively wasn't bad, it's just none of them, like everything else were utilized properly.