I think everyone should see the Green Lantern movie, its fun and it would boost sales and ensure a sequel and more DC movies that use other icons like Flash and Wonder Woman.
I gave the movie
4 out of 5. I did not think they tried to cram too much in there or that it was too silly, or that they did a bad job of grounding the characters in reality. I liked it a lot, but I do think it had down sides to it.
I did not see Ryan Renolds as Hal Jordan really, nor did Blake Lively seem like Carol to me. Not that they were bad playing the characters, just that they were not how I imagined the two characters in my head all these years. But again, not necessarily bad.
I did not like the changes they did to the story about Parallax, how he differs from the comic version, or how he is stopped:
[BLACKOUT] Hal, all alone, a new GL who doubts himself, is able to defeat Parallax by throwing him into the sun. Then and only then does Sinestro and Killowag and Tomar Ra step in. To me it should have been the combined efforts of those four GLs to stop Parallax, and while we are changing things slightly, why not have Parallax stopped by imprisoning him in Oa's main battery? then later you can bring him back and posses people like he does in the comic. I know that Parallax was also a different take on the character, but it was an interesting idea to try and simplify and explain where he came from and make it all connected. But his connection should have made him harder to beat. [/BLACKOUT]
I also didn't like some of the special effects. Some seemed to CG and unreal, but not always.
And the music, at times, seemed like it was trying to be like Superman. Which was both cool and lame.
And another thing I thought was not so great was how they took things that have been iconic (sort of) from the comic and altered them. Didn't make them bad, and maybe it had more to do with pacing but those changes didn't seem necessary.
My brother was saying there should have been some indication of how long he was away on Oa, and trained, like someone saying "Hal, where have you been for the past month?" I think they could have also done a training montage. Showing Hal start out badly and not knowing what he is doing, and little by little during the montage training with Killowag, Hal becomes better and better and maybe at the end show he has gained the respect of Killowag. This would have also been a good point to get to know more of the GLs, Hal training along side some of them while Kilowag trains more than just Hal.
But none of the downsides stopped me from enjoying the movie. I walked out of some comic movies trashing the bad stuff, this movie I left talking about it but also not really upset at the downsides, just thought, "meh, I would have done it differently but it was still a good movie." The secret ending was cool too, a different take on a character but not a bad one either.
I am now very excited to see the sequels. I want a sequel where Sinestro is the one and only bad guy, a later sequel where he has his Sinestro Corps, the Manhunters, and one where Carol becomes Star Sapphire.
And eventually I want to see John Stewart join the show and later still Kyle Rayner, and of coarse
fans will want Guy Garnder.
So, all in all, I liked it and thought it was a good introduction to the character into the movies.
What happened to the John Stewart cameo?
I do agree about his constructs, I would have liked them to be more imaginative. But maybe since he just started and this is a new concept for the audience they didn't want to get too crazy. Maybe in Green Lantern 2 they will be more elaborate and interesting and he will do more than one at a time.
I can understand why they tried to show everything in the movie, especially him getting the symbol right away, they want to get going and get the audience into this comic book story. Like I said its not a perfect comic book movie, but its still good. And Its good that DC finally made a movie that isn't Batman or Superman related. So everyone should go see it, I am a huge Green Lantern fan and I really liked it. And maybe in Green Lantern 2 they can iron out the stuff that didn't work. What I am worried about is that enough people decide not to see it because it doesn't look exactly like the comic, and enough non comic readers don't see it because they don't get it, and then suddenly it doesn't make enough money to justify a sequel and the studio puts the Green Lantern movies on the sidelines like Marvel did with Daredevil. And then DC will be even more afraid to make a movie that doesn't have Batman or Superman in it.
At least the GL movie was n't something like this, Hal gets the ring, but no hint at the Guardians or Oa or any other aliens (the audiences wouldn't get that so its left out), and he learns how to use the ring on his own, he fights Hector Hammond an Earth bound bad guy. And then maybe hint at the Guardians and Oa at the end of the film.
The secret end scene in question:
[BLACKOUT]Sinestro putting on the ring and becoming a yellow lantern. I thought was a different take on how he becomes a bad guy, in a way its a cheap out. He is a good soldier, so willing to be a good soldier and wanting to be the best that he uses a weapon he knows to be off limits and dangerous. He is willing to sacrafice himself, but it brings out his dark side.
It is different from the comics in that in the comics he is dark and twisted before the yellow ring, and its a little hard to see why he becomes the bad guy so easily. But its also cool to see that the evil was just him and not some chemical or experiment or a ring that turns him evil.
So its a cool idea, again its different, but not necessarily bad. I like the idea of him being so wiling to be the best that he thinks he must use a weapon that he knows is off limits and will destroy him. That shows more of who Sinestro is or was before the ring,
but again, it is also a sort of easy out on why he becomes evil.
That's what I think. That in the sequel we will get to know him more, he sees Abin Sur in Hal, and wants to become friends with him. But like in the comics, when Hal hangs out with Sinestro he sees Sinestro using the yellow ring and ruling with fear. Sinestro will still get in trouble and get kicked out of the GL Corps, but for using the forbidden weapon.[/BLACKOUT]
I actually think Flash would be an easier movie to make and get audiences interested than GL. He is a scientist who gets turned into a superhero from a sort of science experiment, like Hulk or Spider-Man (or other comic characters, non comic fans will understand that right away), and he gains the power to move super fast. His enemies are mostly earth bound characters, you wouldn't have to introduce a whole concept like the GL corps or the guardians or the constructs, I think it would be easier. He could even be someone who's origin could take place within the first half hour of the 2 hour film. The thing that might draw audiences out is one the the problems I saw with Daredevil, his bright rd costume. But where Daredevil was super dark and Batman like, Flash is brighter and more Superman like. What I hope is that not only does GL becomes a major franchise for DEC and their movie studio, but that they make all their other iconic characters into movie franchises and tv franchises and so on, like Flash, Wonder Woman, JLA, Captain Marvel, Martian Manhunter, Booster Gold, Fourth World, etc.
Judging by who the casting came down to for Hal Jordan,
Justin Timberlake,
Bradley Cooper, I think they made the best choice with
Ryan Reynolds. I think the jokes were in the script and not ad libbed or anything, I think that no matter who was cast they would have had the actor saying those lines. And by the actors they were considering, it looked like they had an idea of who their Hal was, a Hal who makes jokes and is somewhat of a sarcastic youngish slacker type. So I think Reynolds did well with the part he was given. But I would have liked to see Hal portrayed more like the comic, but this again wasn't enough to upset me.
I enjoyed the movie, I liked it and I thought it was worthy paying money to go and see. I don't think you have to see it in 3D to get your money's worth, its fine without it. But I am just not a fan of 3D, maybe it was good in 3D too. I enjoyed the movie and will buy it on DVD when it comes out.
And a side note, wouldn't a GL: Will World be an awesome animated movie?
Imagine Seth Fisher's art animated. Floating heads with eraser hats that erase you from existence, Hal's head growing into an army of people, Hal's body shrinking till he is only a head, floating talking hands.
