The Official Green Lantern Review Thread - Part 4

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Saw it this morning. Sorry guys, very forgettable. It wasn't awful, it just wasn't .....anything. I really wasn't made to care about anyone or anything in it. It had some moments in the begninning that entertained me, but I was actually bored by the last third of the movie.
Sorry, because I was hoping DC could start doing well with some of it's other mainstream characters.
 
Just got back from seeing it. It was decent and enjoyable. But still very forgettable. The villain was a big weak link. I do hope for a sequel because sinestro will be much better. And god was my theater ever empty.
 
Just brainstorming here. I've seen most of the superhero films that have come out in the last 11 years or so, and I really felt GL ranks among some of the better ones. Since X-Men really started off the second round of superhero flicks, I think it's fair to weigh GL against the films that have been released since that one.

These are just my honest opinions. I would say GL is on par with:

Thor
Spider-Man
X-Men
Hellboy
The Incredible Hulk
Iron Man 2 (yes, I liked this movie, even though so many of you apparently hated it)

I would say it is better than:

Superman Returns
X-Men 3
The Punisher & Punisher: War Zone
Daredevil
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
Fantastic Four 1 & 2
G.I. Joe
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
The Blade sequels
Hellboy 2
Jonah Hex
Transformers 1 & 2
Green Hornet
Spider-Man 3
Hulk
Ghost Rider

I never bothered to see Elektra and Catwoman, but I'm guessing GL is better than those as well.

And the films I would rank higher than GL:

Batman Begins
TDK
X2
X-Men: First Class
Spider-Man 2
Iron Man
Watchmen
Kick-Ass
 
I'm astounded at these negative reviews. No it's not flawless but it's nowhere near these abysmal reviews it's getting.

I loved Sinestro and am praying we'll get a sequel with him. Reynalds and Lively were both great in this, a few cheesy lines of diAlogue but besides that I thought they were very enjoyable performances. I also really enjoyed the final battle.

I wish they would have left Hector Hammond out of the movie and spent some more time with Sinestro or the Paralax. The movie did drag for me in a few places and a few story points did feel out of order to me.

Overll I did enjoy it and will be buying the blu Ray upon release. I'm really hoping for a sequel and am genuinely dissapointed by all these negative reviews.

I'd give this a 7 out of 10.
 
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Saw it tonight. It was a tale of two movies. The first 30 minutes and last 15 are great. Everything in between stinks. I'm quite disheartened. I'll post a lengthy review tomorrow.
 
I just got back from seeing it...and I don't know what do tell you guys here.

This movie was plenty entertaining. 24% on RT my ass. This is coming from someone who knows next to diddly squat about the GL character as he exists in the comics (on a side note, I think the movie costume is cooler than the comic one)...so perhaps they translated it poorly into movie in some regards, and I'd also gone into this movie with very low expectations due to having read several different reviews...but I'd give this movie an easy 6.8 to 7/10.

It's not out of this world good...but it's fun and enjoyable. Looks like 76% of these "professional" critics are joyless snobs who decided that they just weren't going to enjoy it in the first place and perhaps some of them are getting tired of the superhero movie genre which *snobbish voice* "is just beneath" some of them...Those who hold that opinion can especially kiss my ass.

The movie's got its flaws for sure (mainly in the script department, the movie comes off a bit shallow in general due to it, and they could have explained things better at times)...but it's more then enjoyable for your general movie goer.

also, if you guys could recommend some paperback collections of a few good GL stories, I'd much appreciate it. I'd like to check this character out more.
 
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Saw it tonight. It was a tale of two movies. The first 30 minutes and last 15 are great. Everything in between stinks. I'm quite disheartened. I'll post a lengthy review tomorrow.
Same feeling I got.

It started off really well and had a pretty ok ending. The last battle was kinda epic really. But there is some bad in the middle.

The characters in general just aren't well written. I didn't have a problem with the acting by anyone, they just had nothing to work with. Tim Robbins was mis-cast imo. RR and Mark Strong are fine and Blake Lively is hot hot hot. Really good effects and action....but those things are overrated and don't make or break a movie for me. It's about characters and always has been.

6/10
 
It's not out of this world good...but it's fun and enjoyable. Looks like 76% of these "professional" critics are joyless snobs who decided that they just weren't going to enjoy it in the first place and perhaps some of them are getting tired of the superhero movie genre which *snobbish voice* "is just beneath" some of them...Those who hold that opinion can especially kiss my ass.

Or they just realized that, following X-Men: First Class and Thor, it wasn't up to snuff.
 
Some of these excuses are pathetic. "Critics are snobs and don't like superhero movies"

Yea... that's why Thor was in the 90s on RT when it first came out, and settled in the high 70s. And First Class is comfortably in the 80s.

The film was terrible, that's all there is to it.
 
I like how you state that its a known fact that it was terrible.

If true, then according to ebert, it is a known fact that thor was ass, X3 is the best X-Men, and so on.
Right? Because he said it.

:dry:
 
It was terrible. It had FUNDAMENTAL film making flaws. Plot holes , terrible editing and location transitions, badly developed characters (including the ****ing lead...), pathetic villains, moments of complete stupidity just because the plot needs it to happen. Those are fundamental flaws that make up a terrible film.

Now, if you can look past those flaws and get some enjoyment out of it? Good for you. Doesn't mean you're any less of a person. Just means you can overlook flaws.

I, and obviously a **** ton of other people, can't.
 
Plot holes and contrivances are found even in the greatest movies.

Yes the editing was meh, but whatever.

The lead developed crappy? How, exactly. He went through an arc.

I found hector and parallax to be cool Would have rather seen The insect-crustacian Parallax but whatever.

There's stupidity in a ton of comic book movies, sorry you haven't gotten used to those yet.
 
None of them are as stupid as this.

And no Hal didn't go through a character arc. He went from A-C. The B part was missing. He had his pretty little girlfriend explain everything to him in awful dialogue "You have the ability to overcome fear". A true character arc, Hal would have learnt all that stuff by himself. But no, the writers cheated and had another character spoon feed it to him. That's just horribly lazy writing.

In all honesty i think the reason i'm so hostile and unforgiving is because the marketing campaign, everything WB and the actors told us in the build up to this movie... WAS FLAT OUT LIES.

This wasn't an epic, sprawling, cosmic adventure story. 90% of the movie was Hal mooching around on Earth. There wasn't a load of Lanterns involved. The Corps played barely any part. Hal had a 5 minute training scene, instead of a proper, cosmic boot camp, which would have been awesome. It was propaganda to fool all of us into thinking this would be the next Star Wars. I mean, remember the posters with Boodika, Green Man etc? Where the **** were they!?!?!?

Lies, all lies. That's part of the reason why i can't forgive or excuse this movies flaws.
 
Really?

Let's see...what about in jurassic park, where the t-rex paddock...has a huge ass drop? Or how grant, ellie, and the kids don't hear the rex burst into the visitors center? One of the best movies ever, and there's some wtf right there.

Superheroes are spoon fed stuff all the time, don't give me that crap like hal's been the only one coerced into actually doing the right thing in a superhero movie ever.

Where were the other lanterns? Probably deleted footage, or never had any use to the plot. I'd rather have cameos of aliens than them just being thrown in the plot with no use whatsoever.
 
Just saw it. This movie wasn't awful likeCatwoman or Elektra. It wasn't bad like Origins or The Last Stand. However, it wasn't good either. It's downfall lies completely in it's lack of development for it's villains and supporting characters. As far as nitpicks go I didn't like the jokes either, Parallax looked like logs of feces with corn in them, and the ending left me scratching my head (or at least the solution seemed too convenient like it really should not have worked). Other than that, the film was solid, but it's a shame these drawbacks keep it from being something good for me. 5/10
 
Well why the **** did they market it as though it was gonna feature all these aliens and an epic, cosmic adventure storyline?

Lies, to fool people into going to watch it. Marketing is supposed to attract people, not flat out fool them. It's propaganda, not marketing.

I don't remember Iron Man being spoon fed anything. He learned from his experiences as a prisoner.

I don't remember Spider-Man being spoon fed anything. He just remember an old quote by his uncle, then learned by himself, what it takes to be a hero through a horrific tragedy.

Same with Thor. He was never spoon fed anything. He just realised that yes, he was an arrogant *****e bag. And he went about changing that.

Hal Jordan? He had Carol Ferris tell him exactly what the script required Hal to hear to become a hero. "You can OVERcome fear". Oh wow, he needs Carol to tell him that? Really? The idea on it's own is an interesting one. Instead of being fearless altogether, he can embrace his fear, and conquer it. I like that, it's cool. But I don't like the way he came to that realisation. Because he, Hal Hordan, didn't come to that realisation himself. He didn't learn anything. He had a girl spoon feed it all to him.

As for Jurrassic Park? Yea it is one of the best movies ever. That's why WTF moments are forgivable. Green Lantern? It's a terrible movie and such flaws cannot be forgiven.
 
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After viewing this film at the $5 theater (thankfully), I have come to realize that TDK features an Easter Egg scene that tells us exactly what Warner Bros. was doing with this film's budget

"It's About Sending a Message..."
[YT]3OyrX11cMkE[/YT]


Seriously, I don't see where the $300 million has gone for this project. WB would have had the same level of productivity if they just piled the money up, doused it with gasoline and lit it on fire. At least a few hobos could have gathered around for the temporary source of heat. Is this film as bad as the 24% on Rotten Tomatoes would lead one to believe? Not really. Is it a good movie? Not really.

1) Characters are too willing to accept the radical: Hal hardly questions what he sees when he finds Abin Sur. The crowd doesn't question the fact that a man with green glowing skin manages to project solid light holograms. Hal lands on OA and takes all of two minutes to get used to the fact that he is on a distant planet at the center of the universe, filled with alien life. This film does a fantastic job of robbing the audience of the pleasure of enjoying a sense of discovery, because Hal never has a sense of discovery. He just takes every new development with something that borders on apathy.

2) CG is a mixed bag: Warner Bros. swore that they were cleaning up the CG. I don't see proof of that. Of all of the great looking CG that is featured in the film, the production staff still couldn't manage to resolve the issue with Ryan Reynold's CG mask. Though I do appreciate that they brought back the black hues that make the familiar aesthetic of Hal's suit, I was disappointed to see that the production staff didn't bother to make the CG model look like Ryan Reynold's body, or a believable human body for that matter.

3) Too many plots: Subplots are always a welcome addition to help a film develop a complex narrative. Unfortunately, this film never manages to keep up the juggling act. Hector and Hal are apparently long time acquaintances that have been vying for the affections of Carol Ferris, but rather than showing this naturally, they just smack the audience with a rather literal scene in which Carol is just as surprised as the audience is to become aware of this fact. The government scoops up crashed alien ship, but they don't go looking for the flying man with glowing green skin? Clearly it is more convenient to drop the government inquiry subplot, and just chuck more crap at the audience until the plot just becomes muddled.

4) Parallax Nerf: Abin Sur, the "greatest warrior of the Green Lantern Corps", jobs to Parallax. Sinestro, second most powerful, takes a bunch of other powerful Lanterns and they job to Parallax. Hal goes up against a Parallax that has taken in more power, and manages to defeat him on a first go, even though Hal jobbed to Hector Hammond? Worse, Parallax jobs to Hal in a solo battle. Just because Thor got back his godhood and wrecked the Destroyer's ****, doesn't mean that noob Hal can just do whatever he wants. He had no experience, bland constructs and a clear confidence issue throughout the entire film. Yet I am to believe that Hal can defeat a foe so powerful that the Guardians thought that the Lantern Corps, filled with THOUSANDS of Lanterns, would lose in a fight.


--------
There are plenty of other issues, but I don't want to turn this post into a pseudo blog. I expect this film to have a fantastic opening weekend, because it is a new super hero film, but the drop off should be pretty steep. If the budget were more reasonable ($150 million seems to be the standard for super hero films), this would easily be a profitable venture. However, with the inflated $300 million budget, I expect Green Lantern to be the "Superman Returns" of this summer. The greatest failing of this venture is that Warner Bros. already had a well crafted blue print to follow. Green Lantern: First Flight was not only an impressive animation, it was an amazing adaption of the Green Lantern mythos. It handled the origin story in a believable manner. It had a fantastic sense of exploration and growth. I am not suggesting that Warner Bros. should have just made a live action conversion of First Flight, but they should have opted for a script that uses a similar structure/narrative.
 
I'd rather have cameos of aliens than them just being thrown in the plot with no use whatsoever.

I'd rather have the epic space adventure I was fed by the ad guys rather than a romp on Earth with a 10 minute space detour. Defend the merits of this movie all you like but let's not start pretending that the marketing people didn't lie their asses off.
 
Why did they market it? Um, gee, I dunno...so you would go see the goddamn movie?


You act like green lantern is the first comic book movie ever to fool someone into it with their marketing. X3 did it, SM3 did it, Hulk 03 did it, that POS wolverine did it, and I'm sure countless others will do it also. So....that you see the effing movie.

I'm sorry you didn't enjoy it, really that sucks and I know that feeling, but the reality of the matter is, I don't see why you need to ***** and moan and wail every single day in one of the GL threads about why it sucks, and those who liked it need to be pointed out that it sucks.
 
Why did they market it? Um, gee, I dunno...so you would go see the goddamn movie?


You act like green lantern is the first comic book movie ever to fool someone into it with their marketing. X3 did it, SM3 did it, Hulk 03 did it, that POS wolverine did it, and I'm sure countless others will do it also. So....that you see the effing movie.

I'm sorry you didn't enjoy it, really that sucks and I know that feeling, but the reality of the matter is, I don't see why you need to ***** and moan and wail every single day in one of the GL threads about why it sucks, and those who liked it need to be pointed out that it sucks.

This is what it looks like when a fanboy goes down with the ship. I don't even know where to begin.
 
Let's wind the clocks back...a year. :hoboj:

But this is srsbiz, I'm defending one of the worst movies of the century...oh dear. :dry:
 
Let's wind the clocks back...a year. :hoboj:

But this is srsbiz, I'm defending one of the worst movies of the century...oh dear. :dry:

What's really telling is that you're defending the marketing rather than the movie itself.

"They promised a big, epic space adventure, then didn't deliver....but that's ok, lot of other movies do that too."

It's pathetic and WB ought to be ashamed for misleading people. If you want to get people to see your movie, then MAKE A GOOD MOVIE AND THE REST WILL FOLLOW.
 
Really? You mind uh...you mind telling me where I said that was okay? lol, I said...alot of other movies have done it...not that it was okay that they did it. :dry:
 
I just finish read this.
Deadline reporting Rival studios encouraged bad reviews.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1133985/board/flat/184344799?p=1

Warners and DC can throw as many conspiracy theories around as they want. The proof is in the product.

Plus, as I've stated before, if anyone looked at all closely at GL's average RT score, it's not that bad. 4.5/10. Basically 2+ stars. Those aren't vicious reviews, they're just unenthusiastic ones.
 
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