The Official Green Lantern Review Thread - Part 4

[Marvin]

one minute he is willing to charge into battle without a care who gets killed as a result the next he is washing dishes and willing to sacrifice his life so his friends can life. the hell did THAT change come from? on cosy sleepover round a camp fire?

um
believe that not only is he responsible for killing his own father but more importantly believing THAT ACTING THE WAY HE DID(used to) LEAD TO HIS FATHER'S DEATH.

an effective catalyst if I've ever seen one, and I hated thor.

see spider-man killing his own father figure and changing his ways for this paradigm used in a better movie.

 

[Sith Scotti]

If crap like Fantastic Four can get a sequel and a damn fine film like GL likely won't its a bad day . Gotta give Marvel credit they jbow how to make even shi* into gold like Iron Man 2 and Spiderman 3

 

[J.Howlett]

Carol may tell Hal that he has the ability to over come fear because of the courage she sees in him (especially since they work together) but we as the audience see it too, in the way he jumps into action, throughout the picture.

The problem is that he doesn't find out for himself, through action.

 

[Poni_Boy]

Carol may tell Hal that he has the ability to over come fear because of the courage she sees in him (especially since they work together) but we as the audience see it too, in the way he jumps into action, throughout the picture.

The problem is that he doesn't find out for himself, through action.

Unnecessary exposition which could have been avoided had they used the stigma that the rings were ineffective against the color yellow. Hal could have overcome the impurity in the final act, which would have shown why this human is so damn special.

But I digress, that's only a small gripe drowning in a sea of tumultuous disappointment

 

[J.Howlett]

spider-neil,

I fundamentally disagree about First Flight having character development compared to this film.

It absolutely has none. Period. Hal gets the ring and he's cool with it from moment one and he doesn't change. He shows everyone else how great the power of will is over fear but Hal doesn't grow or change at all in that film.

And again, I like that film a lot. It's fun as hell to watch but it has no development whatsover...no matter how you slice it.

 

[J.Howlett]

Poni,

But Hal's action do show how special he, this human, is when he goes up against Parallax, the first human Lantern.

He risks all and shows no fear in taken down Parallax, where the other Lanterns didn't.

 

[dark_b]

has anyone noticed that more then half reviews in this thread are '' based on the critics reviews i expected a bad movie'' . something along the lines?
to me it looks like that the critics lowered fans expectation so low that this is the only reason why they enjoyed the movie.imagine this. imagine if critics would give GL 90% rating for the same movie. i think the reaction from fans would be different.

this is not soemthing bad. this is good. having low expectations is always good.

 

[spider-neil]

spider-neil,

I fundamentally disagree about First Flight having character development compared to this film.

It absolutely has none. Period. Hal gets the ring and he's cool with it from moment one and he doesn't change. He shows everyone else how great the power of will is over fear but Hal doesn't grow or change at all in that film.

And again, I like that film a lot. It's fun as hell to watch but it has no development whatsover...no matter how you slice it.

you're correct but it does have a better 3 arc storyline.

 

[J.Howlett]

Whatever anyway. I can acknowledge the faulty character arc for Hal in the latter part of the film and yet come away greatly enjoying the world and character they've set up.

It's a polished, visually film with great action sequences that makes some mistakes in the character department, either through scripting or editing.

But, for this viewer, the good outweighed the bad. It's the same with Thor.

This isn't the worst comic book film ever. It's a C+.

 

[Poni_Boy]

has anyone noticed that more then half reviews in this thread are '' based on the critics reviews i expected a bad movie'' . something along the lines?
to me it looks like that the critics lowered fans expectation so low that this is the only reason why they enjoyed the movie.

circle gets the square

 

[PWN3R]

I was so frustrated with this movie. The beginning, the bits with the other lanterns and Sinestro were all ace. However, they're in the movie for about 20 minutes give or take.

It's an insult to call this franchise as big as star wars in your press coverage and decide to have the majority of the film take place on Earth.

Hal taking out the big bad all by himself? Eh.

I do hope they make another with a much stronger script.

 

[terry78]

Backfired on them, basically.

 

[spider-neil]

the bottom line is the scriptwritters didn't trust the audience to follow a story that is set primarily on another plantet. the number one box office movie of all time doesn't have a single scene on earth.

 

[dark_b]

the bottom line is the scriptwritters didn't trust the audience to follow a story that is set primarily on another plantet. the number one box office movie of all time doesn't have a single scene on earth.

the studio didnt trust the audience. no screenwritter forced WB to realese this story. if you dont like the story then its 100% WB's and this ''Geof Johns'' fault.

its the same like with Singer and WB. fans are saying that its Singer's fault and act like WB was forced to realese SUperman Returns.

 

[J.Howlett]

The Hype cracks me up!

 

[TDK010]

A mini review here from a not-so-knowledgeable Green Lantern fan.

Not too much wrong with the acting. The chemistry between the characters was good.

However, the scriptwriting and editing, for me, were the biggest problems with the movie. Half way through, Hal comes back from Oa, then all of a sudden he doesn't know what to do with himself. He and the rest of the cast are just standing around waiting for Parallax to arrive and consume Earth. It had all been quite promising up until this point. The pace fluctuated far too much. We have an action scene, followed by a dialogue scene and then more dialogue and then something a bit exciting happens and then back to more dialogue. No build up or tension after Hal's first trip to Oa. This kind of pacing can kill a movie.

On that note, Hal's first trip to Oa was too underplayed for my liking. He is in space, goes through some sort of vortex and arrives at Oa before passing out and we're presented with a white fadeout effect. Just awful. This should have been one of the film's most memorable moments. And following one of his trips back to Earth from Oa, the next shot we have is of him is taking off his jacket as he enters his apartment, like he's just come back from the local supermarket. Just bad editing all-round.

I also didn't like the fact that Hector Hammond knew who Hal and Carol were. Why did he need to? Why did they need to have history. I just don't understand this. The scene were Hector is threatening to hurt Carol and he says he wants to be like Hal, it's just lame.

Another thing I really disliked was the editing when Hal is speaking the oath. Why oh why did they need to cut to the shots of Hector examining Abin Sur's body. Just ruined the moment for me. He's halfway through speaking the oath and we get cut off. It's like the writers thought that we wouldn't understand that Hal and Hector would come together at some point. They used every opportunity to tie these characters story arcs together with poor editing, thinking we wouldn't get it otherwise.

The film's score could have been better. The action sequences had good pacing music but nothing to suggest an outstanding and memorable score. A decent enough job.

I really wanted to enjoy this film but looking back there were just too many flaws. Strangely enough, I have the same sort of feeling I felt about Terminator: Salvation with this movie. So much promise. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the acting, the humour, most of the action sequences and it's a fairly watchable movie but nothing more. It's a real shame.

 

[Poni_Boy]

the studio didnt trust the audience. no screenwritter forced WB to realese this story. if you dont like the story then its 100% WB's and this ''Geof Johns'' fault.

Side note: Geoff Johns apparently turned the comment feature of his Facebook page off and is blocking users on Twitter who "demand" answers to GL's misgivings

Now, I don't feel he's one of the main guys to blame for this debacle, but if that's all true then he's making it pretty obvious he can't take criticism from fans that expect more from him.

 

[moviedoors]

the studio didnt trust the audience. no screenwritter forced WB to realese this story. if you dotn like the story then its 100% WB's and this Geof Johns fault.

its the same like with Singer and WB. fans are saying that its Singer's fault and act like WB was forced to realese SUperman Returns.

They kind of are. Once you hit budgets that massive, you're committed. You blow that much money, and don't even attempt to recoup, you can kiss your business goodbye, you're going bankrupt.

Yeah, they can say no to the script, but once its done, they have to release it. You ****-can a giant budget movie and no one will ever invest in you again. Better to release it and make what you can.

 

[Marvin]

the studio didnt trust the audience. no screenwritter forced WB to realese this story. if you dont like the story then its 100% WB's and this ''Geof Johns'' fault.

its the same like with Singer and WB. fans are saying that its Singer's fault and act like WB was forced to realese SUperman Returns.

Singer had carte blanche on Returns and he's somewhat fessed up to that.
a kid and a romance and a land hungry lex are all singer. A plane in dogers stadium was the studios idea(and apparently the only good one of the bunch)

the bottom line is the scriptwritters didn't trust the audience to follow a story that is set primarily on another plantet. the number one box office movie of all time doesn't have a single scene on earth.

gotta agree with b on this, the "story" of what happened in this movie was conjured up by many people and based on Johns work. (parallax monster)

the actual plot was the fault of hack writers though.

 

[Marvin]

Side note: Geoff Johns apparently turned the comment feature of his Facebook page off and is blocking users on Twitter who "demand" answers to GL's misgivings

Now, I don't feel he's one of the main guys to blame for this debacle, but if that's all true then he's making it pretty obvious he can't take criticism from fans that expect more from him.

suicide watch
(kidding of course)

 

[Sith Scotti]

has anyone noticed that more then half reviews in this thread are '' based on the critics reviews i expected a bad movie'' . something along the lines?
to me it looks like that the critics lowered fans expectation so low that this is the only reason why they enjoyed the movie.imagine this. imagine if critics would give GL 90% rating for the same movie. i think the reaction from fans would be different.

this is not soemthing bad. this is good. having low expectations is always good.

So now I like the film because critics told me not too ...... No I saw the film and asked myself what the hell were critics thinking . I am not going to apologize for liking the movie . Is it TDL level ? No . But is sure as hell ain't Batman & Robin Level either.

It was a very good film that has the potential to be an even better sequel if they polish it off a bit better and give the film some time to breathe.


I will not fell bad for liking it though .I am happy with every superhero film this year . All very good films . Though I am waiting for one to blow me away like TDK or Iron Man did ...

 

[Poni_Boy]

suicide watch
(kidding of course)

That's just sick and demented! How dare you, sir..... did someone take his belt and shoelaces away just in case?

No, seriously, I feel for the guy. He's a good (not great) comic writer. DC noticed how much fans liked him and tried to turn him into their mouthpiece. Marvel has Stan Lee (who above all else is a company man who pushes the Marvel brand), DC has no one. Johns is too much of a fanboy to take that position.

 

[dark_b]

So now I like the film because critics told me not too ...... No I saw the film and asked myself what the hell were critics thinking . I am not going to apologize for liking the movie . Is it TDL level ? No . But is sure as hell ain't Batman & Robin Level either.

It was a very good film that has the potential to be an even better sequel if they polish it off a bit better and give the film some time to breathe.


I will not fell bad for liking it though .I am happy with every superhero film this year . All very good films . Though I am waiting for one to blow me away like TDK or Iron Man did ...

i dont think that everyone who liked the movie thinks like that.

but i do think that fans who said that ''it was not as bad as critics wrotte'' are part of that group.

 

[dark_b]

Yeah, they can say no to the script, but once its done, they have to release it. You ****-can a giant budget movie and no one will ever invest in you again. Better to release it and make what you can.

i am no hollywood expert. but there is no way that this is how it works.

you think they hired screenwritters and when they were finished they run making the movie? come on.

studio has 100% full control what is in the script.

 

[Mysteryman]

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.

Emerald Dawn 1 and 2 ,
Secret Origin.