The Official Green Lantern Review Thread - Part 5

[SuperDaniel]

Green Lantern 101 knowledge coming at ya:

Marin Jordan died while steering his crashing plane away from Ferris airfield, saving the lives of the people who were watching the test flight (including his son). In Geoff Johns' retcon he even adds that the plane could also have gone down over Coast City. Martin CHOSE to go down with the plane to save innocent lives, and THIS is where Hal Jordan for the first time in his life realizes with his own two eyes what being fearless means.

Again, why would they change that in the film when it is integral to Hal Jordan's character?

I dont really care for these details. It was still in the performance, the plane crashed, he didnt look scared, he transmitted a sense calmness.

That being too nittpicky to me.

 

[Rock Sexton]

About to say the same thing; Hal Jordan sees his father being fearless by saving people and risking his own life. I really enjoyed how in the first draft they paralleled the death scene twice by saving people at the air show and saving Carol from dying in the jet crash into the mountain.

I had spoken about something similar a few pages ago in my breakdown of what was wrong with this film. Martin's death scene should've been more strategically broken up throughout at least a couple events in the film to trigger Hal's connection to it ...... not just one scene that's drawing parallel's to making sure one ejects out of the cockpit.

 

[Mysteryman]

Hal Jordan defeated it with his will and wisdom.

It was Kilowogs wisdom, what he told Hal about the sun.
Guess we didnt see the same movie.

 

[Poni_Boy]

I dont really care for these details. It was still in the performance, the plane crashed, he didnt look scare, he transmitted a sense calmness.

That being to nittpicky to me.

You don't care that one of, if not THE, defining moment in Hal Jordan's character was scrubbed from the film and thus cinematic canon? You're obviously not as big a Green Lantern fan as you say you are.

 

[Poni_Boy]

It was Kilowogs wisdom, what he told Hal about the sun.
Guess we didnt see the same movie.

You mean the same Kilowog that was standing next to Sinestro doing nothing when four other Lanterns got killed by Parallax after not putting up a fight? Hell of a Drill Sergeant, glad I didn't have any like that train me

 

[Liam_H]

I had spoken about something similar a few pages ago in my breakdown of what was wrong with this film. Martin's death scene should've been more strategically broken up throughout at least a couple events in the film to trigger Hal's connection to it ...... not just one scene that's drawing parallel's to making sure one ejects out of the cockpit.

Because Hal's father not wanting to eject basically means he's a hero dying to save innocent people. So when Hal is in the same situation twice more in the movie its his turn to be the hero (just like his father) because this time he has the ring with the power to do something.

 

[SuperDaniel]

Hal Jordan tricked Parallax into getting sucked into the Sun. And, in the end, Sinestro saved him from being sucked in too.

That is irrefutable fact that played out in the film

Yeah, he did his job. He defeated the villain and passed out. Whats wrong with that. Its like saying Spider-man didnt save the train and all that matters was people saving spider-man from falling down the tracks. Sinestro realized this guy is worth the title and worth saving. Great character arc for someone who thought Hal was an insult to his mentor and friends memory.

 

[Poni_Boy]

Yeah, he did his job. He defeated the villain and passed out. Whats wrong with that. Its like saying Spider-man didnt save the train and all that matters was people saving spider-man from falling down the tracks. Sinestro realized this guy is worth the title and worth saving. Great character arc for someone who thought Hal was an insult to his mentor and friends memory.

Yet he respects him and his newfound willpower so much that he goes and takes the Yellow Power Ring -- that was JUST proven to be inferior to the Green Power Ring -- out of curiously. Yeah, he's as deep as Hamlet alright

 

[DaveMoral]

Wow ... the so-called "guardians" of 3600 galaxy sectors are willing to sacrifice Earth while Sinestro masters the ring? That's not convoluted or anything. That is one of my biggest gripes about the film. The Green Lantern Corps' premise is completely contradicted thru lame attempts and showing their weakness to fear (a stupid green net being tossed at him early on) and dialogue stating thus. I can get that in Saturday morning cartoons.

The problem with that whole angle is that they did nothing to establish the Guardians besides saying "they're there, they harnessed the green energy of willpower, and they formed the GL Corps." It would have been helpful to depict the general contempt the Guardians, Sinestro and the GLC have for Earth because of how primitive Earth is in comparison to basically every other species in the universe. Secret Origin makes a point of getting to this and it plays into why they are skeptical about Hal in the first place. Earth still has political borders, fights wars amongst themselves etc. In essence, humans are so backwards we do everything we can to hold ourselves back from joining the community of species in the universe.

And even then, it's a crazy idea to me because that means they've ejected the part of GL mythos that has the White Entity of all life buried on Earth. The Guardians aren't fans of humans, but they're not about to let Earth get decimated because they want to keep that little secret under wraps.

Rock, your criticisms of the Guardians are well made and I'll just say it's a running theme in the Green Lantern comics and a sticking point between them and Hal Jordan(and every other human GL) as well as Sinestro. It's the emotionless demeanor of the Guardians that has essentially led to all the problems of the various Corps now spawned from the emotional spectrum in the GL comics. How that got overlooked in the film is beyond me, because that would have done a good deal to develop at least that aspect of the story. The Guardians, with the exception of Ganthet, are *****.

 

[SuperDaniel]

You don't care that one of, if not THE, defining moment in Hal Jordan's character was scrubbed from the film and thus cinematic canon? You're obviously not as big a Green Lantern fan as you say you are.

I do care. It is still the same scene to me.

 

[The Sage]

How can Parallax, this thing that has flown across the universe, be stupid enough to get sucked into a star? It clearly understands the concepts of heat and gravity.

I was surprised at that, as I expected them to carry the final battle to Oa, where Parallax would get imprisoned inside the Central Battery, which would in turn give the Green Lantern rings their weakness to yellow.

 

[Poni_Boy]

I do care. It is still the same scene to me.

I guess you really did watch a different movie than the rest of us. One that disregards Hal Jordan's motivation to become fearless. His one defining characteristic. So sad

 

[Poni_Boy]

I was surprised at that, as I expected them to carry the final battle to Oa, where Parallax would get imprisoned inside the Central Battery, which would in turn give the Green Lantern rings their weakness to yellow.

You're making too much sense. That would have perfectly led into a possible sequel. But, no, the fear entity itself is dead.

Speaking of which, if the embodiment of fear is dead... what good is the yellow ring?

 

[protocida]

In the Script, it is established that Green Lanterns only assist Green Lanterns. Hal Jordan refused to undergo training, and for that, he is not a Green Lantern. His fate and the fate of his world lies in their own hands.

 

[Liam_H]

I guess you really did watch a different movie than the rest of us. One that disregards Hal Jordan's motivation to become fearless. His one defining characteristic. So sad

It's basically like not showing how Bruce Wayne became Batman.

 

[Rock Sexton]

I was surprised at that, as I expected them to carry the final battle to Oa, where Parallax would get imprisoned inside the Central Battery, which would in turn give the Green Lantern rings their weakness to yellow.

Same. Very anti-climatic ....

 

[protocida]

Fear cannot die. Parallax's embodiment may be dead, but he still exists as the concept of fear itself.

 

[Mysteryman]

You mean the same Kilowog that was standing next to Sinestro doing nothing when four other Lanterns got killed by Parallax after not putting up a fight? Hell of a Drill Sergeant, glad I didn't have any like that train me

I was just making the point that the idea to use the sun to kill Parallax wasnt something that Hal came up with on his own..
In fact, I think that was the real reason for the training sequence in the first place, so Hal could have his"flashback" at the critical time.

 

[Poni_Boy]

It's basically like not showing how Bruce Wayne became Batman.

No, it's like saying Bruce Wayne's parents died in a car accident and he still chose to become Batman

 

[Rock Sexton]

In the Script, it is established that Green Lanterns only assist Green Lanterns. Hal Jordan refused to undergo training, and for that, he is not a Green Lantern. His fate and the fate of his world lies in their own hands.

Well, but then what is the point of the Green Lanterns if they only assist GL's?

 

[Poni_Boy]

Fear cannot die. Parallax's embodiment may be dead, but he still exists as the concept of fear itself.

Sure, according to the comics. In the film he's dead. If he wasn't, no one at any time said anything to signify otherwise

 

[Liam_H]

No, it's like saying Bruce Wayne's parents died in a car accident and he still chose to become Batman

Yeah that makes more sense; then Batman has a vendetta against car companies without 5 star safety ratings, as oppose to crime.

 

[Rock Sexton]

I was just making the point that the idea to use the sun to kill Parallax wasnt something that Hal came up with on his own..
In fact, I think that was the real reason for the training sequence in the first place, so Hal could have his"flashback" at the critical time.

It's kind of funny that 5mins worth of training and a speech from Carol enabled Hal Jordon to defeat this entity that had the Guardians literally pissing in their robes.

 

[Poni_Boy]

I was just making the point that the idea to use the sun to kill Parallax wasnt something that Hal came up with on his own..
In fact, I think that was the real reason for the training sequence in the first place, so Hal could have his"flashback" at the critical time.

Bingo. Just like the only reason Hal visited his nephew was so that he could have his racecar "flashback" at a critical time

 

[DaveMoral]

They should've had the Martin Jordan scene at the beginning of the film, as well as all the Ferris Air stuff. It would have worked much better, IMO, to do that Martin Jordan crash scene, then we get Hal waking of with the girl and scrambling to get to the Sabre test. It could have been played up almost like Hal was dreaming about that anyway.

Then we see Abin Sur get attacked, without revealing Parallax, and all that. Then Oa, where Tomar-Re does his yarn about the origins of the GLC. Then we find out about Parallax, his origin, from the talk between the Guardians and Sinestro and how that relates to Abin Sur.