It has happened. I have seen “Green Lantern.” I have a lot to say about it, so bear with me…
The trend among critics seems to be to paint this as the worst film in a long time, and possibly one of the worst ever. I don’t see this at all. The same critics who are bestowing poor ratings on this movie often say that it’s a better movie than “Thor,” which they gave a mediocre to fair rating. What gives?
I suspect that I know exactly what gives. For young hipster critics, hating GL is a really cool thing to do. This has been the case for Internet fanboys ever since the first trailer hit last fall. For the 45 and over crowd, there is a pervasive curmudgeonliness in their reviews – all of them, not just this film – that seems to prevent them from enjoying any superhero movie that wasn’t directed by Christopher Nolan or that doesn’t present a highly topical issue interwoven with the hero’s plot/life/mission/etc. I feel fortunate to be at a place in my perspective as a watcher of movies to have enjoyed this movie for what it was.
This is another origin story. I understand that origin stories get tiresome. Understand, though, that Green Lantern is a rich mythology that NEEDS a serious amount of exposition before it can possibly get into any kind of story. “Green Lantern” gets right to it, giving a VERY brief history of the Green Lantern Corps before introducing the main villain: Parallax, an entity who embodies the emotion fear, represented by yellow energy. In the comics, it is known that green lantern rings’ green energy (will) is vulnerable to yellow. Parallax wounds his captor, Green Lantern Abin Sur, and escapes. Abin, knowing that he is mortally wounded, instructs his ship to head to the nearest inhabited planet to begin the “selection process.”
Meanwhile, test pilot Hal Jordan is introduced, and we quickly find that he is an irresponsible womanizer who makes rash and reckless decisions. His father was also a pilot, and Hal lives in his shadow.
Hal is, of course, selected as Abin Sur’s replacement. After experimenting a little with the ring and accompanying lantern he inherits, Hal is suddenly whisked off by his ring to Oa, home of the Green Lsntern Corps, as well as the Guardians, their mentors. Hal is welcomed by Tomar-Re, a fish-bird combination looking GL. He is very briefly trained by the enormous, gruff GL Kilowog, as well as the pink skinned Sinestro. The latter makes Hal decide that he may not be Lantern material after all. But what of Parallax and his apparent connection to Earth???
The main reason I loved this movie is that I felt like a 12 year old as I was watching it. The effects, a popular topic of derision, looked great to me, as did Reynolds’ costume. Reynolds himself took the part seriously, and to me was an ideal Hal. Mark Strong is perfect as Sinestro, as are Geoffrey Rush as Tomar-Re and Michael Clarke Duncan as Kilowog. Even Blake Lively was suited to the role of Carol Ferris. Say what you will, but she’s far better than Katie Holmes in “Batman Begins.”
My favorite aspect of the movie was the constructs themselves. As Hal got more comfortable, the constructs became more inventive and cooler. I loved the CG, the look of Oa, and the glowing green energy permeating the uniforms. My only technical problem is the Guardians themselves. The animation of their faces is too cartoony. I feel like they should have seemed somewhat more real, a la Gollum.
The only other complaint I have is that much of this movie feels rushed. If possible, I would love to see an extended cut of the DVD released so that the pace relaxes a wee bit more. Not much, though, as the forward momentum helps to keep the excitement going.
In all, I love this movie. It’s terribly flawed, but it speaks directly to my inner adolescent. It has humor, action, and excitement. A note about the mid-credits scene: I felt that it WAS set up in an earlier scene and didn’t come out of nowhere.
Bottom line: if you want straight up entertainment, this is your movie. “Green Lantern” is no “The Dark Knight,” but it shouldn’t be. It’s a space opera that can be an exhilarating ride, but only if you are capable of relaxing enough to just go with it. 
Geek of All Trades 