Green Lantern

Starring Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively and Peter Sarsgaard
Directed by Martin Campbell (Casino Royale)
Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence
Appropriate for ages 13+

    In this summer’s newest super hero introduction, DC and Warner Brothers show us the world of Green Lantern.  Ryan Reynolds is just your average air force pilot, but when a dying warrior from an alien planet crashes on earth, he is recruited to join an intergalactic peace keeping force.  

    With all of the heroes to choose from that lack a movie, Green Lantern is not the first of them to come to mind for a huge adaptation.  After all, he is a very unconventional superhero.  He works for a police force to keep his quadrant of the universe free from fear.  He is virtually unstoppable from any force on earth.  His whole world is, for lack of a better word, weird.  So it will come as no surprise that from the very beginning, this movie fails to take itself seriously, but yet still chugs along at a decent clip, keeping the audience at the very least curious.

    As far as actors go, Ryan Reynolds is pretty fantastic in the leading role.  He is full of charisma and charm and is simply likable.  Peter Sarsgaard, who really goes out of his way to be the opposite of Reynolds here, presents a villain who you can’t help but feel empathy for.  The supporting cast is not the greatest, but I fear its more for their scripts rather than their talent.  

    Speaking of the script, it’s not a great genesis story, but it’s not horrible either.  There are a tremendous amount of holes throughout the story that I’m sure the plethora of writers were hoping the audience won’t ask about.  Some of that probably stems from the original comic, and some of it is simply sloppy and uncreative.  I don’t want to spoil anything for you, but the entire third act, which involves stopping the super-evil Parallax, makes zero sense.  The reactions of the leaders of the intergalactic squadron to the threat is slightly insane and while that major plot point moves the story ahead the way I’m sure they wanted, it should have been rearranged.  

    That being said, I did like the look of the film quite a bit.  It might be a tad too green, but it certainly comes off as unique and true to the comic in a big way.  The special effects were in top form and one of the few things that made the film watchable.