Green Lantern
Directed by: Martin Campbell
Based on the DC Comic Silver Age Green Lantern
Released in theaters June 17, 2011
My Rating: ★★★★★
When a daredevil test pilot, Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds), stumbles upon an injured alien, he finds he is destined for more than just service to his country. Soon he will serve the entire planet. A mysterious green ring, which draws power from a green lantern, will transform Hal into an elite intergalactic warrior. It will be up to the new Lantern to save the world from the destruction of pure fear and evil.
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| Bit of a tense moment... |
I have to admit, I was a little skeptical about Ryan Reynolds playing a super hero (aside from his pretty minimal role in X-Men). Not that I don’t like him. I just couldn’t quite see how he was going to pull off such an essentially serious role. (Buried didn’t really do much for his career either, and I didn’t even waste my time watching that.) I must say, he did a pretty great job as Hal Jordan. Yeah, he cracked some jokes, but his overall performance was pretty solid!
Since The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, I have also been quite a Blake Lively fan. She was a classic heroine—strong, smart, and beautiful. She is Jordan’s wingman, long-time friend, and love interest. She provides a good anchor for Jordan when he starts veering away from reality.
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| Looks like pure evil to me! |
The theme of the film, the fear absorbing evil approaching the earth to destroy it, was well played out and pretty darn scary! Hector Hammond (Peter Sarsgaard) is a marginal but nasty antagonist. My son said his favorite part was when his blood cells were exploding and turning yellow and evil. It was pretty neat.
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| Hal Jordan circa 2005 |
I guess credit needs to be given to the comic itself for the solid and entertaining plot, particularly Hal Jordan’s disturbing past—a staple for most comic book heroes. The screenwriters certainly took some creative license with the story and condensed quite a bit of information to fit it into one film. It appears there will be a sequel to this film, and I can see how they may take some of the original storyline and apply it to different characters, keeping the Green Lantern himself pure.
The film’s visual effects were terrific. Since the ring transforms anything you can imagine into reality, fueled by willpower, there are some pretty creative images. Overall, it was a well-done comic superhero movie.
I really need to get my hands on one of those rings!
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| You mean this ring??? |
