It’s been a long time since a second tier DC Comics character has been given a feature film adaptation and so much has been riding on this Green Lantern movie for Warners. With the recent successes of the Marvel film adaptations, Warners need a DC comic book movie hit. And despite the critical mauling that this movie has been universally receiving, I will stick out my neck to predict that Green Lantern will be a box office hit.
Considering the poor direction, pacing, acting and horrendous story, it’s not difficult to agree with the critics who are giving the movie the collective thumbs down. There is no narrative flow between scenes and the plot is extremely rushed – with the characters minimally developed, if at all.
Ryan Reynolds does what Ryan Reynolds does best – playing the likable, funny hunk – but this time, with the fate of the earth in his hands, well, middle finger actually. Which is a good thing for the film, as Reynolds manages to transcend the shoddy script and gives the character a certain resonance, even if his motivations are incomprehensible. The other actors do not come off as well unfortunately – Peter Sarsgaard plays the villainous Hector Hammond without any gravitas or guile, Tim Robbins is sleepwalking his role as Hammond’s senator father, Angela Bassett grimaces her way through her Amanda Waller part but worst of all, is Blake Lively’s wooden Carol Ferris, the less spoken of, the better.
That all said, I took this Green Lantern movie at face value and enjoyed it as a comic book geek. The fact that I was able to see the Guardians, the Green Lantern Corps and Hal Jordan in the flesh (3D even), was reason enough for my 12 year old geek self to experience goosebumps. Sure, the critic inside me was spiting out obscenities at the utter paucity of creative & writing nous revealed by the director and scriptwriters but for the most part, my 12 year old geek self managed to keep the barbs at bay.
In the final analysis, I believe that based on Reynolds’ superstar charm and the epic special effects, casual movie fans will enjoy Green Lantern and provide enough justification for the already hinted-at sequel. Hopefully, at a creative level, the production team will be able to up its game and give us geeks a proper Green Lantern space opera, next time around…
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