Friday, June 17, 2011

GREEN LANTERN (D+)

Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Mark Strong, Peter Sarsgaard and Tim Robbins

Directed by: Martin Campbell (GOLDENEYE, THE MASK OF ZORRO and CASINO ROYALE)
Rated: PG-13
Story: In a universe as vast as it is mysterious, a small but powerful force has existed for centuries. Protectors of peace and justice, they are called the Green Lantern Corps. A brotherhood of warriors sworn to keep intergalactic order, each Green Lantern wears a ring that grants him superpowers. But when a new enemy called Parallax threatens to destroy the balance of power in the Universe, their fate and the fate of Earth lie in the hands of their newest recruit, the first human ever selected: Hal Jordan. Hal is a gifted and cocky test pilot, but the Green Lanterns have little respect for humans, who have never harnessed the infinite powers of the ring before. But Hal is clearly the missing piece to the puzzle, and along with his determination and willpower, he has one thing no member of the Corps has ever had: humanity. With the encouragement of fellow pilot and childhood sweetheart Carol Ferris, if Hal can quickly master his new powers and find the courage to overcome his fears, he may prove to be not only the key to defeating Parallax...he will become the greatest Green Lantern of all. (Warner Bros.)

Bottom Line: If I loved it then I would have put another ring on it – but I didn’t as it does away with much of its rich, comic book mythology (he’s part of a vast team enforcing law across more than 3500 galactic quadrants for crying out loud; yes, I’m a nerd) and opts for the path of cookie-cutter, incohesive, silly and dull. It’s a nonsensical mish-mash of spastic colors, shiny objects, loud noises, lazy acting, cheesy dialogue and slap-it-together editing. And even though it gives off a very easy, uninspired, low-expectation summer, popcorn vibe it pales by comparison to its 2011 superhero predecessors THOR (B) and X-MEN: FIRST CLASS (A-). Save your hard earned GREEN and catch this LANTERN at a matinee price or, even better, free. It’s a 300 million dollar missed opportunity.

2 comments:

TongueTwied said...

I doubt I will even spend $1 at the Red Box for this. Everything you said (minus the 'I'm a nerd' part) seems right in line with the impression I got from the trailer.

I usually really enjoy the superhero/comic movies but this one looks like a farce. With so much competition out there, why not make a movie as fantastic as we all need a fantasy/superhero movie to be? I'd rather spend my time watching my old fav Superman II...or Twilight. ;)

Happy Father's Day!

BRTaibl said...

Thanks, TT! My expectations were low going in (from the awful looking trailers) so I'm sure that didn't help...

Have a great weekend!