Now that the flagship characters of comic books have had their fair share of exposure for the last decade, movie studios are reaching deep into both the Marvel or DC Comics well in the hopes that the next successful film franchise can be discovered. Which brings us to Green Lantern, a superhero film that directly competed theatrically with two of Marvel's offerings Thor, and Captain America: The First Avenger in the summer of 2011.
Based on the DC Comics' character who shares the same universe with Superman and Batman, Lantern revolves around fighter pilot Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds); who is unwillingly selected by an intergalactic police force known as the Green Lantern Corps as its first human representative. With a sinister global entity known as Parallax on the brink of destroying Earth, Jordan struggles with accepting the responsibility and finding the courage to save his planet before it moves on to Oa (the home planet of the Corps and the Guardians; the race who created them).
The Movie
As a movie, there are elements that Green Lantern accomplishes rather well and others where the effort falls flat. We'll start with the good news. Visually the movie looks just as a Green Lantern story should, with very colorful special effects and enviornments. In fact, the thought process behind the suits, the power ring, the other members of the Corps, and the planet Oa are all spot on. But the bad news is that the movie's script is a bit of a mess, and Green Lantern has trouble pulling together a cohesive and entertaining story that flows naturally.
There are in total three villains sharing screen time. The most fascinating and welcomed is Sinestro (played perfectly by Kick Ass' Mark Strong); an older Green Lantern who begins the film as a mentor to Jordan but is destined to be his arch-enemy down the road. There's Parallax (the alien force not well known to outsiders of comic book lore but thus represents the gargantuan threat of the film), and Hector Hammond; a scientist infected by Parallax who used to be Jordan's childhood friend. Hammond is a laughable addition, serving very little purpose in the big scheme of things, and all the more weak when he pines for Jordan's former flame Carol Ferris (The Town's Blake Lively).
This is director Martin Campbell's first foray into sci-fi/fantasy territory, but not in dealing with an iconic hero; having helmed The Mask Of Zorro and two James Bond pictures with Goldeneye and Casino Royale. Campbell seems rather out of his element here, with such a digitally effects-heavy film as opposed to the thrilling, reality-based action sequences he's known for. Lantern is such a rushed effort in trying to cover all of the angles, that Campbell forgets the let the material breathe and find a rhythm.
The Blu-ray/DVD Combo Edition
Released on October 14th, 2011, this Blu-ray high definition edition offers two different cuts of the film. The Extended Cut (running nine minutes longer) actually incorporates the full sequence of Jordan's father in a doomed accident that was tacked on in flashes closer to the beginning of the Theatrical Cut. It actually hinders the film, placed too closely to when an adult Jordan relives the whole incident in his head during a flight exercise (I should also mention the angle feels like a recycled plot-point from Top Gun when you watch it).
Although the movie falls short of expectations on substance, I have to admit that it was a hell of a lot of fun to look at with an absolutely stellar 1080p HD pristine image. The wonderous enviornments, sets, and colors gleam off the screen in the most mesmerizing of ways and the visual design of the film is to be commended for it. Not only that, but the DTS HD Master Audio Track is no slouch either, roaring with fierce effect on your unsuspecting sound system. It's available for both cuts of the film.
The first disc also offers a respectable amount of supplemental material including a Maximum Movie Mode option "Green Lantern's Light" that can be viewed while watching the Theatrical version of the film (the Focus Points can be viewed individually as well). This serves up almost everything you want to know about the film, through PIP commentary, featurettes, galleries, and gets firmly into the movie's design on look and characters.
Ryan Reynolds provides his thoughts on playing the titular role in an extra feature, the character's evolution through the comics is discussed by industry talent in "The Universe According To Green Lantern", and the disc is rounded out by some uninteresting "Deleted Scenes". The second disc is a standard DVD copy of the Theatrical version that also acts as a Digital Download.
Final Thoughts
As a so-so first installment of a potential franchise, Green Lantern can hopefully only go up from here by getting a better story and more to invest in from an audience perspective with a sequel. The disc does offer some strong technical value in picture, sound, and bonus features for fans so it might be hard to pass up for hardcore collectors, but all others would be better off to rent it.
GRADES
- Movie - Average
- Video - Excellent
- Audio - Excellent
- Extra's - Very Good
- Consumer/Collector Value - Very Good
- Complete Blu-ray/DVD Combo Edition - Very Good
Ryan Young - Ryan Young is a Film and Sports article/review writer, based in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada.
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