Green Lantern poster

Green Lantern

wogma rating: Watch if you have nothing better to do (?)

quick review:

Green Lantern is your regular super-hero film. A common man realizes he has special powers and automatically rises to the occasion to save the universe from collapsing. The graphics - you’ve seen before, thanks to the number of action movies releasing on 3D over the past few months. The storyline you’ve heard before and therefore, the movie watching experience – might just lead to a bad case of déjà vu.

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Director: Martin Campbell
Running time: 109 minutes
Genres: Fantasy, Sci-fi
More Movie Info

There are two kinds of predictability – the enjoyable-guesses kind and the don’t-need-to-hold-your-breath-what’s-the-point-anyway kind. The former can be applied to thrillers where you know the killer’s going to be the unsuspecting face around the protagonist but with enough background music, you’ll still be shocked off your socks during the climax. The latter is the worst kind – and Green Lantern, the newest superhero film adaptation, is presumptuously predictable.

Based on the famous DC comic series, Green Lantern is about a group of saviors and chosen ones with the responsibility to save the universe. The Green Lantern Corps defeated the fearful antithesis, Parallax, many years ago and imprisoned him in an abandoned sector.

He escapes, to create havoc among the universe when the strongest of all Green Lanterns, Abin Sur vows to choose his worthy successor from Planet Earth. Enter Hal Jordon (Ryan Renolds) and does he save the day? Take a wild guess.

It’s a majestic set-up; one that requires you to have read the comic before watching the film, but one of the biggest problems with Green Lantern is that it doesn’t spend time trying to explain the backdrop to the uninitiated. By this, almost half the audience sitting in the theatre hall felt isolated. The movie waltzed in as a Matrix-cum-Captain Planet hangover and, until the end credits, remains just that.

Those who have read the comics might feel differently, but any adaptation must at least spend a good amount of screen time establishing the characters and relevant contexts. Green Lantern is stylish, but nothing you haven’t seen before. The graphics are slick, Ryan Renolds looks quite super-hero like in the film, but it’s the yawn- inducing predictability of the story that makes the whole experience a dull one.

You could walk out for some popcorn and walk back to have not missed much. And that’s an anecdote attached to prime time soap operas. Director Micheal Campbell’s Casino Royale was much more stylish, slicker and engaging. While watching the film you’ll wonder how he shifted from a fast-paced, drool-worthy Bond film to a commercial, stereotypical Green Lantern.

In Green Lantern, you will find that you can’t relate to the protagonist, no matter how good he looks. The staple characters -the girlfriend, the sidekick and the bad guy from within - are all stereotypes, waiting to be overpowered by our protagonist but you don’t feel grand at his victory or frightened at the possible downfall of the world.

There are a few funny dialogues, some scenes that will make you wide-eyed but there are only so many flying objects you can take through your dim 3D glasses before a splitting headache. Green Lantern is not a bad film; it’s just not as challenging or inspiring as a super hero film should be. You would be better off buying the video game, because the film doesn’t look or emote any differently. Even better? Wait for it to premiere on Cartoon Network on a Sunday afternoon.

This article is by guest author Swetha Ramakrishnan. Swetha Ramakrishnan is currently living and working in Mumbai. She's a self-confessed film enthusiast and can most likely be found talking to anyone and everyone about popular cinema and her love for SRK. Swetha Ramakrishnan also blogs at http://swetharamakrishnan.blogspot.com/.

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3 readers - 0 yays 1 so-so 2 nays

So-So, by Mark Hamilton

Nay! Thumbs Down, by stephen : Too much crap looking cgi.

Nay! Thumbs Down, by TimELiebe : Ryan Reynolds should stick to playing self-absorbed jerks in stupid rom-coms.

This page has additional observations, other than the ones noted in the main review.

Parental Guidance:

  • Violence: Not bloody in nature
  • Language: Nothing too sexual, but a few jokes here and there
  • Nudity & Sexual content: No Nude scenes
  • Concept: Based on the DC comics of the same name
  • General Look and Feel: Unoriginal and Graphics-heavy

Detailed Ratings (out of 5):

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Green Lantern - Cast, crew, links

Official Sites:
Supporting Cast:
Music Director:
Running time:
109 minutes
Language:
Country:
USA
Genres:

Comments (1)

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Too much CGI ruins another film for me and I now fear for the coming Flash movie, my favorite comic character.

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