Green Lantern Review Thread (Spoilers)

[Sith]

Originally Posted by Idioteque...

I seriously hate when people bring this stupid argument up. And it's Kane btw.

Those people are the ones that created the term: POPCORN MOVIE!!!

[Sith]

Originally Posted by Matt.English

You're not missing much, as far as I'm concerned. I loved the movie (rated it 5/5 in this poll) even with its flaws. I could overlook the mediocre directing, the lackluster score and Blake Lively's performance.

[Show spoiler]But I can't overlook the disservice they did to the Sinestro storyline by having him put the yellow ring on with no build up. It came out of nowhere and I hated it.

For me, as soon as the credits roll, the movie's over.

Wouldn't mediocre directing make it hard to give it a perfect score?

[spidy]

Originally Posted by BStecke

Just some thoughts . . .

I was prepared for the whole movie to be filled with "I know, right!?!" moments, but luckily that wasn't the case. I thought Reynolds' humor was used well for the most part, even though in some parts it did feel like they tried to cram in more jokes/humor than were needed. For the most part though, I was afraid that this would just be Ryan Reynolds playing himself, but I felt that most of the humor was wry and sarcastic, which is true to the character.

The mask looks horrible, and I'm glad

[Show spoiler]Carol figured out it was Hal pretty much right off the bat, and I appreciated the humor in that scene, because the mask is ridiculous.

Honestly, Clark Kent's glasses work better as a disguise.

I could've done without seeing Hector Hammond

[Show spoiler]screaming like a woman

what seemed like 30 times.

The only thing that stood out to me as just plain bad was the score. In the scene where Jordan and Tomar-re are flying through Oa, I felt like I should've been watching African Cats or something else with a bunch of animals running through the plains. It all felt very bland and uninspiring, and in some parts even cringe-worthy. I was surprised to see that it was James Newton-Howard and not some no-name composer.

The stinger at the end felt really out of place. Being familiar with the character, it makes sense, but in the context of the movie it doesn't at all.

[Show spoiler]Sinestro's future as a rogue is never even hinted at during the film until the stinger.

When we walked out of the theater my friend, who is unfamiliar with the comics, was like soooo . . .

[Show spoiler]is he supposed to be a bad guy now?

I thought there would be a lot more

[Show spoiler]conflict between Sinestro, Jordan, and the Guardians to at least hint at Sinestro's turn, but there wasn't any at all.

I wish they would've saved

[Show spoiler]Parallax

for a later film, although since he's been retconned into the mythos, I guess that would be kind of hard. I wish that conflict had been more epic in scale, since that character was responsible for one of the major events in DC history

[Show spoiler]Zero Hour

, and in this he's easily beaten.

Overall, I liked the movie. Aside from the mask, I was really pleased with how the suits looked, surprisingly. Most of the effects were really good, and I love the shot of Hal in front of the sun (in the trailers). A lot of characters are underused, and I think the movie could've been 20-25 minutes longer to really flesh some stuff out, but I enjoyed it quite a bit and I'll be buying it on Blu-ray day one, and I'll be getting the Hot Toys Hal when it comes out

Oddly enough, the theater I usually go to, and where I saw it, wasn't even showing it in 3D. Not that I was bummed, I was happy to see a good selection of showtimes for 2D for once. The theater was packed at a 7:45 showing, so hopefully this will do well and we'll get a sequel and other DC movies in the future. I think they still have some ground to make up in order to catch up to the quality of Marvel's films, but I liked GL.

I agree with a lot of what you said. The music in the trailer was epic but none of the music in the movie was. And the epic music wasn't even used during the opening sequence. The movie would have been better with a more serious tone but the complaints about the costume, humor, and special effects weren't a big deal IMO. Some characters were under developed, some were underused, and the movie was too short. The biggest disappoint of all for me in this movie is that with some TLC this could have been a much much better movie. Still not bad but it could have been so much more.

BTW, did during the scene that you mentioned with Hal and Carol on the balcony did you think Hal's first words before Carol were kind of a jab at Batman?

[Show spoiler] I think when he lowered his voice several octaves that he was acting like Batman before she said Hal

. The whole audience laughed.

[BStecke]

I got that impression. There were a lot of laughs for that scene at my showing too.

[Matt.English]

Originally Posted by Sith

Wouldn't mediocre directing make it hard to give it a perfect score?

Not as such. The perfect score comes from my overall enjoyment of the movie. And, again, it's mediocre directing, not bad directing. It's not like I was cringing because of bad direction choices, there just weren't many shots that stood out as memorable, from a direction standpoint.

[Underworld54]

Originally Posted by BStecke

Just some thoughts . . .

I was prepared for the whole movie to be filled with "I know, right!?!" moments, but luckily that wasn't the case. I thought Reynolds' humor was used well for the most part, even though in some parts it did feel like they tried to cram in more jokes/humor than were needed. For the most part though, I was afraid that this would just be Ryan Reynolds playing himself, but I felt that most of the humor was wry and sarcastic, which is true to the character.

The mask looks horrible, and I'm glad

[Show spoiler]Carol figured out it was Hal pretty much right off the bat, and I appreciated the humor in that scene, because the mask is ridiculous.

Honestly, Clark Kent's glasses work better as a disguise.

I could've done without seeing Hector Hammond

[Show spoiler]screaming like a woman

what seemed like 30 times.

The only thing that stood out to me as just plain bad was the score. In the scene where Jordan and Tomar-re are flying through Oa, I felt like I should've been watching African Cats or something else with a bunch of animals running through the plains. It all felt very bland and uninspiring, and in some parts even cringe-worthy. I was surprised to see that it was James Newton-Howard and not some no-name composer.

The stinger at the end felt really out of place. Being familiar with the character, it makes sense, but in the context of the movie it doesn't at all.

[Show spoiler]Sinestro's future as a rogue is never even hinted at during the film until the stinger.

When we walked out of the theater my friend, who is unfamiliar with the comics, was like soooo . . .

[Show spoiler]is he supposed to be a bad guy now?

I thought there would be a lot more

[Show spoiler]conflict between Sinestro, Jordan, and the Guardians to at least hint at Sinestro's turn, but there wasn't any at all.

I wish they would've saved

[Show spoiler]Parallax

for a later film, although since he's been retconned into the mythos, I guess that would be kind of hard. I wish that conflict had been more epic in scale, since that character was responsible for one of the major events in DC history

[Show spoiler]Zero Hour

, and in this he's easily beaten.

Overall, I liked the movie. Aside from the mask, I was really pleased with how the suits looked, surprisingly. Most of the effects were really good, and I love the shot of Hal in front of the sun (in the trailers). A lot of characters are underused, and I think the movie could've been 20-25 minutes longer to really flesh some stuff out, but I enjoyed it quite a bit and I'll be buying it on Blu-ray day one, and I'll be getting the Hot Toys Hal when it comes out

Oddly enough, the theater I usually go to, and where I saw it, wasn't even showing it in 3D. Not that I was bummed, I was happy to see a good selection of showtimes for 2D for once. The theater was packed at a 7:45 showing, so hopefully this will do well and we'll get a sequel and other DC movies in the future. I think they still have some ground to make up in order to catch up to the quality of Marvel's films, but I liked GL.

As far as the during credit scene is concerned

[Show spoiler]I'm sure Sinestro is just getting a taste of the yellow energy. I think he's still technically on the side of the Corps and some conflict with the guardians may push him over the edge.

[grooveska]

Off topic...

To those of you who took your kids, how did they handle the scarier elements? My 5 year old daughter is dying to go see it. A couple of the parts with Hammond I wouldn't want her to see. She has seen the trailer a ton of times so I'm not worried about parallax scaring too much.

[Blu Titan]

It was a fun, entertaining movie and delivered what I expected. Why all the hate from the critics? Who cares?! Obviously, the movie is not to be taken seriously. I do agree that 15 extra muntes of character development would have been great.

[cajmoyper]

That's it. I'm done with reviewers. Every movie for them has to be some art school high-thinking masterpiece. Honestly, when I go to a movie, I expect and want to see shit blown up. I got that with this movie. I'm just a simple man looking to escape reality with over-the-top mindless action. Thanks Green Lantern I gave it a 4/5.

And to whoever said the end wasn't epic enough, I guess I'd agree with that but what could be more epic than a final battle in space in front of the Sun whilst using the Sun as a weapon? I thought it was cool.

[BStecke]

Originally Posted by grooveska

Off topic...

To those of you who took your kids, how did they handle the scarier elements? My 5 year old daughter is dying to go see it. A couple of the parts with Hammond I wouldn't want her to see. She has seen the trailer a ton of times so I'm not worried about parallax scaring too much.

I have no kids to take, but there were tons of little kids in the showing I went to and none of them seemed to be bothered by anything. The row behind us had at least 7 kids in it, and they were raving the whole time. During the Hammond scenes I think the worst thing I heard was "ew."

[Ford]

As a person that grew up having Green Lantern (the Hal Jordan version) as his favorite superhero, I loved this movie. It's not an easy property to translate to the screen, and I don't see how they could have done much better than this. There is no fat to cut from the film. I do agree that it could have used another 15 minutes or so, but that's what Director's Cuts blu rays are for. It's easily the best movie I've seen this summer. Even this year. I wasn't crazy about the mask when I first saw pictures of it, but I thought it worked in the movie. I read some people are bashing the constructs that Hal makes, a gun, fist, SWAT Shield, etc... But really, he's making these out of instinct. What are you supposed to make when you're reacting to something like a tanker blowing up in front of you? The humor walked the fine line, not too serious and not too silly. They packed the movie with stuff right out of the comics. I was surprised to see Hal's brothers for one. I had way more fun watching this than "Super 8". I can't understand it's higher ratings. I think it has to do more with commentor cynicism and judgements made on trailers alone. I think this movie has a better connection to the Richard Donner Superman movies than Bryan Singer Superman Returns did. It has the spirit and fun. Plus, Singer can't direct an action scene like Martin Campbell can. Just look at the monstrocity that was the Wolverine vs Sabretooth fight on the Statue of Liberty. I'm hoping that this movie does get a sequel or two, and that Martin Campbell is brought back for them.

[Clark Kent]

Originally Posted by AlexG

Wow, GL pulled in $21,605,000 on Fri...it will probably pull in somewhere between $45,000,000 - $55,000,000 for the weekend...suprised i guess.

Right now Green Lantern is projected to have a domestic weekend gross of $57-60 million, depending on the weather across the country.

Originally Posted by cajmoyper

That's it. I'm done with reviewers. Every movie for them has to be some art school high-thinking masterpiece. Honestly, when I go to a movie, I expect and want to see shit blown up. I got that with this movie. I'm just a simple man looking to escape reality with over-the-top mindless action. Thanks Green Lantern I gave it a 4/5.

Remember, most professional film reviewers have grown tired and cynical of the summer blockbuster phenomenon. Green Lantern was the third comic book movie they had reviewed in less than a month. There is a certain level of resentment from the reviewers that Hollywood is spending millions on these types of films, in place of more "important" movies. Most ordinary people enjoy these films on a more visceral level.

[toddly6666]

Originally Posted by Ford

As a person that grew up having Green Lantern (the Hal Jordan version) as his favorite superhero, I loved this movie. It's not an easy property to translate to the screen, and I don't see how they could have done much better than this. There is no fat to cut from the film. I do agree that it could have used another 15 minutes or so, but that's what Director's Cuts blu rays are for. It's easily the best movie I've seen this summer. Even this year. I wasn't crazy about the mask when I first saw pictures of it, but I thought it worked in the movie. I read some people are bashing the constructs that Hal makes, a gun, fist, SWAT Shield, etc... But really, he's making these out of instinct. What are you supposed to make when you're reacting to something like a tanker blowing up in front of you? The humor walked the fine line, not too serious and not too silly. They packed the movie with stuff right out of the comics. I was surprised to see Hal's brothers for one. I had way more fun watching this than "Super 8". I can't understand it's higher ratings. I think it has to do more with commentor cynicism and judgements made on trailers alone. I think this movie has a better connection to the Richard Donner Superman movies than Bryan Singer Superman Returns did. It has the spirit and fun. Plus, Singer can't direct an action scene like Martin Campbell can. Just look at the monstrocity that was the Wolverine vs Sabretooth fight on the Statue of Liberty. I'm hoping that this movie does get a sequel or two, and that Martin Campbell is brought back for them.

I agree with everything you said! Are you the first hardcore Green Lantern fan in here too? I havent heard from to many comic book fans on here.

The action in the movie was very well filmed - all the big special effect Lantern scenes were intense ( race car track copter save, lantern and Hector face to face on the floor, climax scene on earth and the one with the sun. Totally intense and epic!

I was so entertained by the film, I even loved the non-action scenes. I think Hector Hammond had more depth then Heath Ledger's Joker. Sure, Ledger did a good job acting but he's just acting crazy. With Hammond, we feel sorry for him because his father doesnt love him, he's not as attractive as Hal to get the affection he wants from Carol, he only gets a cool scientific discovery job all thanks to his father's connection, and it's even sad that he fails Parallex. From what was written for a mainstream superhero film, I thought that Hector Hammond definitely was the character that got the most depth in the film, which makes him one of the best villains in the DC superhero movie universe. Just because he's not glamorized with some colorful costume, it doesnt make him less of an impressive villain.

Furthermore, the daddy issue conflicts were better developed in this film than in Ang Lee's Hulk.

And I dont know why people are obsessing over Green Lantern's tiny little face mask which we only see in some close ups. The mask in Green Hornet actually looked worse and didnt even seem to fit on Rogan's facenyet I dont remember people making a fuss over the mask in that forgettable film.

[Clippins]

Just got done seeing this. I went into with low expectations and it pretty much was what I thought it would be -- a generic superhero movie. It's decently entertaining, but nothing stands out to make it an epic like a Batman Begins/Dark Knight, Iron Man, or even Thor for that matter. It's worth a watch but I would hope no sequels would spin off from this one like the other mentioned above (you know a Thor 2 will be made after the success of Thor). I gave it a 3 out of 5 for the few scenes where there was actual action.

[Matt.English]

Originally Posted by Clippins

It's worth a watch but I would hope no sequels would spin off from this one like the other mentioned above

I couldn't disagree with you more. I'm hoping we do get a sequel because it has the potential to be great. Any mistakes made in the first movie could easily be rectified with better writing and directing. Thankfully, director Martin Campbell already said he wouldn't be back for the second film so all that's left is to get new writers on board. In fact, I don't see any reason why Geoff Johns shouldn't just write it.

[groove93]

Dissapointed. Sooooo much potential with these Comic Book heroes. I thought I was watching Iron Man one moment, Thor another, Fantastic 4: ROTSS another, then the big one, Empire Friggin Strikes back, then at the end The Matrix.

I don't know, I tried to leave my brain at the door but I just kept it on. No need for a sequel, a reboot, please do.

[Underworld54]

I saw it for a second time today and it played so much better this time. As a life long Hal Jordan fan I am pleased.

[Moviefan2k4]

Well, I just saw the film about 2 hours ago, and I enjoyed it much more than I expected to. The story was good, the FX worked well, and most of the characters seemed well-rounded and believable. The only complaints I have are the brief moments of language, the sexual references, seeing people's souls torn from their bodies, and the notion that will is the most powerful thing in the universe. If the latter were really true, you'd think there'd be a lot less disasters going on. On the whole, this gets a 7.5/10 from me, but I rounded it up to 4/5 for the poll.

[thedarkangel1975]

I actually had fun with this movie. I enjoyed it cannot wait to watch again on Blu-Ray. Especially since John Stewart is in the movie as well.

[Steve]

I went to see this earlier this afternoon in 3D. I had high hopes for it and I didn't come away disappointed. While it wasn't a perfect movie by any stretch of the imagination, it was a lot of fun to watch. The special effects were great. It's an interesting universe they've opened up and I hope it does well enough to get at least one sequel. It's a definite day one buy on blu-ray for me.