GREEN LANTERN
December 15th 2011 21:38
Category: Videos
Based on the DC Comics character Green Lantern
Director: Martin Campbell
Story by: Greg Berlanti, Michael Green & Marc Guggenheim
Screenplay by: Greg Berlanti, Michael Green, Marc Guggenheim & Michael Goldenberg
Producers: Donald De Line & Greg Berlanti
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Peter Sarsgaard, Mark Strong, Angela Basset & Tim Robbins
Produced by: De Line Pictures & Warner Brothers Pictures
Released by: Warner Home Video
Running Time: 109 minutes Rating: M
Recently there was survey done on the Triple J radio station that either voted this particular flick as the worst movie of 2011 or the worst thing of 2011, not sure which category that it fell into but obviously the pundits didn’t think highly of this work. So when I eventually managed to get my hands on the film this was a fact I just had to ignore and hopefully judge the feature on its merits without letting the opinions and views of others influence me. So what did the eternal emerald gaze of the Lantern think of the Green Lantern feature? What was the truth revealed?
Green Lantern is one of the numerous blockbuster flicks that have emerged in the last year that have been big on the whole smoke and mirrors side of things, even going to so far as to be produced in tremendous high tech super 3D. Of course I don’t have a 3D television or even computer – I don’t need it as I’m a real person and I live in three dimensions to start with so a 3D film is something that I find superfluous. As far as the CGI effects yeah they were pretty good, probably easily on par with anything that’s been done before. But what about the story what about character development? What kind of results can we expect there? Sadly I have to say that in these areas Green Lantern does suffer – still no irredeemably, but like I say it’s an alright flick not a great one.
All of this is pretty much standard super hero fare; it’s the kind of stuff you’d be expecting to happen in the events of the film. If you weren’t then either you’ve never read a comic in your life or have been living under a rock or both. If you were expecting some kind of existentialist dialogue or a narrative reflecting the Zen koans of Zen masters or just something mind boggling complex then you obviously picked up the wrong DVD. Like I said Green Lantern is fairly standard super hero fare; it’s full of fights, discovery, danger, a little bit of romance and then a successful denouement as the hero finally proves himself and defeats his foe. To expect thing more is simply pointless.
But for all that even in this particular genre Green Lantern is somewhat flawed to say the least. And this is down to the actual limitations not so much of special effects, acting, and character but rather down to plot and back-story. You see out of the many iconic DC characters that have emerged over the last forty odd years Green Lantern is markedly different in two areas. For starters he is unlike his other hero compatriots he is not unique, he is one of countless other Lanterns and secondly he is part of a vast organisation that spans the universe seeking to protect its myriad worlds and societies from chaos and turmoil. Thus his responsibility is on a cosmic level, literally. And thus the dangers he faces are also on a similar level; forget hoodlums dealing in crack or illegal weapons in downtown Gotham the Green Lantern deals with threats that can wipe out star systems and civilizations and the main antagonist within this film, Parallax, is just such a villain.
And then there are the Guardians of the Universe who created the Green Lantern Corps; they are ancient, immortal beings yet in the scheme of this film they seem only to be an adjunct to events rather than having any actual influence on them. Which considering that they are frankly as old as time, vested with much knowledge and wisdom, seems rather lame. If anything the only thing the Guardians do is essentially provide the means by which the plot device for a potential sequel is created…rather lack lustre role for essentially so called major players in the DC Universe.
In essence if you’re going to have a cosmic level style story then you really have to nut it out to make sure that any inconsistencies don’t creep into the narrative, otherwise it could really just undermine the whole affair and take what is a potentially great story and turn it into an ordinary one or even worse a terrible one. Fortunately for Green Lantern the former rather than the latter occurred, but this meant that the film is alright rather than great or even really good. If you want to watch some easy viewing to pass away a weekend afternoon then the Green Lantern fits the bill, if you want a high octane intense super hero flick best look elsewhere…
| 14 |
| Vote |
subscribe to this blog
Comment by Anonymous
Earn $10000 per month from Home. Join with The World's Perfect Business!.
DO NOT MISS IT ==> Click Here!