My take on Martin Campbell's Green Lantern
Why was GL so missunderstood? This is my first review so please, cut me some slack :P
SPOILERS WARNING!!!
It was back in november when i saw the first trailer to Green Lantern. I was sitting in a packed theatre waiting for The Deathly Hallows Part one to start. As the previews whipped by i had the same feeling for all of them: drawn away; unamused. That was until the Green Lantern clip rolled onto the big screen. I was a bit confused with the first half of the trailer...I thought it was another lame rom-com from Ryan Reynolds. My confusion took a turn for the worst when the alien ship crash lands before Reynolds (even though thats how the sequence isn't played out during the film.) But when the green DC Comic's logo zoomed in along with the green glowing WB sign, i nearly jumped out of my seat in excitement. Now I must admit-I'm not a die hard comic book geek but i am a huge movie nerd. I've done my research on films and have concluded it to be my future career-working in cinema. I was not disappointed with the CGI placed in the first trailer. To see a preview for a super hero long waiting to hit the big screen was more than enough to draw my focus away from the movie i had bought my ticket for in the first place.
Then the long anticipation for the release date began to hit me. I loved the idea of Martin Campbell directing and Ryan as the hero. I'll admit I had little kmowledge of GL and thats why i turned to this site which gave me all the insights i needed without reading the comics. Unfortunately my obession for this movie had me coming here every day looking for insights and such. I must say after coming to comicbookmovie.com i pretty much saw the whole movie with all the clips, trailers, and interviews. I told myself to keep away from reading or hearing about any reviews for the film prior to its release. But i couldnt help myself. As I spotted the 24% on rotten tomatoes i was disappointed to see the reviews pouring in giving it mediocre ratings, but that didnt stop me. I went to my closest theatre and watched the movie I longed for back in November of 2010.
The movie starts out exactly as the 3D trailer does-with Geoffrey Rush's character narrating the beginning of the Green Lantern Corps. It was a brilliant, and visually entertaining spectacle and I had goose bumps. Rush's voice is absolutely perfect for Tomar Re, but the lines he's reading off of dont deliver the same affect needless to say. It tells a little too much in my opinion but its still satisfying.
Aliens in space suits are out searching for something on a meteorite; the movie doesnt quite make it clear what theyre searching for, but a great deal of interest and suspense sparks when the ground beneath them breaks and they fall several stories into a dark cave. There before them is what appears to be a guardian imprisoned in a green crystal like structure. As they draw ever closer, the structure breaks apart and a hideous face appears. It sucks the lives oit of the aliens and into its mouth where it then proceeds to fly up through the hole of the cave and out into space. The evil being shown is the movie's main villain Parallax.
The beginning of this movie is paced well; its mysterious and keeps you drawn in. The personality of Hal Jordan is portrayed brilliantly by Ryan Reynolds. Hes an asshole, cocky, and afraid to admit fear. The pacing quickens when the ring chooses Hal and I must say, that was kind of disappointing. But isnt like its completely rushed-it slows down for a few parts to establish some chemistry between Hal and Carol. The movie spends a little too much time with these two which it shouldnt. But it shows how Director Martin Campbell likes to get a love interest going early. He did it both Goldeneye and Casino Royale, but with Green Lantern it lacks the sense of romance.
But truthfully, that is a minor problem. The best part of the film for me had to be Peter Sarsgaard's portrayal of the creepy Dr. Hector Hammond. Hammond is infected with the power of Parallax that was imbedded in the body of Abin Sur, the Alien that gave Hal the Green Lantern ring, and it gives him strange mind powers that allow him to read minds either by focusing on someone from across the room or by touch, and also allow him to levitate objects as well. Some say that Sarsgaard's performance was over the top and unnecessary. I completely disagree. Sarsgaard's Hammond is by far THE BEST villian portrayed by an actor since Ledger's joker. Hes creepy, vile, and interesting. I dont wanna give too much away but i was very thrilled during the smack down between Hal and the Dr especially when Hammond uses his powers to slam the Green Lantern onto the floor shouting, "SIT DOWN!!"
Onto the direction and screenplay
Personally, I think this isnt Campbells best direction. Sure the action sequences are put together well enough to satisfy and thrill and there is atleast some sense of his presence with the actors but as far as sticking to the story, hes not as engaging as he normally is. Campbell's direction is usually gritty and witty (hey they rhyme ha ha ha. Bad joke) but it doesnt seem to happen here. In the end this wasnt his type of movie simply because the guy has no real experiance with CGI; hes more of a realism director, one that uses more stunts than computers.
The screenplay is above average. Critics these days are way too picky when it comes to this category. Ill admit its no TDK or Kings Speech brilliant but its far better than the script to G.I. Joe, Catwoman and the Twilight 'Saga'. At times words and phrases are not needed but thats the problem with many movies these days. What really grinds my gears is bad dialouge in movies. Thankfully GL didnt have horrible lines and bad tone to the screenplay. Like I said, its above average.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Good acting, Great Special effects, and okay direction make this film a wonderful experiance for the audience.
Audience.
You can howl and whine at me all you want for saying this but i consider my all time favorite movie to be the Losr World Jurassic Park. Why? Childhood favorite. That movie got mixed reviews just like GL did but still got a postive impact on the audience. What both these movies have in common is that they were made for the audience, not the critics. In the end its your opinion that counts, not some guy that works for an online newspaper that puts big words together like he knows somethin'. What you decide and think really matters. I thought this movie was the best CBM since TDK.
Thor was great, but it lagged in a few places and other scenes shoukdve been longer.
X-men First Class was pretty good but it was too talky for a summer movie.
But thats my opinion.
You're opinion could be far different. But what I'm trying to get at is that its your choice to listen to me or not but what i ask of you is to go into Green Lantern with a neutral attitude.
Loved it.
Solid A.
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