Title: Green Lantern Director: Martin Campbell Starring: Ryan Reynolds Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Studio: Warner Bros.Pictures Genre(s): Action Rated:       (For intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action)

CONSUMER ADVICE

Parents, there is a fair amount of violence, but minor language and some minor sexual content. Recommended for ages 12 and up.

Boy there sure is a lot of green in this movie.  I don't know if it's coincidental, but green happens to be my brother's favorite color.  So naturally, he always liked Green Lantern growing up (about as much as me liked the Green Ranger in “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers”), and now we have a movie called “Green Lantern” starring one of his favorite new actors – Ryan Reynolds – in the title role.  By these criteria I deduce that when my brother gets around to seeing “Green Lantern” he will probably love it for those reasons.  There's even a pretty love interest in the movie played by Blake Lively, who looks like someone my brother would take a liking to in real life.

If it sounds like I'm talking about my brother a lot in this movie and why he would like the film as opposed to me, it's largely because the movie didn't leave much of an impression on me for the most part.  The story is a typically goofy one that you expect from a comic book movie:  Hal Jordon (Reynolds) is a jet pilot who lost his father when he was a kid.  He lives his life attempting to never have fear, because his dad lived without fear (presumably).  One day he finds a dying alien though and is given the ring of the Green Lanterns, which are protectors of the universe of some sort.  The ring uses the energy of peoples will, which is the strongest force in the universe (nice to see this film being realistic; most movies would make the ultimate power love).

The ring gets its power from a lamp, which gets its power from a power source on the Lantern planet, which gets its power from the people and creatures of the universe.  Don't ask how it's supposed to be recharged, the movie makes it so that the ring runs out of power for maximum effect during battle sequences, but doesn't explain how Hal is supposed to know when it's low in the first place.  The movie introduces a villain named Hector (Peter Sarsgaard) who ends up with psychic powers of some sort that are powered by Fear (which is strong enough to absorb Will).  His role in the movie is confusing because there is already an alien force coming to absorb all the souls of people on Earth, and this enemy with a face seems pointless to have at all.

This is also one of those superhero movies where many of the main characters are unsurprised by the supernatural things they see and don't question them much.  When Hal realizes his skin is now green and can make green matter into anything he wants instead of getting fearful he struts around like one of those prissy actors from the Twilight movies.  I admit that there is some fun stuff in this movie.  The fact that Green Lantern can mold green will power into anything he wants (giant fists, machine guns, even a race car designed to catch a falling helicopter).  There is endless imaginative ways to have fun with this.  Despite reports that the 3D (which would make my brother motion sick) was upconverted, it looks excellent.

It looks like it was filmed in 3D from the beginning.  That said the movie has no set of rules.  The ring runs out of power at inconvenient times and there's no way to tell when it will.  It's an arbitrary way to heighten suspense because it's not like the movie has faith in itself to do it by raising the stakes naturally.  Likewise the script is also weak with corny lines of dialog and a message that seems more at home in a PG rated kid's film rather than a PG-13 rated film intended to be viewed by adults and teenagers.  I do admit that the movie surprised me with the love interest Carol (Lively).

There is a scene late in the movie where Green Lantern goes to her to put on some moves.  After a moment she recognizes him and he asks her how she figured out it was him.  Her response: “I've seen you naked. Why wouldn't I recognize you with a green mask over your cheekbones?”  Nice to know not all superhero love interests are as naïve as Lois Lane.  “Green Lantern” was directed by Martin Campbell, who directed a couple James Bond films and the Zorro films.  Like those films he can direct a good action sequence but has less to say in the script. The building blocks are here for a better sequel, but with “Thor” and “X-Men: First Class” raising the superhero genre so high this year, “Green Lantern” falls a bit short in comparison.