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Alright ya fellow comic book nerds! Let’s dig into Green Lantern. You’ve seen the movie, you’ve read the comics, you know the characters. No need for set up, let’s cut to the chase:

I grew up a DC Comics guy. I enjoyed Xmen, Spiderman, Dr. Strange, and the like… but I REALLY was a die hard Superman, Batman, Justice League and more enthusiast. I loved the contrasts of Superman’s bright outfit, and Batman’s gritty underbelly. Green Lantern’s un-shakeable core, and Wonder Woman’s… er… truth-i-ness? So when I heard that Ryan Reynolds was cast as Hal Jordan instead of Wally West (which he was rumored to be for a LONG time)… I was disappointed. Then that cover of Entertainment Weekly displayed him in the suit and my heart shrank 1 size. Then they released the first trailer for it and my heart shrank another size. Eventually I was looking at the Green Lantern project as the reverse Grinch and I was NOT looking forward to it. Hal Jordan should be played by Jon Hamm, Nathan Fillion or some other qualified actor. Not Van Wilder. Not the goatee from Blade 3. ·But alas, they pushed forward.

Alright ya fellow comic book nerds! Let’s dig into Green Lantern. You’ve seen the movie, you’ve read the comics, you know the characters. No need for set up, let’s cut to the chase:

I grew up a DC Comics guy. I enjoyed Xmen, Spiderman, Dr. Strange, and the like… but I REALLY was a die hard Superman, Batman, Justice League and more enthusiast. I loved the contrasts of Superman’s bright outfit, and Batman’s gritty underbelly. Green Lantern’s un-shakeable core, and Wonder Woman’s… er… truth-i-ness? So when I heard that Ryan Reynolds was cast as Hal Jordan instead of Wally West (which he was rumored to be for a LONG time)… I was disappointed. Then that cover of Entertainment Weekly displayed him in the suit and my heart shrank 1 size. Then they released the first trailer for it and my heart shrank another size. Eventually I was looking at the Green Lantern project as the reverse Grinch and I was NOT looking forward to it. Hal Jordan should be played by Jon Hamm, Nathan Fillion or some other qualified actor. Not Van Wilder. Not the goatee from Blade 3. ·But alas, they pushed forward. Then they released this:

And the tide started to turn and my confidence began returning. You see, Hal Jordan wasn’t always my favorite Green Lantern. But I respected the character for his strength and fearlessness. Guy Gardner, John Stewart & ·Kyle Rayner all have their strengths and weaknesses that gave them all a certain appeal, but still, for older audiences and fans of the Green Lantern Corps, for most of them, Hal Jordan IS Green Lantern. With the influx of Marvel movies rushing to the screen with great execution (for the most part… sorry Fantastic Four. Go sit in a corner), us DC fans are pretty happy with whatever we get as long as it doesn’t involve nipples on a Batman suit. So what did they get right and what did they totally miss the mark on? Here is my analysis (Light Spoilers):

Story wise, I think it was pretty solid with a few missteps here and there. The introduction was superb. It gave the size and scale of the universe a decent explanation without over doing it. But for how fast it needed to be explained, I think they cut a few too many corners. Hopefully if it gets a sequel, we’ll see more of the universe and what needs protecting. The story beats that bring you from one scene to the next were also kind of hit or miss. But there weren’t any real plot holes to speak of. Yes, they changed a bunch with Parallax’s story for the sake of timing, but I don’t think any of you really were yelling at the screen. Their handling of Abin Sur, Sinestro, Killowog, Tomar-Re and a slew of other cameo’s were great. And I think that’s my HUGEST gripe with Green Lantern.

I know this was an origin story for Hal Jordan – Green Lantern. But for the love of all things sacred and holy, this movie could have single handily been about Hal’s training and introduction to the Corps. Everything set in space was done perfectly. The Corps were completely underused. Just about everytime we bounced back to Earth, it was back to seemingly being a glorified Smallville episode (and for those that know me, I’m a DIE HARD Smallville fan). That references isn’t a good thing.

They hit Killowog, Sinestro, Abin Sur, Tomar-Re all right. The settings and space-scapes were absolutely spectacular! And I have to admit, seeing the way they handled the suit was perfect. I don’t mind the “ribs” of the suite at all. My only gripe with this was that Hal automatically had the Lantern on his chest as opposed to earning it after training. Seriously a minor gripe. The interactions between Sinestro and Hal, which will prove to be important if and when they do make a sequel were important and I think they touched on Sinestro’s budding hate for Hal nicely as well.

The supporting cast did a decent turn. Peter Sarsgaard did alright as Hector Hammond and I didn’t mind the change in his origin (though we could have done without the sophomoric “jealousy” plot. But anything to move the story, right?). Blake Lively. No. Eye candy? Sure. Carol Ferris? I don’t think so. Recast and try again. Angela Bassett as Dr. Amanda Waller. What a missed opportunity!!!!!! I always thought that Angela Bassett should have played Storm in the X-Men movies (especially after seeing her in What’s Love Got to Do With It). Amanda Waller is typically seen as carrying a heavy atmosphere around her. There is gravitas to her character. Animated or not. I mean come on… Pam “Coffee” Grier played her on Smallville. Here are some versions of her:

SPOILER’S AHEAD. DON’T READ ANY FURTHER IF YOU WANT TO BE UNTAINTED. YOU’VE BEEN WARNED

At the end of the movie, Hal is fighting off a glorified version of the Nothing from Never Ending Story and ends up pushing him into the Sun. What is it with DC having their Super powered heroes only resolution being sending stuff into space? I’m looking at you Brandon Routh. One aspect that did kinda of burn me about the movie though is Hal’s lack of self confidence in himself because of what happened to his father. He keeps denying his destiny because he feels himself unworthy or incapable of actually performing. Which I feel… is a total crock. What I feel we needed were more moments like his complete disregard for the fact that a green energy orb has just taken him all the way across the country and drops him beach side where he finds a dying alien. RR executed this moment perfectly as he runs to the aid of Abin Sur. Ryan… we needed more of this! And I think that’s how a bunch of us felt about the movie as a whole. We needed more…

It’s a great popcorn movie. A fun outing with decent visuals, a story that wasn’t confusing, and like-able characters. I’ll stick by this though: Hal Jordan is not a frat boy. He is not unsure of himself. And Blake Lively should have been an extra. You can smell the nerd smog from your desk, can’t you?

I give Green Lantern 6 out of 10 Nerd High Fives. If you want a truly good Green Lantern flick, check out this one, or this one… or even THIS one! DC’s direct to DVD Toon outings have been STELLAR! Until next time…