Movie Review: Green Lantern

It's understandable that most comic book movies begin as an origin story. Mainstream audiences who are unfamiliar with a character or setting need to be briefed on all the basics of motivation and circumstance that spawned the creation of a superhero. The problem with this is that it leads to “creation fatigue” for comic book fans who are already well-versed in the complete histories of most heroes.

There are only so many reboots of Batman or Spider-Man we can be subjected to before audiences will start thinking, “We get it, already!” Therein lies the problem with Green Lantern: just telling his origin story involves much more than just introducing Hal Jordan and showing how he comes to possess his all-powerful ring. The Green Lantern Corps (an inter-galactic police force) and the Guardians of Oa who are responsible for the creation of the Corps must be introduced as well, in addition to explaining the power that fuels the Green Lanterns and their rings. If you over-simplify these things, what you're left with is pretty lack-luster.

The basic premise is that Jordan (Ryan Reynolds) is a fighter pilot who is chosen to be the replacement for Abin Sur, a Green Lantern who was mortally wounded in a battle with Parallax. Parallax is the embodiment of Fear (stay with me here) and is busy devouring the galaxy. Hal is spirited away to Oa, the homeworld of the Green Lantern Corps, and told that their rings are charged by the power of Will, which the Corps collects and stores in a giant battery (yeah, I know). Apparently, your willpower can be overcome by being afraid of something, so this poses a huge threat to the Corps. What good is the ultimate weapon in the universe (the rings can create anything the user wills them to) if it loses all power once the user shows one sign of fright? Obviously, these two opposing forces must do battle.

The film goes a little overboard by including a side story centered on quiet, nerdy scientist Hector Hammond (Peter Sarsgaard). Hammond is infected with a Parallax parasite and goes through a sort of Jekyll/Hyde transformation. This story really doesn't add anything to the plot and feels like the worst kind of padding. They could have used the forty minutes of plot this used up to go further in-depth with the Corps in general or the Guardians, or they could have shown Hal training for more than just two minutes before going out on his own (which is really bizarre, considering he's a brand-new recruit). It feels like the screenwriters were floundering for ways to appease all potential audiences - comic geeks and newcomers - and instead are left with a lot of small and interesting moments but nothing like the epic superhero masterpiece this film could have been.

Having said all of that, I enjoyed myself. This is a superhero movie, plain and simple. If you know what a superhero movie is and you like them, this will probably give you most of what you're looking for. It's got action and humor and a really interesting concept. It's all tied together in the end so if there isn't a sequel, you won't feel like you were left hanging. If all you want from a superhero story is to laugh at some jokes, understand the characters and be wowed by some action scenes, this is a perfectly enjoyable film. When you're trying to establish a new franchise for a relatively niche character and universe, however, you have to be better than ordinary. And from the standpoint of someone who truly loves the Green Lanterns and the unimaginably rich universe they inhabit, I was left wanting more.