featured Review
Green Lantern (2011)Directed by Martin Campbell
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Peter Sarsgaard and Tim Robbins.
CAUTION: I recommend this film with reservations.
"Green Lantern" is a problematic film with lively action sequences, and more character development and background detail than most comic book movies, but with some bad editing, missing scenes, zero chemistry between the hero and his love interest, and a bad score.
First of all, I must note upfront that I am a fan of writer/producer Greg Berlanti ("The Broken Hearts Club" and TV's "Brothers & Sisters" & "Dawson's Creek") and actor Ryan Reynolds ("Definitely, Maybe" and "The Proposal"). I have followed both of their careers with interest. I think they both did some good work here, but were hampered by a mediocre supporting team.
For the poor parts of the film, I am going to assign blame to Director Martin Campbell, Editor Stuart Baird, and Composer James Newton Howard.
While I can understand the selection of Mr. Campbell to direct, since he directed "Casino Royale" and "Golden Eye" which were large James Bond action pieces, the producers should have realized that when there is not enough grit in a story to latch onto, he can turn out ungrounded films like "The Mask of Zorro". In the "Green Lantern", Mr. Campbell makes some rather bad choices. The first is pairing of Mr. Reynolds with Blake Lively (who plays Hal Jordan's love interest Carol Ferris in the film). During their screen test, it should have been obvious that they had no romantic chemistry. They were completely unconvincing as longtime friends and former lovers, and the scenes in the movie, where Mr. Reynolds runs away from Ms. Lively are a relief, because I didn't believe for a moment that they had a connection worth fighting for; I wanted to scream out to Hal Jordan -- keep going and don't look back.
The second issue I had with the film was Mr. Campbell's editing with Stuart Baird. Again Stuart Baird was a logical choice. Mr. Baird was a protege of Richard Donner and edited "Superman" (1978) and "Lethal Weapon" (1987). However, Mr. Baird also directed "Star Trek: Nemesis" which doomed the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" films. The first act of the "Green Lantern" failed to have a comfortable rhythm between scenes and failed to include some important scenes with Peter Sarsgaard (who played Hector Hammond, the villain in the film) to develop his character. One major mistake of Mr. Campbell's and Mr. Baird's was to intercut the stories of Hal Jordan developing into the Green Lantern with Hector Hammond's development into a villain. The two stories had different tempos, and there were not enough scenes developing Hammond, so the going back and forth seemed uneven. In the film, Carol Ferris, Hector Hammond and Hal Jordan were supposedly friends in a bit of a love triangle in their youth. However, Mr. Campbell and Mr. Baird showed none of that, even though they already included flash back sequences. It would have been so easy in the existing flashbacks when developing Jordan as a child, to show Ferris and Hammond and some jealousy. In fact, when Hammond first appears on film, he is introduced into the film as a complete stranger; the audience is unaware that Hammond knows Jordan or Ferris.
The third issue I had with the film was the film score by James Newton Howard. Mr. Newton Howard failed to create any memorable theme music in the film or memorable themes for characters. The music is a mess of noise, attempting to heighten action sequences, rather than help tell the story. There is a short John Williams-esque "Superman" couple of bars when the Green Lantern flies into action, but that is it. What a wasted opportunity. When a composer is lucky enough to get a "Superman", "Batman" or "Spider-man" film, the composer has a chance to create a truly memorable theme that heralds the hero. Mr. Newton Howard was either not skilled enough or creative enough to create a good theme and a good score.
Now I turn to the reasons why you might want to go see this film. The best reason is Ryan Reynolds. He is easy on the eyes, and has enough of a magic quality to make an audience root for him. The film shows Hal Jordan's doubts in his ability, scarred childhood, shadow existence under his father's fame and untimely death, and a man who shows fear must be acknowledged and overcome every day.
The second best reason is Peter Sarsgaard ("Kinsey" and "Boys Don't Cry"). Mr. Sarsgaard is hardly recognizable under his make-up and mustache, and yet he brings a poignancy to his villain. I suspect there are additional scenes with Mr. Sarsgaard that were deleted, but the ones they left in show some excellent acting.
Third reason to see the film is the creative world of the Green Lantern Corps that is shown on screen. Although, it looked a bit fanciful, I found it appealing and interesting. There is also a final sequence of the film, the showdown between Green Lantern and Parallax (the incarnation of universal fear) which is part "Day After Tomorrow" and part space duel.
Note: I did see the film in 3D (which I ordinarily would not) and it is not useful in this film. I recommend if you do it, go for 2D.
Ryan Reynolds, Peter Sarsgaard and a decent final action sequence are the main reasons that some will enjoy the film and get over the problematic aspects. I recommend this film with strong reservations.
- Dennis Chiu
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