Review - Green Lantern

Now it's The Green Lantern's turn at the cinema. I am not a fan of DC Comics. More of a Marvel fan myself. Come to think of it, I don't really own much DC Comics, except for the special stories. I don't own any Superman or Batman comics... I do own plenty of X-Men comics... I am pretty well-versed when it comes to Marvel characters (but not completely)... but DC characters? I am not really familiar with them...

The Green Lantern in question here is Hal Jordan. He is a pilot who was chosen to replace a dying Green Lantern. You see, there is more than one Green Lanterns in the universe. In fact, there are thousands of them. Hal happens to be the first human chosen.

So this movie is about Hal Jordan accepting his fate/destiny and the responsibilities that comes with wielding the power of the ring.

Hmm, sounds to simple eh? Let me try that again. A great supervillain by the name of Parallax who had been imprisoned by Abin Sur, one of the best Green Lanterns around, had escaped his confinements and sought Abin Sur out for revenge. Abin Sur was mortally wounded and sought the nearest inhabited planet to find a worthy successor of the ring. Parallax continues on his journey of devouring people's souls by instilling fear in them, heading for Oa, the Lanterns planet, for more revenge.

The Earth happens to be in the way of Parallax's journey to Oa and Abin Sur also landed on Earth. The ring found Hal Jordan to be his replacement. Unfortunately, Hal Jordan is not the responsible type. Him being chosen also did not set well with the other Lanterns. But Hal Jordan has to step up and stop Parallax before he destroys the Earth on his vengeance quest.

The movie itself was a bit subpar when compared to all the other superhero movies, especially the recent ones. However, if looking at it from a standalone point of view, it is a fine movie. I like all the human aspects instilled in the movie, as opposed to just concentrating on the superhero aspects. I think Batman Begins started this trend...

Ryan Reynolds is a good actor. Has fine comedic timing. Has great body for action-y stuff. And we know he can pull off dramatic roles as well. So he's kinda perfect for The Green Lantern. And maybe Dylan Dog... huhu... The movie kinda rests on his able shoulders. Supporting casts are fine but not too memorable and none stole Reynolds' thunder.

Villainy of the movie is kinda weak, which ultimately led to its downfall. The mini villain was not too scary although he did kill someone in cold blood. The main villain himself was not really scary. A dark cloud of fear? Come on. The final fight was not climatic at all. But fear not (pun intended), after the credits it was revealed who would be the villain in Part 2... guess that is where the battle lies...