A POOR ATTEMPT

SUPERHERO movies are becoming big business recently, and the giants of the industry, Marvel and DC have both been busy this summer.

Thanks to numerous X-Men, Spiderman, Ironman and Hulk movies Marvel has thus far led the charge.
 
Keen to take the reigns, DC has dusted off the legendary Green Lantern character, thrown him into a blender with a copious amount of money and churned out this disaster of a movie.

One thing that really grinds my gears is when a production company, in this case Warner Bros, spends more time on big budget special effects than a decent script. This results in what I like to call ‘brain dead, eye candy’, or, as they’re calling it, Green Lantern.

It’s such a shame that such an iconic character was given such a disposable plot on the first outing.

Much like X-Men: First Class, Green Lantern is an origin story, made to acquaint unfamiliar viewers with the character. In this respect, it manages quite well since it speedily covers all the basics before you’ve even finished your hotdog.

However, from there it goes downhill so fast it’ll give you whiplash.

The plot splits it’s time between the Green Lantern’s home planet, Oa, and Earth, home to egocentric fighter pilot Hal Jordan (Reynolds).

Hal is a cocky type of guy who insists on pushing the boundaries (and everyone’s buttons too) but somehow always manages to come out on top.

However, after causing a multi-million dollar fighter jet to crash, his self esteem crashes with it. This brings us to the part where a dying alien, who has ironically also crashed on Earth, bestows him with a magical ring and lantern that gives him incredible powers.

Hal undergoes training on Oa and, despite having super powers, spends his time being tossed around like a rag doll. The head of the Green Lantern Corps, Sinestro, feels that Hal doesn’t deserve to wield the power of the ring because he is plagued by fear, which on Oa, is regarded as shameful.

This results in Hal limping back to Earth with his ego bruised worse than his body, adamant that he wants nothing to do with the Green Lanterns.

However, this all changes when another alien force threatens to destroy Earth and it’s up to Hal to save the day by overcoming his fear to harness the full power of the ring.

The main premise of the film seems to be that other species treat fear as something that can be eliminated by will power. The battle, for them is between fear and will power whereas humans overcome fear with courage instead.

It’s hard for me to slate this film entirely because I have an inexplicable fondness for Reynolds. He is a fantastic comedic actor and I have been following his career with interest since his role in the sitcom Two Guys and a Girl.

He has a knack for making mundane things seem amusing but I feel his talent was not fully utilised in this film. Yes, there are (thankfully) brief moments where his inner charm comes out but much of the script is so flat and predictable, even he can’t save it.

Since the supporting cast offer very little in terms of actual support, the responsibility to carry the film falls on Reynolds and the special effects. Blake Lively’s performance could have been phoned in and had more impact and she plays the damsel in distress with as much gusto as a bag of soggy crisps.

There is a nice little cameo from Tim Robbins, but it’s not worth bragging about and as for Peter Sarsgaard, his portrayal of Hector Hammond was far more funny than terrifying.

All-in-all, if you want to see some mind-blowing special effects and don’t mind a weak plot then this one’s for you.

Showing in Cineco, Seef II and Saar Cineplex