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Lantern or Hornet: Films about emerald-hued heroes are no gems

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Trent
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« on: June 17, 2011, 04:54:27 pm »

Lantern or Hornet: Films about emerald-hued heroes are no gems

'Green Lantern' -- 3 stars


 
Ryan Reynolds stars in "The Green Lantern."    
Michael Phillips Movie critic
9:01 a.m. CDT, June 16, 2011
Green just isn't the superhero color this year.

Ryan Reynolds, above, who had yet to headline a major franchise effort, has the action-star stuff to shoulder a product launch such as this.
He does. Even with his somewhat reedy voice he's an easygoing, charismatic presence, and a real actor. But the film itself is disappointingly routine, as well as jarring in its violence. Only in fits and starts, mostly in the most earthbound scenes between Reynolds and /topic/entertainment/blake-lively-As test pilot Hal Jordan, destined to become an intergalactic "space cop" sporting a ring that does a lot more than decode, Reynolds has a way of playing a hotshot — who's also a self-defeating screw-up — that seems plausible and likable. The actor's lightly sardonic comic touch matches up well with Lively's; she plays fellow pilot, ex-girlfriend (though the spark remains) and aerospace heiress Carol Ferris, who is thrilled with the superhero developments (wee green mask and all) in her unreliable ex's life.
"Green Lantern" is a relationship picture, in which the man learns to be a better, more vulnerable and honest man en route to saving the planet from a fire-breathing, soul-sucking whatzit called Parallax. All the other 3,000-plus Green Lanterns, the sentinels of the universe, cannot find a way to deal with this punk, not even Hal's fellow Green Lanternite who goes by Sinestro (/topic/entertainment/mark-strong-
Mark Strong, a credible and compelling presence). In this end of the cosmos those who slip on the evil yellow ring represent and promulgate fear, yucky and addictive and destructive. Green is good — pure, valiant willpower, like the next generation of energy drinks.
Those unfamiliar with "Green Lantern" mythology, begun by DC Comics in 1940, may experience the film's chaotic, exposition-larded first 30 minutes as pure homework for the test to come, with quick bullet points about planet Oa, the universe's 3,000-plus sectors, the oath … it's a load. The faraway planets of Oa and others look like all the other places we've been on screen lately, from /topic/entertainment/movies/thor-%28movie%29-
"Thor" (which I enjoyed, even in its squareness, more than "Green Lantern") on back.
If the movie's a popular success, it'll be because audiences dig Hal's ability to turn anything he can think of into adversary-vanquishing reality. Meaning: In a training sequence (/topic/entertainment/michael-clarke-duncan-
Michael Clarke Duncan voicing a computer-generated badass) and later, in real battle against the infected, sniveling, yellow-eyed scientist played by /topic/entertainment/peter-sarsgaard-
Peter Sarsgaard (largely in full Elephant Man makeup), the trouble keeps coming, via death bolts or whatever. And Hal simply thinks of a brick wall, or a ridiculous machine gun, and poof: It's made manifest, and the problem is momentarily solved. In the most bombastic of the action scenes, a careening helicopter carrying the U.S. senator played by Tim Robbins transforms into a Hot Wheels vehicle steered clear of carnage on a green, sky-borne track. This saves the day, certainly for product placement.
Realizing this isn't a very sophisticated argument, I find the "Green Lantern" selling point — think it, and it happens! — to be a bit of a dead-end. If everything's possible, then somehow everything's a little less magical. And "Green Lantern" isn't much fun; the head-bashings and pummelings pile up high, and harshly. Reynolds and Lively and their unforced, considerable chemistry got me through the rough stuff. But barely. Take this review with a grain of salt. As I said, I enjoyed "Thor."
mjphillips@tribune.com
MPAA rating: PG-13 (for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action)
Cast: Ryan Reynolds (Hal Jordan); Blake Lively (Carol Ferris); Peter Sarsgaard (Hector Hammond); Mark Strong (Sinestro);Angela Bassett (Dr. Waller); Tim Robbins (Sen. Hammond)
Credits: Directed by Martin Campbell; written by /topic/entertainment/greg-berlanti-Greg Berlanti, /topic/sports/michael-green-PESPT002766.topic/topic/sports/michael-green-

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Trent
Atlantean King
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« Reply #1 on: June 17, 2011, 04:55:01 pm »

I just came back from a midnight showing and as far as I'm concerned, this is a ***½ movie. If you like Green Lantern, you'll love this movie. Also, a bit of advice: Don't leave when the movie ends, there is more. A lot of people got up as soon as the credits rolled and they missed a key scene.
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