Green Lantern: Thoughts and Reviews [Spoilers]

[ThePhantasm]

Green Lantern will be out in a few days. I'm pretty excited about the film. There is a rumor, however, that WB has put an embargo on reviews (I think until Wednesday, tomorrow) due to critics having mixed opinions about the film. I'm not sure that bothers me, since I didn't expect it to be the sort of film critics might appreciate (superheroes, in space, what?).

Still, I thought that we could perhaps all share our views / reviews here once the film comes out. I trust you guys to have more of a finger on the pulse of what a comic book movie should be like than the critics do.

Until it comes out, we could perhaps mention what we'd like to see. I'm hoping to see two main things: good characterization of Hal Jordan and Sinestro, and great special effects. As this is the first film, I don't really expect a lot of the minor characters to get delved into too much (though I'll be pleasantly surprised if I'm wrong). The task of the first film is really going to be to set up Hal Jordan as a hero to the average moviegoer crowd. We need to get to know him really well and know what makes him tick. I think Hector Hammond and Parallax will be good villains for the film - they won't steal the show (hopefully) from Jordan too much, but will still set things up for Sinestro to go bad in the potential sequel.

What do you guys think?

[TheEmerged]

I think ultimately I'm going to wait until I have something to judge before I judge it :P

I am *concerned* about reports that it did so badly with test audiences that more than 20 minutes of the film was reshot. No citation available, before anyone asks.

I am *hopeful* that they succeed in their stated goal of having Carol as something other than merely the hero's love interest. I also hope they do a good job with expressing the fact that Hal is *a* Green Lantern not *the* Green Lantern.

I am also somewhat impressed with the Emerald Knights straight-to-DVD that came out as part of the runup to the movie. While they made serious changes to the some of the stories, they got Mogo right and the changes were actually good in Laira's case :smallbiggrin:

As for Hector Hammond (AKA DC's take on M.O.D.O.K), he's a villain I have a soft spot for and always felt should be treated as more of a threat than he has been.

[Zevox]

I'm hoping it'll be good, of course. Both of the other superhero movies of the summer so far have been (especially X-Men, to everyone's surprise), and being as the Green Lanterns are my favorite superheroes, this is the one I most want to like. I know the comic that it's supposedly based on, Green Lantern: Secret Origin, is very good - heck, probably my favorite Hal Jordan-centric GL story - so that gives me some hope. And yeah, I'm pretty much with you on what I want it to do right most: Hal, Sinestro, their relationship, and of course the action. Gotta show off what that ring can really do.

Zevox

[ThePhantasm]

I know the comic that it's supposedly based on, Green Lantern: Secret Origin, is very good - heck, probably my favorite Hal Jordan-centric GL story - so that gives me some hope. And yeah, I'm pretty much with you on what I want it to do right most: Hal, Sinestro, their relationship, and of course the action. Gotta show off what that ring can really do.

Yeah, I'm excited. The Green Lantern comics are really the only ones I read right now (besides Batman here and there). I always hated that part, though, where

Hal Jordan punches Batman in the "Reborn" arc

[kpenguin]

I just watched Emerald Knights last night. Was thoroughly impressed, which made me a bit more hopeful about the live action film.

I wonder if Mogo shows up. It'd be awesome if he did, but then, Mogo doesn't socialize.

[Dvandemon]

I'm rather excited to finally see Hammond, why have I never heard of him until now? Also, what's with GL's costume? It looks like it sort of...indents around his muscles as if he had no skin.

[Zevox]

Yeah, I'm excited. The Green Lantern comics are really the only ones I read right now (besides Batman here and there). I always hated that part, though, where

Hal Jordan punches Batman in the "Reborn" arc
Eh, I wasn't bothered by that, but of course I don't care about Batman. I did very much like
John standing up for Hal to Batman though.

"You've always had a thing against him, haven't you? And I finally see why. Hal is the one person in this world that didn't buy what you're selling. Hal was the man without fear. And what is "the Batman" when you you're not afraid of him?"

"Just a man."

:smallbiggrin:
Zevox

[TheEmerged]

Yeah, I'm excited. The Green Lantern comics are really the only ones I read right now (besides Batman here and there). I always hated that part, though, where

Hal Jordan punches Batman in the "Reborn" arc

Just my opinion, but I think we're starting to see a bit of Batlash... er, backlash against the way Batman has been written for the last couple of decades. So Hal one-shotting Batman was not just a twist on the famous scene where Batman did that to Guy, but a bit of purposeful evocation of the "Worf Effect" on the writer's part, I think.

RE: Mogo MASSIVE Spoiler about the current arc in the comics below.

Mogo socializes in the great beyond now, I'm afraid.

[Tyndmyr]

I'm hopeful. I'll be the first to admit I'm not the greatest fan of how GL is often portrayed in the comics....plenty of them are pretty weak, IMO, and darkest night is among them.

That said, the trailer looks fantastic. I'm slightly nervous about it feeling a bit too much like FF4-2, but the epic scale looks right for GL, they didn't shy away from the interstellar nature of it(sure, most recent comic movies have avoided such things, but with GL, you really shouldn't), the actor was an excellent choice, and the uses of created things with his power are actually intelligent/interesting.

I'll be watching it opening weekend, for sure.

[ThePhantasm]

Eh, I wasn't bothered by that, but of course I don't care about Batman. I did very much like
John standing up for Hal to Batman though.

"You've always had a thing against him, haven't you? And I finally see why. Hal is the one person in this world that didn't buy what you're selling. Hal was the man without fear. And what is "the Batman" when you you're not afraid of him?"

"Just a man."

:smallbiggrin:
Zevox

I just think think

They seemed to oversimplify Batman's character for plot contrivance. Batman's paranoia about Hal doesn't have to be some sort of annoyance that Hal isn't afraid of him. Hal destroyed a freaking city, and Batman is suspicious of everyone. Implying that Batman just didn't like him because Hal wasn't afraid made Batman seem petty and childish. Superman isn't exactly afraid of Batman. Batman fights enemies all the time who don't fear him.

That's a minor grumble though.

Listened to the Green Lantern soundtrack today. Pretty good soundtrack, I like James Newton Howard. Disappointed by some electric guitar breaking out in one or two places, but this does seem to be mostly an orchestral score. Seems like he tried to write a main theme as recognizable as William's Superman theme and Elfman's Batman theme, but it falls short because there is never really a track where it can fully express itself. Maybe he can develop that in a sequel.

EDIT: Reviews coming in. I've read about 6 so far. Consensus seems to be that the movie is well cast, but the plot is derivative / origin story / confusing. Most negative comments seem to be about the storyline. Interesting.

[Zevox]

I just think think

They seemed to oversimplify Batman's character for plot contrivance. Batman's paranoia about Hal doesn't have to be some sort of annoyance that Hal isn't afraid of him. Hal destroyed a freaking city, and Batman is suspicious of everyone. Implying that Batman just didn't like him because Hal wasn't afraid made Batman seem petty and childish. Superman isn't exactly afraid of Batman. Batman fights enemies all the time who don't fear him.

That's a minor grumble though.
Seems to me simply that
they're highlighting and using the fact that, in many ways, Batman and the Green Lanterns, especially Hal Jordan, are opposites. Batman manipulates the fears and superstitions of criminals to his advantage, using the darkness to aid him in stalking them. There's a good reason he was the first person in their space sector that a Sinestro Corps ring locked onto, after all. By contrast the Green Lanterns are all about fighting those who do that sort of thing, since most, unlike Batman, do not use such tactics for any sort of noble end; and they literally wield light made into a weapon. And with Hal Jordan in particular you further have the contrast of Batman always wanting to plan ahead compared to Jordan, more than any other GL, generally rushing into things and relying on improvisation to handle any trouble.

Really, it only makes sense that there would be some unique tension between two heroes that are in many ways so opposed to each other's style.


EDIT: Reviews coming in. I've read about 6 so far. Consensus seems to be that the movie is well cast, but the plot is derivative / origin story / confusing. Most negative comments seem to be about the storyline. Interesting.
:smallconfused: Wait, they don't like that it's an origin story? What, do they think you could just jump into the GL mythos without explaining what everything is?

Zevox

[Tyndmyr]

Origin stories are...fairly required. People need the explanation, mostly. But they're also predictable as hell for those who already know the origin. So, yeah, I can see it being reasonably cast as a downside.

I hold out some hope, though, because the trailer indicates it's more than just another GL vs Sinestro matchup. That's sufficiently common that it would turn me off.

[Zevox]

I hold out some hope, though, because the trailer indicates it's more than just another GL vs Sinestro matchup. That's sufficiently common that it would turn me off.
Well of course. It isn't a GL vs Sinestro matchup at all. Sinestro is still a GL in this movie, and the villains are Hector Hammond and Parallax. We'll have to wait for a sequel to see Sinestro as a villain.

Zevox

[ThePhantasm]

I think critics have just gotten tired of Superhero origin story movies, necessary though they may be. The main criticisms I've seen so far are "origin story which is predictable" and "the GL mythology is confusing / too much." Some critics love Reynolds and some also dislike him... seems to be some disparity there.

[Tyndmyr]

I think critics have just gotten tired of Superhero origin story movies, necessary though they may be. The main criticisms I've seen so far are "origin story which is predictable" and "the GL mythology is confusing / too much." Some critics love Reynolds and some also dislike him... seems to be some disparity there.

Yeah. I won't lie...Im looking forward to avengers quite a bit. The prep work is done now(and so far, those movies have been at least decent), and there's a great deal of potential there. I can't get the same enthusiasm for the rumored reboots of Superman and Batman(after the next one, I've heard tales of them restarting. I hope it's a dirty lie).

As for confusing mythology...doesn't phase me. I don't see an interstellar story as inherently that confusing, and tbh, most GL stuff is pretty easy to understand. Hell, they're color coded for your convenience.

I enjoy Reynolds quite a bit, myself. IMO, if he'd gotten to be himself as Deadpool, the Wolverine movie would have been quite a bit better.

[ThePhantasm]

Batman(after the next one, I've heard tales of them restarting. I hope it's a dirty lie). .

It isn't. Nolan is done after Dark Knight Rises, by his own words. There won't be any more in continuity with his films, however, I doubt they'll make another origin story for Batman - the reboot will probably pick up somewhere mid career.

Also, the Superman reboot is more than a rumor. Zach Snyder is directing, and it is called "The Man of Steel."

EDIT: Reviews so far are rather disappointing. I'm going to go into the film with some low expectations, but I'm also skeptical of critics much of the time and so I'll reserve my judgment for the actual film.

[TheEmerged]

Regarding origin stories -- I understand some of the fatigue with the origin story. I have quite a bit of that fatigue myself: I've known most of these origins for over 3 decades.

The problem is that most of the public doesn't really know these characters. Sometimes that's a good thing (insert my old joke about how if Aquaman were a real person he could sue The Superfriends(tm) for defamation here). Sometimes that's a bad thing (at the pace the movies seem to be going, we'd be through 3-5 movies before Hal is the character we have today). Most of the time, it's a healthy dose of both.

[Tyrant]

If critics are tired of origin stories right now, I can't wait to see how they handle the Spider Man reboot. Or for that matter, depending on how they do it, the Superman reboot. If there is one character that we don't need another origin story for, it's Superman.

As for Green Lantern, I plan on seeing it but my expectations have been low since the first preview and they have only gotten lower as I see one new preview after another showing me that WB have no idea who they should be marketing this to or how to market it. The trailer that they run during Adult Swim with the metal music was the final straw for my hopes.

[Valaqil]

I'm torn. The first reviews are now out. Rottentomatoes.com shows a ~25% approval rating. On the other hand, I really hope that _I_ can find a way to enjoy it. I never have read much about Green Lantern but the concept and bits/pieces I _have_ read are great. Honestly, I wish DC did something like Marvel when Marvel digitized many runs of various comic lines on DVD. I'm a huge fan of Marvel, but I would totally buy some DC stuff if it was easier to get it all in one place in a hurry.


Eh, I wasn't bothered by that, but of course I don't care about Batman. I did very much like
John standing up for Hal to Batman though.

"You've always had a thing against him, haven't you? And I finally see why. Hal is the one person in this world that didn't buy what you're selling. Hal was the man without fear. And what is "the Batman" when you you're not afraid of him?"

"Just a man."

That's an awesome line.

[ThePhantasm]

I'm torn. The first reviews are now out. Rottentomatoes.com shows a ~25% approval rating. On the other hand, I really hope that _I_ can find a way to enjoy it. I never have read much about Green Lantern but the concept and bits/pieces I _have_ read are great.

Yeah, I really would like to personally enjoy it, and I'd also like for a DC movie other than Batman or Superman to fare well at the box office.

[Psyren]

First off, THANK YOU for spoilering the thread. (I'll be nice though, until it's obvious more people have seen it or decided not to.)

Secondly, it sucked. I just watched it, and it was awful. It was dripping with the cheesiest dialogue I've ever heard ("The ring didn't choose you because you're fearless. It chose you because you can overcome fear." Gag.) Hal was probably the most ridiculous example I've seen of Mighty Whitey since Avatar, and Parallax...
Despite being DC's obvious Galactus stand-in, he... wrecks up a lone city block (complete with extras running first up the street, then back down it, then up again!) before leaving the planet to chase the little green man into the sun. Hey genius, if you kept wrecking up the planet, Hal would have to stay there and fight you! Not to mention he even LITERALLY spouted the "You Have Failed Me" cliché to his weird toady underling that nobody cared about.
Even the 3D sucked! NONE of Hal's gorgeous hard-light constructs made good use of it! No miniguns popping out of the screen, no emerald fists coming at the audience, nothing!

Save your money.

[kpenguin]

ugh. If the film managed to bomb lower than Wolverine on the tomato-meter...

I mean, I liked Emerald Knights, I had hopes, but...

[Altaria87]

Here's the Moviebob link (http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/escape-to-the-movies/3557-Green-Lantern).
Spoiler: He really didn't like it.

[Pink]

This is disappointing news but...Ryan Renalds, superhero movie. Must see, even though my expectations are now set a fair bit lower.

[Psyren]

This is disappointing news but...Ryan Renalds, superhero movie. Must see, even though my expectations are now set a fair bit lower.

Please follow Bob's suggestion and wait later in the week, so that WB gets the message.

(I only wish I had, but I was off work today. WHY????)

[Green-Shirt Q]

Origin stories are...fairly required. People need the explanation, mostly.

I really think that it doesn't have to be the focus of the movie, however. Why, just look at Tim Burton's Batman movie! That had, like, 2 minutes of backstory shoved in the middle to explain him and the rest was Batman kicking serious butt. And it was AWESOME!

Seriously, that is my go-to movie whenever I want to see Superheroes without the origin. It is so refreshing. :smallsigh:

I wish more super hero movies did that. Start with the hero already being awesome, to drag you into the storyn from the get-go, and spend some time showing the origin during the movie when appropriate. It makes me wonder why more film makers don't seem to have that creativity when making Super hero movies.

[Friv]

I wish more super hero movies did that. Start with the hero already being awesome, to drag you into the storyn from the get-go, and spend some time showing the origin during the movie when appropriate. It makes me wonder why more film makers don't seem to have that creativity when making Super hero movies.

I agree completely.

Look at the 1989 Batman. The origin story was super-truncated, letting Batman be Batman for nearly the entire movie. It was brilliant. X-Men used Rogue to introduce a team of heroes and villains that were in the middle of a protracted war, without having to origin story any of them. The 2008 Hulk put its entire origin story in the opening montage, to great effect.

I would like more movies to open with the hero, and reveal their past and origin in bits and pieces through flashbacks and considerations, rather than having them spending the entire movie learning to be heroes. I'm tired of "learn to be a hero".

[Tyndmyr]

Well, just watched it. Its aright. It ain't Wolveriene, at least. Ryan was spectacular, but I did feel like paralax and minion got more buildup than deserved.

[thompur]

I just saw it. It's fun. It's not a top tier like X-M:FC or SM2, but thoroughly enjoyable.

[Steward]

Is this a movie that only works if you're familiar with the comics? I saw it a few hours ago and it didn't do much for me. While Parallax was creepy looking with all of those tentacles, the other villain kind of faded into the background, especially after he became deformed and freakish.

[Tyndmyr]

Is this a movie that only works if you're familiar with the comics? I saw it a few hours ago and it didn't do much for me. While Parallax was creepy looking with all of those tentacles, the other villain kind of faded into the background, especially after he became deformed and freakish.

Not really...I dunno who the other villian is, though I'm of course familiar with parallax, sinestro, killawog, etc.

[Psyren]

Is this a movie that only works if you're familiar with the comics?

It fails as much from a pure movie standpoint as it does with the lore. It leaps around the narrative - Hal's ring basically flashes letting him know where he should run off to next instead of there being any kind of logical progression. We're expected to believe that he just knows Hector without any kind of relationship between the two being ever alluded to or hinted at before the party. Why he's even invited to the party when he nearly lost them the contract (and was fired for his efforts) is given the most slapdash of explanations. The dialogue is cheesy - if it weren't for the fact that Ryan was basically alone in front of a green screen for half the movie, I'd expect "the power of friendship" to enter the picture at some point - and both Parallax and his hunchback mook are given an Idiot Ball the size of the Milky Way.

No amount of faith to the lore could save this dreck.

[Zevox]

It was dripping with the cheesiest dialogue I've ever heard ("The ring didn't choose you because you're fearless. It chose you because you can overcome fear." Gag.)
:smallconfused: That sounds like a line I could easily see in a GL movie. The latter of those statements is the criteria the rings use when selecting a new Green Lantern. The message they give new recruits upon selecting them is: "<Name> of <home planet>. You have the ability to overcome great fear. Welcome to the Green Lantern Corps."


[Parallax] Despite being DC's obvious Galactus stand-in...
Uh, Parallax is not supposed to be anything like Galactus. At all. If he came off as such, the movie got him dead wrong. He's supposed to be sapient fear in the form of a yellow-light insect (http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/4/46805/908985-parallax_entity_01_super.jpg), a parasite that needs to possess a host to interact with the rest of the universe (well, to cause harm to it, anyway), and who exists to spread fear throughout the universe; not a world-eating demigod.

Zevox

[Erts]

Uh, Parallax is not supposed to be anything like Galactus. At all. If he came off as such, the movie got him dead wrong. He's supposed to be sapient fear in the form of a yellow-light insect (http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/4/46805/908985-parallax_entity_01_super.jpg), a parasite that needs to possess a host to interact with the rest of the universe (well, to cause harm to it, anyway), and who exists to spread fear throughout the universe; not a world-eating demigod.

Zevox

I believe the poster of the comparison is noting the way they are portrayed in the movies, (FF:SS and GL,) neither of which are similar to their comic versions.
Galactus in the movies. (http://www.digitalbusstop.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Galactus.jpg)
Paralax in the movies ([URL="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/89/Parallax_%28film%29.jpg)
See the similarities? Giant smokey Alien Demons?

[Psyren]

:smallconfused: That sounds like a line I could easily see in a GL movie. The latter of those statements is the criteria the rings use when selecting a new Green Lantern. The message they give new recruits upon selecting them is: "<Name> of <home planet>. You have the ability to overcome great fear. Welcome to the Green Lantern Corps."

I wasn't clear. The line itself wasn't cheesy - the fact that they built it up into this great revelation was. Through the whole movie he gets paralyzed at key moments by fear, and finally he has his heroic BSOD and blurts to his girlfriend "I'm afraid!! The ring expects me to be fearless! Waah waah waah!" to which she responds by quoting the above line. What made it cheesy wasn't the line itself, it was the fact that we - the audience - already know that this is the whole point of courage anyway, feeling afraid but not letting it paralyze you. Hal Jordan treats it like some kind of ascent to Nirvana that he had never considered in his entire life.

It's like discovering for the first time that your friends can help you overcome obstacles you couldn't by yourself. Perfect message for a kid's movie where they're just learning this stuff, but it'll come off completely trite to everyone above the age of 12.


Uh, Parallax is not supposed to be anything like Galactus. At all. If he came off as such, the movie got him dead wrong. He's supposed to be sapient fear in the form of a yellow-light insect (http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/4/46805/908985-parallax_entity_01_super.jpg), a parasite that needs to possess a host to interact with the rest of the universe (well, to cause harm to it, anyway), and who exists to spread fear throughout the universe; not a world-eating demigod.

Zevox

"World-eating demigod" is exactly what we got. There was no distinction made between Parallax itself and the immortal it originally possessed. And the only tie between him and fear was that he taunted Hal a bit.

Incidentally, the color yellow never factored into the movie at all. Even Parallax was just treated like a stronger telekinetic than the lanterns were. All their powers still affected him, he was just able to break through after a while.

[Zevox]

I wasn't clear. The line itself wasn't cheesy - the fact that they built it up into this great revelation was.
Ah. Guess I'll see when I go see the movie tomorrow, then. That is most certainly not what I would hope to hear after hearing that the movie was supposed to be based on Green Lantern: Secret Origin, though.


Incidentally, the color yellow never factored into the movie at all. Even Parallax was just treated like a stronger telekinetic than the lanterns were. All their powers still affected him, he was just able to break through after a while.
That's not necessarily a bad thing, assuming you're mostly alluding the classic "yellow weakness" the Lanterns had. That would come off as just stupid today (though if they had Hal react to it with the incredulity he did in the above-mentioned comic it could work... and now that I think of it Sinestro's agreement with Hal over that matter was no small part of how they began developing their bond in the comic...). On the other hand, I would have expected them to use Parallax as an opportunity to set up the yellow-light power that will be Sinestro's weapon assuming they intend to make a sequel with him as the villain...

Oh boy, hopes for this are dropping fast I see...

Zevox

[Psyren]

Sinestro as villain in a sequel could happen (though I doubt there WILL be a sequel given its rating), because one of the many orphaned plotlines has him craft the yellow ring as a last resort.

The other thing that irked me was Kilowog and Tomar Re were barely in the damn movie at all. Pretty much all their scenes are in the trailer. Some more aliens couldn't have made it any worse; at least they would have fit with the CGI.

[Jayngfet]

Just saw it earlier today. Hammond would have made a way better hero in this. He's got actual flaws and issues that aren't tacked on and he started out with nothing but good intentions instead of being a self absorbed nit like Hal.

[ThePhantasm]

Ah. Guess I'll see when I go see the movie tomorrow, then. That is most certainly not what I would hope to hear after hearing that the movie was supposed to be based on Green Lantern: Secret Origin, though.

I haven't seen the movie yet, but ironically the speculation I'm reading online is that the script is poor because too many GL comics authors were involved in the scriptwriting process, including Geoff Johns, who was heavily involved. I guess they aren't aware that the dialogue that works in a comic book doesn't always impress on screen...

[Tyrant]

Sinestro as villain in a sequel could happen (though I doubt there WILL be a sequel given its rating), because one of the many orphaned plotlines has him craft the yellow ring as a last resort.

The other thing that irked me was Kilowog and Tomar Re were barely in the damn movie at all. Pretty much all their scenes are in the trailer. Some more aliens couldn't have made it any worse; at least they would have fit with the CGI.
Did you stick around for the credit scene? Sinestro claims the yellow ring. He puts it on and his outfit changes to his Sinestro Corp War outfit and his eyes become yellow.
I thought the movie was entertaining. However, I think they mangled Parallax. Having it be the villain wasn't a good idea, in my opinion. It would be like having the XMen fight Apocalypse in their first movie. To make it work, you have to lessen the villain. It also felt like there was more movie somewhere other than on screen. Hal randomly knew Hector and they talked like they knew each other for a while, with no reason to think they would up to that point. Amanda Waller seemed to be there entirely to have another comic book named character (which I am fine with), though I suppose that could be setting up to try to tie their movies together later. I also thought there were parts that were supposed to be funny, but they just fell flat with me. There were some laughs though. I think XMen First Class and Thor were better movies, but this wasn't a complete waste for me.

Also, maybe it was just me or the theater I saw it in (in 3D, for the sake of clarity) but chunks of the movie were really dark. As in, I could barely see what was happening kind of dark.

[ThePhantasm]

Just got back from the movie. Frankly, I don't understand why critics have lambasted this film. While it does have some imperfections (it is no Dark Knight) I liked it better than most superhero movies I've seen of late. In my opinion, it is more fun than Iron Man 1, or the first X-Men movie, and certainly doesn't deserve its current Rotten Tomatoes rating (lower than X-Men Wolverine? Seriously?)

Now, my enjoyment of the film might have been heightened by the fact that I went in with low expectations. But based on reviews I read, I'll do a comparison of what I expected with what I got:

1. I expected overbearing, long narration. Reviews of the film have stated things like "even the voice of Geoffrey Rush can't save this film's tedious narration" and the like. Much to my surprise, the opening narration of the film was only about a minute long and was hardly boring - if I had known nothing about the GL mythos, I would've greatly appreciated it. It cut to the point and got straight to the action. All of the exposition throughout the film hit hard and fast in certain moments, and never did it really feel overwrought or shoehorned in (do we really expect Jordan not to ask, for example, why everything is Green?). I felt it was comparable to the amount of exposition the Force gets in any given Star Wars film (and Jordan's training was a heck of a lot less boring than Luke's in Empire).

2. I expected Hal Jordan to be annoying. Ryan R. did a great job as Hal, and I say this as someone who is not a big fan of his work. Some have complained that his father's story was dropped in and not explored later - and then, to my joy, it WAS mentioned later in a key character moment, revealing that Jordan's fighter-pilot cockiness has just been an attempt to hide his fear which he has had since his father's death. It all came full circle and I'm appalled at how many critics missed this. [EDIT: Sorry, I meant to add that Jordan's cockiness actually seems subdued compared to what you'd see in any fighter pilot film, and was always kept human enough that you actually cared about the guy rather than wanted to hit him. I think people who are annoyed by Jordan are just annoyed by Reynolds in general for some reason, and if that describes you then you might feel differently than I do.]

3. The script was bad. There were a few cheesy scenes, the most cringe-worthy being the lantern / oath scene. But none of these were any more cheesy than what we got in the Spiderman movies, for example. Overall, the storyline had enough redeeming moments - the necklace scene with Caroll was touching, Hammond's relationship with his father (paralleling Hal's) was well-written, and Sinestro was accurately represented. The script could have been improved, but it wasn't horrible.

4. The special effects I enjoyed the SFX. One or two scenes had somewhat fake CGI and SFX (something was off with Hammond's Dad hovering over the table - there was a wire bounce or something that made it look fake) but overall it was terrific. It made Green suits and Green constructs feel as real as possible, I thought.

5. The soundtrack This was the most disappointing part, to me. I expect more of JNH, and he really missed the mark on this one. Hardly a main theme to be found, and rock and roll music everywhere? For shame.

Overall, I enjoyed the film and plan to see it again. I don't know if folks were overhyped for this movie or what, but I think it hardly deserves the poor rating it has gotten. I'd give it a healthy 7 / 10. I think the sequel potential is great too.

Note: I saw this in 2D and not 3D.

[Zevox]

Just got back from seeing it. It was... not terrible, but definitely not very good. All the character development and relationships that were the centerpiece of GL: Secret Origin are basically jettisoned. Hal's family is almost entirely absent (and half of their appearance is taken up by a nephew I don't think he had in the comics and who contributes nothing to the movie), Sinestro barely interacts with Hal and doesn't do much overall, so only Hal's relationship with Carol is really still there, and it's... clunky, to say the least. Carol herself is also largely just there as a generic love interest for Hal (granted the comics don't do her much better than that most of the time, but Secret Origin is one of the few that did). Hal's father's death is barely in there, awkwardly introduced, and its effect on him ill-explained but quite different from the comic, and not in a good way.

I'll give it this: there were a couple of good jokes, and there were some creative uses of the ring (although also a couple of uses it shouldn't actually be able to do) and good action. But the action scenes are also few and far between. Really, there were only three major ones: Hal's training with Killowog and Sinestro (which takes longer to get to than it should), a brief confrontation with Hector Hammond, and the final fight with Parallax. For more minor ones there were brief scene at the party and the other Lanterns' confrontation with Parallax, and those were both very brief (although the former was nice).

Oh, I did also like the cameos by some familiar Lanterns. Aside from Sinestro, Killowog, and Tomar-Re, I recognized Isamot, Stel, and Bzzd. I'm a bit surprised I didn't recognize more, actually - I wonder if I just missed some, or if some of them were Lanterns that were in the comics but were killed off by the point I started reading at. Seems like it would have been trivial to include, say, Boodika, or Iolande, or Arisia, or Salaak. Maybe some of the males were Sodam Yat or Vath Sarn - guess I'd have a hard time recognizing live-action versions of them on sight.

More spoilery stuff:
Hector was poorly used. His relationship with Hal and Carrol was never explained, he just sort of seems to know them somehow; with how they spliced scenes of him in with some of Hal's (learning the oath, being transported to Oa) it seemed like they were trying to draw some parallel between the two that didn't exist; and overall he really just didn't do much.

Sinestro was not nearly involved enough. One of the best things about Secret Origin, I thought, was the relationship between him and Hal, and that is totally absent here. He has no development, he's just a Green Lantern who seems to be their leader (although he shouldn't be), and the closest thing to development he gets is mentioning that Abin Sur was his mentor.

The exposition from the opening was unnecessary. That's all information that either gets repeated later when it needs to be explained to Hal, or should have been.

Some things that just didn't make sense:
- The scene where Hal gives Hector the ring. What the hells? One second Hector can use the ring to blast a hole in the wall, the next it just stops when he tries to shoot Hal? That is most definitely not how it works in the comics, and it doesn't make any sense even allowing that they could change how it works.
- Sinestro urging the Guardians to forge yellow rings. Why? He says they should "use their enemy's power against him" or some such, but why does he think that would help? Against an entity that feeds on fear - that he personally saw feed on fear - he expects to wield the power of fear and succeed? And the Guardians actually accept this idea? What the hell?
- When Hal shows up in the middle of Sinestro speaking with the Guardians after the yellow ring was forged, how does he know what they're talking about? Nothing about the yellow light or Parallax was ever explained to him, yet he immediately urges them not to use the yellow ring and acts as if he knows what they're discussing better than they do. Again, what the hell?
- If Abin Sur could imprison Parallax on his own before, why couldn't the other Lanterns do so again? Heck, we're never shown how he did that, just told that it happened.
- Also, they never explain why the other Lanterns don't know about Parallax when Abin Sur did. Sure I would guess that the Guardians ordered him to keep it secret in the hopes that minimizing who knows about Parallax will prevent him from ever being free - they do stuff like that a lot in the comics - but it's just never brought up in the movie, so it's jarring when you see Sinestro not understanding what Parallax is at all even after receiving Abin Sur's message.


Me being annoyed by changes that may or may not be nitpicky/personal taste:
- Oa being so rocky, rather than the planetary city of the comics, still annoys me, just as it did in the trailers. It made it seem more arcane than space opera-y, especially with how the Guardians are all floating next to giant rock pillars.
- The Guardians' excessively giant robes kinda annoyed me. That's just personal taste though I guess.
- Parallax lost all his personality and had his powers and appearance changed, and the only reason I can see for it is to give him the connection to Hammond that they did, which was ultimately pretty much pointless.
- During the scene where Hal fought Hector, he twice used the ring to do things it can't actually do. One was the flamethrower - sure he could make one out of the light, but it shouldn't actually shoot flames, as he can't create the gasses and whatnot necessary for that. The other was the water he caught Amanda Waller with - the light can form solids, not liquids.
- Given Parallax seemed to be a largely insubstantial being of smoke and light, does it really make sense for him to be pulled in by the sun's gravity, especially more powerfully than Hal? Shouldn't he be powerful enough to overcome that?
- Why was the source of the yellow light on Oa now? Just plot convenience with the whole yellow ring thing?
- I recall from a trailer that Carol's helmet had the Star Sapphire emblem on the side of it. In the final movie it has the word "Sapphire" instead. I don't get that.
- Why wasn't Hal zipped off to Oa after reciting the oath and recharging his ring? That would be the logical point to do that, not having the ring just randomly activate and take him there after he accidentally uses it during the fight in the parking lot (and I question how exactly you accidentally use a power ring like that too).
- Speaking of the oath thing, there's no explanation for how he learned it. There should have been - the ring is supposed to be able to speak, in a pre-programmed computer kinda way - but there wasn't, so it comes off as awkward as it did in the trailer.
That's all that's coming to mind at the moment, though I may have more to say if I remember something else that I liked/irked me.

Yeah, as superhero movies go, Thor and X-Men: First class were both both definitely better. I'd rank it below the first two X-Men movies, but above X-3 (and presumably Wolverine, but I never saw that). Definitely nowhere near Iron Man 1, closer to but still not as good as Iron Man 2. Wish I could give you some DC movies for comparison, but I haven't seen any, since I don't have any interest in Superman or Batman. Ultimately, it was entertaining at points, but nothing I can really recommend. Which is very disappointing to me, especially since it's likely the last new movie I'll be seeing this year.

Re: Tyrant's spoiler:

Did you stick around for the credit scene? Sinestro claims the yellow ring. He puts it on and his outfit changes to his Sinestro Corp War outfit and his eyes become yellow.
WHAT?!

Please tell me that there was some explanation for this in that scene, some reason he did this. One of the few hopes I had for a sequel to come out of this was that Sinestro would be developed into his fall and take up the yellow ring appropriately there. If they've already screwed that up...
Zevox

[ThePhantasm]

a nephew I don't think he had in the comics and who contributes nothing to the movie

The nephew is in Green Lantern: No Fear if I remember correctly. He also appears briefly in Sinestro Corps war. In No Fear his role is almost exactly like in the movie - he wants to be like Uncle Hal and this is discouraged by his father. Hal and his nephew have a relationship similar to Hal's own with his father.


Sinestro barely interacts with Hal and doesn't do much overall,

Yeah, that was a big downside for me too.


Hal's father's death is barely in there, awkwardly introduced, and its effect on him ill-explained but quite different from the comic, and not in a good way.

I'm not sure how this could be improved. I understand the criticism, but repeating the flashback or having Hal angst about it clearly would not have been a good way to go either... so what were they to do? It is a tricky part of the mythos to include, much trickier, say, than the Wayne murder.


But the action scenes are also few and far between.

A problem with many origin stories. Iron Man only had the cave breakout and the battle with Iron Monger, really, and Spiderman 1 had what, two fights between Spidey and the Goblin and that was pretty much it?


More spoilery stuff:
Hector was poorly used. His relationship with Hal and Carrol was never explained, he just sort of seems to know them somehow; with how they spliced scenes of him in with some of Hal's (learning the oath, being transported to Oa) it seemed like they were trying to draw some parallel between the two that didn't exist; and overall he really just didn't do much.

I wasn't as bothered by this. Hector known Hal and Carrol because of his father's connections to them. I can't always explain how I know the people I know, at least, if I did, it'd seem random and uninteresting. Hector's relationship with them is not friendly, but an outsider looking in, jealously. I think it got that much right, and that's the important part. I admit though, the sort of spliced parallel thing was awkward.


- Sinestro urging the Guardians to forge yellow rings. Why? He says they should "use their enemy's power against him" or some such, but why does he think that would help? Against an entity that feeds on fear - that he personally saw feed on fear - he expects to wield the power of fear and succeed? And the Guardians actually accept this idea? What the hell?

I thought this was stupid and unnecessary too. Ugh. It did annoy me.


- Also, they never explain why the other Lanterns don't know about Parallax when Abin Sur did. Sure I would guess that the Guardians ordered him to keep it secret in the hopes that minimizing who knows about Parallax will prevent him from ever being free - they do stuff like that a lot in the comics - but it's just never brought up in the movie, so it's jarring when you see Sinestro not understanding what Parallax is at all even after receiving Abin Sur's message.

Admittedly, Abin Sur knows more than Sinestro in the comics as well at this point, and knows a lot of stuff that the Guardians think he shouldn't.


- Speaking of the oath thing, there's no explanation for how he learned it. There should have been - the ring is supposed to be able to speak, in a pre-programmed computer kinda way - but there wasn't, so it comes off as awkward as it did in the trailer.

His eyes got all glowy... eh, it didn't bother me too much. There's a lot of mythos to fit in a two hour movie after all.


Wish I could give you some DC movies for comparison, but I haven't seen any, since I don't have any interest in Superman or Batman.

There aren't any, really, besides Superman and Batman.


Please tell me that there was some explanation for this in that scene, some reason he did this. One of the few hopes I had for a sequel to come out of this was that Sinestro would be developed into his fall and take up the yellow ring appropriately there. If they've already screwed that up... [/spoiler]
Zevox

The scene plays off as if he is toying with it, curious. He doesn't go all evil or anything. It is consistent with his eagerness to develop the ring earlier in the film and just a fun easter egg, nothing more, IMHO. From what I've read of their original "trilogy" plan, Sinestro wouldn't be a villain until film 3.

[Psyren]

Did you stick around for the credit scene? Sinestro claims the yellow ring. He puts it on and his outfit changes to his Sinestro Corp War outfit and his eyes become yellow.

WHY????? :smallsigh:

Also, I still have no reason why Parallax followed Hal to the sun. He had no reason to chase the little green glowbug, and every reason to keep wrecking up his planet/instilling fear in him. Utterly ridiculous.

[Tyrant]

Re: Tyrant's spoiler:

WHAT?!

Please tell me that there was some explanation for this in that scene, some reason he did this. One of the few hopes I had for a sequel to come out of this was that Sinestro would be developed into his fall and take up the yellow ring appropriately there. If they've already screwed that up...
Zevox
If I remember right, there is no dialogue in that scene. It just kind of happens and he is the only one in the scene.

[ThePhantasm]

If I remember right, there is no dialogue in that scene. It just kind of happens and he is the only one in the scene.

I really think people are reading too much into this. The look on his face in the scene was one of curiosity. He wasn't suiting up to go wage war on the Lanterns right then and there. I suspect he'll still be a GL in the next film, but will be increasingly tempted by the possibilities and power of the yellow ring.

EDIT: Here (http://www.superherohype.com/features/articles/167581-exclusive-mark-strong-on-green-lantern) Mark Strong says that it was just a "nod" to what happens to Sinestro later in the comics, and not a turn to villainy, which he hints could be explored in a sequel. That's in-line with how I interpreted his acting in the scene.

[Psyren]

Hey, we did it, we beat Parallax!

...I'd better try this thing on anyway, just to see if it WOULD have worked. You can never be too not-careful after all. I mean, just because it possessed a guardian, needed my uber-mentor to be improperly sealed away and showed up later to finish him off, doesn't make it dangerous, right?

Right?

[Zevox]

The nephew is in Green Lantern: No Fear if I remember correctly. He also appears briefly in Sinestro Corps war. In No Fear his role is almost exactly like in the movie - he wants to be like Uncle Hal and this is discouraged by his father. Hal and his nephew have a relationship similar to Hal's own with his father.
Ah, right - his younger brother's kid from the scenes in Coast City in the Sinestro Corps War (I haven't read "No Fear" - don't have any of the books in between "Rebirth" and "Sinestro Corps War"). Don't see where you get that "role" from - the kid never interacted with his father, I don't recall him mentioning his father discouraging him from being like Hal, and even if that were done I don't see what it would add to the movie.


I'm not sure how this could be improved. I understand the criticism, but repeating the flashback or having Hal angst about it clearly would not have been a good way to go either... so what were they to do? It is a tricky part of the mythos to include, much trickier, say, than the Wayne murder.
You don't introduce it in that awkward flashback in the middle of another scene, for one. I'd say do like the comic did and start the movie with that scene, introducing Hal, his close relationship with his father, maybe Carol and her father, and show the crash and Hal witnessing it. Then move on to the present.


A problem with many origin stories. Iron Man only had the cave breakout and the battle with Iron Monger, really, and Spiderman 1 had what, two fights between Spidey and the Goblin and that was pretty much it?
Don't know about Spider Man - that's another I haven't seen due to lacking interest in the character. Iron Man didn't have many either, true, but it also had much better character development and more interesting events in between the action.


Admittedly, Abin Sur knows more than Sinestro in the comics as well at this point, and knows a lot of stuff that the Guardians think he shouldn't.
True, but in the comics it's explained why he knows things the others don't. He learned them from Atrocitus and the other Inversions, and the Guardians are trying to hide them, believing them lies meant to instill fear among them and the Corps.


There aren't any, really, besides Superman and Batman.
Thus why I haven't seen any to compare it to.


From what I've read of their original "trilogy" plan, Sinestro wouldn't be a villain until film 3.
:smallconfused: Strange choice. What would they do for the second movie if not have it chronicle his fall from Green Lantern into terrorist/would-be fascist dictator wielding a yellow ring? Personally if I were to guess how a trilogy going off this movie would go I'd say the second movie would do that and the third would have Sinestro assemble his own Corps and go full-blown Sinestro Corps War on us.


EDIT: Here (http://www.superherohype.com/features/articles/167581-exclusive-mark-strong-on-green-lantern) Mark Strong says that it was just a "nod" to what happens to Sinestro later in the comics, and not a turn to villainy, which he hints could be explored in a sequel. That's in-line with how I interpreted his acting in the scene.
Okay, that's better. At least I can have some hope for the sequel then, if it comes. Though after this I could probably qualify for Blue Lantern if I really expect them to develop Sinestro as well as I'd like in any sequel...

Zevox

[ThePhantasm]

Don't see where you get that "role" from - the kid never interacted with his father, I don't recall him mentioning his father discouraging him from being like Hal, and even if that were done I don't see what it would add to the movie.

It is in "No Fear." I'm not saying it added anything special per se, but it is consistent with how the character has been used.


You don't introduce it in that awkward flashback in the middle of another scene, for one.

That isn't how they do it in Secret Origins, sure. But the flashback appears frequently in the middle of action sequences elsewhere, like in Sinestro Corps War, or in Hal's many encounters with Parallax (and serves a similar function, showing Hal's need to prove to himself that he can overcome this fear). Again, probably not the best way to do it, but in keeping with the comics nonetheless. It didn't bother me too much because of that.


Iron Man didn't have many either, true, but it also had much better character development and more interesting events in between the action.

Well, it probably comes down to tastes. Iron Man's character development isn't much more complex or well put than Green Lantern's, IMHO. They are about the same. Folks like Robert Downey Jr., and he played a good quirky Tony Stark. I get that. I think that is that film's only real draw, though.


True, but in the comics it's explained why he knows things the others don't. He learned them from Atrocitus and the other Inversions, and the Guardians are trying to hide them, believing them lies meant to instill fear among them and the Corps.

Yes, true, but I for one am not disappointed that Atrocitus was not included in this film. For purposes of condensing things down, Parallax was a good enough substitute. As for the lack of explanation, eh, well, folks are complaining about the backstory being too much and too complex in the film as it is.


:smallconfused: Strange choice. What would they do for the second movie if not have it chronicle his fall from Green Lantern into terrorist/would-be fascist dictator wielding a yellow ring?

Back when they first announced the film they said it would be Carol Ferris as the Star Sapphire in the second film as a villainess, and then Sinestro in number 3. It has been awhile since I read that so I'm not sure if that is still the plan (I kinda hope not as I hate the Star Sapphires, to be honest).


Personally if I were to guess how a trilogy going off this movie would go I'd say the second movie would do that and the third would have Sinestro assemble his own Corps and go full-blown Sinestro Corps War on us.

That's how I'd like to see it happen too.


Okay, that's better. At least I can have some hope for the sequel then, if it comes. Though after this I could probably qualify for Blue Lantern if I really expect them to develop Sinestro as well as I'd like in any sequel...

Zevox

Yeah, I think this film has great sequel potential. It isn't a GREAT movie, but it is good enough, IMHO, and I really hope they just move forward to #2 with the good cast they have rather than reboot the whole thing Marvel-movies style.

[Psyren]

You don't introduce it in that awkward flashback in the middle of another scene, for one. I'd say do like the comic did and start the movie with that scene, introducing Hal, his close relationship with his father, maybe Carol and her father, and show the crash and Hal witnessing it. Then move on to the present.

Fully agreed. All that natter in the beginning about Parallax being sealed away on some rock that was somehow not secluded enough to keep a pack of idiots from crashlanding on it - that was just jittery and disjointed. Opening with Hal's childhood would have freed them to just throw flashes into the VERY PROTRACTED crash-landing sequence instead of shoveling the whole damn thing in at that moment; and then they could insert more flashes at other times he's paralyzed.

Hell, make the flashback his dream when he wakes up next to [insert hooker's name here]


:smallconfused: Strange choice. What would they do for the second movie if not have it chronicle his fall from Green Lantern into terrorist/would-be fascist dictator wielding a yellow ring? Personally if I were to guess how a trilogy going off this movie would go I'd say the second movie would do that and the third would have Sinestro assemble his own Corps and go full-blown Sinestro Corps War on us.

Having missed that godawful teaser at the end, I thought that was the plan too. End with Hal and Sinestro all buddy-buddy and in total respect of one another; it would be ripe for a Xavier-Magneto or Dark Knight-Two Face style camaraderie that sets up the brilliant Face-Heel Turn.

Instead we got "derp yellow shiny me put on ring." I really hope that was a joke. And if it didn't corrupt him then - why not?

[ThePhantasm]

And if it didn't corrupt him then - why not?

It doesn't work that way. This isn't the Lord of the Rings. For example, in Sinestro Corps War, Hal briefly uses yellow rings against the enemy when his Green Ring runs dry.



Having missed that godawful teaser at the end

You missed it but you think it was awful? :smallconfused:

I actually smiled when I saw it and thought it was cool, but I didn't misinterpret it as I think some people are doing.

[Psyren]

It doesn't work that way. This isn't the Lord of the Rings. For example, in Sinestro Corps War, Hal briefly uses yellow rings against the enemy when his Green Ring runs dry.

Even if you're right, the movie never treats it that way. All we know about the power of Fear is that it overcame a Guardian. It was never shown being used successfully or beneficially for any length of time without corruption.

If you need the EU to explain a movie's plot points, the movie has failed. (Yes, I know that technically the comics aren't "EU", but the point stands.)


You missed it but you think it was awful? :smallconfused:

Yes, I know what happened in it because I read this thread. :smallconfused:


I actually smiled when I saw it and thought it was cool, but I didn't misinterpret it as I think some people are doing.

What on earth is there to interpret? He put on the ring when he had no reason left to do so. If it was some kind of flash-forward or something they should make that clear. If you communicate poorly, you can't label someone's understanding of your bad message as "misinterpretation."

[ThePhantasm]

Even if you're right, the movie never treats it that way. All we know about the power of Fear is that it overcame a Guardian. It was never shown being used successfully or beneficially for any length of time without corruption.

Rings are weapons, not the source of will or fear themselves. Parallax corrupted the Guardian, not a ring. The green ring didn't make Jordan "will." I think the movie does treat it the way I'm saying. Rings don't have a corrupting or redeeming force.

EDIT: Furthermore, the very fact that the Guardians were considering handing out yellow rings to the entire Corps in the film is yet ANOTHER indication that the rings themselves don't corrupt. They were considering using them AGAINST the power of fear, for Pete's sake! (The same thing Hal Jordan did in Sinestro Corps War)


If you need the EU to explain a movie's plot points, the movie has failed.

Yes, I know, but even in the context of the film itself your interpretation of the ring as having corrupting abilities doesn't really fit, to be honest.


Yes, I know what happened in it because I read this thread. :smallconfused:

Ok, so he puts on the ring. So? How is that "godawful?" It is a singular act that portrays nothing about his character other than what we saw in the film - a desire to experiment with the yellow power.


What on earth is there to interpret? He put on the ring when he had no reason left to do so.

See above. It is curiosity.


If it was some kind of flash-forward or something they should make that clear. If you communicate poorly, you can't label someone's understanding of your bad message as "misinterpretation."

Misinterpretations come from bad communication. But they are still misinterpretations, and there is still a right interpretation. We might say that the scene is confusing for non GL fans, sure, but it is a post-credits sequence that basically amounts to an Easter Egg. All I'm saying is that people are reading too much into it, and I think the interview I posted bears that out.

EDIT: Psyren, you can share your interpretation when (if) you watch the scene, and I'd love to hear it. But the scene basically goes as follows. Sinestro examines the ring, he seems to hesitate briefly, he puts it on his finger, his suit turns yellow, and he looks at it curiously. I think some people who haven't seen it are imagining him standing defiantly with an evil, angry look on his face, ready to do battle. There is no determination present, and Mark Strong does great acting in the scene. His face conveys nothing villanous and just more of ... well, curiousity, like I said. It is nowhere near being a "turn to the dark side" style scene. I promise.

[Zevox]

That isn't how they do it in Secret Origins, sure. But the flashback appears frequently in the middle of action sequences elsewhere, like in Sinestro Corps War, or in Hal's many encounters with Parallax (and serves a similar function, showing Hal's need to prove to himself that he can overcome this fear). Again, probably not the best way to do it, but in keeping with the comics nonetheless. It didn't bother me too much because of that.
But it's a poor move to try and introduce such a crucial piece of the character's backstory to an audience unfamiliar with it in a manner like that. It's inserted into the comics when dealing with Parallax like that because it's the one moment when Hal was truly afraid and helpless to do anything about it that Parallax can exploit, but that's a far cry from how it was used in the movie. (Also I could go on about how Hal's problems in the comic weren't overcoming his fear, but dealing with other emotions and issues, but that's a tangent at this point.)


Yes, true, but I for one am not disappointed that Atrocitus was not included in this film.
Neither am I. Half of Atrocitus' role in Secret Origin was as foreshadowing for Rage of the Red Lanterns and Blackest Night, which is obviously inappropriate here. But I still think there should have been some mention of why Abin Sur never told Sinestro or the other Lanterns about Parallax, for those who, unlike comic readers, can't easily guess why that would be. It would also help with characterizing the Guardians on top of preventing the potential confusion there.


Back when they first announced the film they said it would be Carol Ferris as the Star Sapphire in the second film as a villainess, and then Sinestro in number 3. It has been awhile since I read that so I'm not sure if that is still the plan (I kinda hope not as I hate the Star Sapphires, to be honest).
Hm. Not sure how I'd feel about that. I'm unfamiliar with how the Star Sapphires worked before the introduction of the emotional spectrum, and obviously they'd have to go with that since afterward they aren't really villainous (albeit they're not wholly heroic either what with the whole brainwashing thing).



And if it didn't corrupt him then - why not?
The yellow rings don't have that much influence over their wielders, at least not in the comics. Parallax is another matter, a sentient entity that possesses others in order to interact with the rest of the universe. Though with how much they changed about Parallax who knows... you're certainly correct that they failed to explain that in the movie at all if Parallax is still like that.


Yes, I know what happened in it because I read this thread. :smallconfused:
Also, there's youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mpNGrJGynA).


EDIT: Furthermore, the very fact that the Guardians were considering handing out yellow rings to the entire Corps in the film is yet ANOTHER indication that the rings themselves don't corrupt. They were considering using them AGAINST the power of fear, for Pete's sake! (The same thing Hal Jordan did in Sinestro Corps War)
On the other hand, the Guardians also had never used a yellow ring before, so they wouldn't know for sure what its effects would be. And we are told that they had rejected using the yellow light in the past, so apparently they had some reason not to.

Zevox

[ThePhantasm]

I don't have much time the rest of this week to discuss this further (might not be able to get on the forum at all) so I'll just end with this note:

While I enjoyed the film, my biggest criticism would probably have to be that it is TOO fast-paced, especially for such a massive mythos. The film is an hour and 45 minutes long, and really should've been more like 2 hours 20 minutes like the Dark Knight. As far as superhero films go, I don't think it is a train wreck - it is better than many of the films Marvel dishes out, but not near the quality of say Spiderman 2, The Dark Knight, or a Superman film. I think it has potential though and the biggest problems the film has is with the script, not the cast.

That's my two cents. On all the rest, well, I've agreed with you guys at some points and disagreed at others, and there we have it, I suppose. I'm not super passionate about defending the film, and I'm not super passionate about critiquing it - I'm somewhere in between, to be honest, where it wasn't quite as good as it could have been but it wasn't as bad as the critics made it out to be, IMHO.

[Zevox]

While I enjoyed the film, my biggest criticism would probably have to be that it is TOO fast-paced, especially for such a massive mythos. The film is an hour and 45 minutes long, and really should've been more like 2 hours 20 minutes like the Dark Knight.
I'd probably agree, but first it would need a better script. More of the quality we got wouldn't necessarily be better, even if I'd probably have welcomed some actual development of Hal and Sinestro's friendship even if they weren't doing it that well.


I'm not super passionate about defending the film, and I'm not super passionate about critiquing it - I'm somewhere in between, to be honest, where it wasn't quite as good as it could have been but it wasn't as bad as the critics made it out to be, IMHO.
If the critics have, as you indicated, made it out to be worse than Wolverine (which I hear was worse than X-3), then I'm with you there; I simply have a lower opinion of it overall than you appear to. It wasn't terrible, and I've certainly seen worse superhero movies, but it isn't good enough for me to really recommend it to anyone unless they're a GL fan who really wants to see some Lantern action on the big screen. I can't say that I regret seeing it, but I do fall into that particular category myself, which is part of why I didn't take Psyren's earlier advice to wait until after the weekend to see it.

Zevox

[Tyrant]

EDIT: Psyren, you can share your interpretation when (if) you watch the scene, and I'd love to hear it. But the scene basically goes as follows. Sinestro examines the ring, he seems to hesitate briefly, he puts it on his finger, his suit turns yellow, and he looks at it curiously. I think some people who haven't seen it are imagining him standing defiantly with an evil, angry look on his face, ready to do battle. There is no determination present, and Mark Strong does great acting in the scene. His face conveys nothing villanous and just more of ... well, curiousity, like I said. It is nowhere near being a "turn to the dark side" style scene. I promise.
Having checked the youtube clip to confirm what I thought when I saw it last night, I really don't agree with that interpretation. He removes his green ring, then puts on the yellow ring. He looks at his changed outfit. Then he throws back his head and clearly is smiling really big. Like he is in some kind of ecstasy. Then we see that his eyes are now yellow. We know from earlier in the movie with Hector that this is a bad thing.

[Tyndmyr]

Yeah, it would have benefitted from some extra length. Give Parallax some time to be, well, not stupid...Explain a few more things, and tie things together a bit better...it felt jumpy at times, and Im not really sure what some characters were supposed to accomplish. Perhaps an extra fight scene somewhere.

Sure, I've seen worse comic book movies(Elektra is at the bottom of my list), but this kinda continues the DC movie trend. If it ain't batman, it tends to suck. Well, I'll give them Watchmen, too...but that's unusual for comics in that there's absolutely nowhere to go for a sequel or tie in. I wasn't a fan of Superman Returns, either.

[Psyren]

Rings are weapons, not the source of will or fear themselves. Parallax corrupted the Guardian, not a ring. The green ring didn't make Jordan "will." I think the movie does treat it the way I'm saying. Rings don't have a corrupting or redeeming force.

They give you access to/expose you to the force powering them. What's your point?


EDIT: Furthermore, the very fact that the Guardians were considering handing out yellow rings to the entire Corps in the film is yet ANOTHER indication that the rings themselves don't corrupt. They were considering using them AGAINST the power of fear, for Pete's sake! (The same thing Hal Jordan did in Sinestro Corps War)

If the movie intended yellow rings to be harmless, why was Hal so against them using the one they made? Do you really think everything would have gone peachy if they'd used the yellow ring to win? There's a concept called symbolism here; they'd be literally giving in to fear as the strongest force.


Yes, I know, but even in the context of the film itself your interpretation of the ring as having corrupting abilities doesn't really fit, to be honest.

The power of fear itself is the corruption. Putting on that ring would be acknowledging that.


Ok, so he puts on the ring. So? How is that "godawful?" It is a singular act that portrays nothing about his character other than what we saw in the film - a desire to experiment with the yellow power.

Again - why? There is no greater threat than Parallax ever mentioned in the film, and he was defeated.


See above. It is curiosity.

Not good enough. I can arm my country's nukes out of curiosity too, or develop the T-Virus, that doesn't make it a good idea.


Misinterpretations come from bad communication. But they are still misinterpretations, and there is still a right interpretation. We might say that the scene is confusing for non GL fans, sure, but it is a post-credits sequence that basically amounts to an Easter Egg. All I'm saying is that people are reading too much into it, and I think the interview I posted bears that out.

The right thing to do is not put extraneous and misleading scenes into your movie in the first place.


EDIT: Psyren, you can share your interpretation when (if) you watch the scene, and I'd love to hear it.

1) I just did thanks to Zevox's link. My opinion is unchanged. The scene has no rhyme or reason to it within the context of the movie's plot. He appears to either be reveling in the yellow power or it has already instantly taken him over, and most importantly he makes no move to remove the yellow ring. I can't possibly imagine what other conclusion I'm supposed to draw from a scene like that.

2) Even if I hadn't seen it myself, I still have the right to form an opinion on it. Sorry if that bothers you.

[Tyndmyr]

Well, they also outright stated that the one guardian wanted to check out fear for good intentions. That ended badly for him. They said it was uncontrollable.

That seems remarkably similar to the forging of the yellow ring.


And yeah, why you'd put something that obviously dangerous on after the great threat has passed...I dunno. Taking the risk to defeat parallax might have made sense. I mean, if you're desperate and Oa's on the line, it's worth a shot. But taking on that kind of risk out of curiosity seems odd.

[Zevox]

They give you access to/expose you to the force powering them. What's your point?

If the movie intended yellow rings to be harmless, why was Hal so against them using the one they made? Do you really think everything would have gone peachy if they'd used the yellow ring to win? There's a concept called symbolism here; they'd be literally giving in to fear as the strongest force.
Just to explain what the problem would be assuming it still works like in the comics: while the yellow rings themselves do not significantly influence their wielders, in order to wield them to begin with you have to be the sort of person who instills terror in others. You have to be the kind of individual who either just enjoys causing pain and fear in others, or the kind of individual that uses those things for their own ends without much concern for those you're hurting. That kind of person tends to be either sadistic and twisted, or a fascist despot, or something along those lines. Without the kind of mindset that such a person has, the ring simply won't work, or at least won't do much.

Long story short, while a yellow ring does not corrupt you just by putting it on, if you actually learn to use one, it probably means you've become a horrible type of person. There's exactly one not-outright-evil person in the comics who has ever been selected by a yellow ring: Batman. And as you can well imagine, he's a rare individual (he also turned it down, since he recognized the name "Sinestro" when it told him he had been chosen to join the Sinestro Corps).

Zevox

[Psyren]

Just to explain what the problem would be assuming it still works like in the comics: while the yellow rings themselves do not significantly influence their wielders, in order to wield them to begin with you have to be the sort of person who instills terror in others. You have to be the kind of individual who either just enjoys causing pain and fear in others, or the kind of individual that uses those things for their own ends without much concern for those you're hurting. That kind of person tends to be either sadistic and twisted, or a fascist despot, or something along those lines. Without the kind of mindset that such a person has, the ring simply won't work, or at least won't do much.

That's even more of a disconnect between the movie and comics then. We are never shown Sinestro doing anything remotely close to these things. He seems to be an honorable (if a bit hardassed) Lantern.

Sidenote: I haven't read all the comics, but I did watch MovieBob's two-episode history (http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/the-big-picture/3390-Going-Green-Part-I) lesson (http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/the-big-picture/3536-Going-Green-Part-II), and I thought it was really cool what they did with the various colored rings (and even briefly making Scarecrow a Yellow Lantern.)

[Zevox]

That's even more of a disconnect between the movie and comics then. We are never shown Sinestro doing anything remotely close to these things. He seems to be an honorable (if a bit hardassed) Lantern.
Which is why I was as ticked as I was when I first read about the after-credits scene. There was no development of Sinestro towards his fall to villainy in the movie, just as there was no development of his friendship with Hal.

Of course, technically he doesn't actually use the ring for anything in that scene, it just changes his outfit, so it's still not too bad, but it had best not be a sign of how they're going to treat his character in subsequent movies, or we're just screwed there.


Sidenote: I haven't read all the comics, but I did watch MovieBob's two-episode history (http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/the-big-picture/3390-Going-Green-Part-I) lesson (http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/the-big-picture/3536-Going-Green-Part-II), and I thought it was really cool what they did with the various colored rings (and even briefly making Scarecrow a Yellow Lantern.)
Aye, I do love the whole War of Light storyline the lead up to Blackest Night, and the deputy Lanterns in Blackest Night like Scarecrow were awesome (my favorites though were Lex Luthor as an Orange Lantern and the Flash as a Blue Lantern).

Zevox

[Psyren]

It turns his eyes yellow and makes him leer though - it's pretty clear that it's either resonating with him in some way or outright controlling him. The former makes zero sense from your explanation, and the latter only fits with the movie's ridiculous perversion of the yellow lantern into space-Sauron.

...I'm getting another aneurysm going over this failure of a film :smallsigh:

[Zevox]

On a more positive note, something that I did like that I think deserves some recognition:
Carol quickly identifying Hal under his mask and reacting the way she did. Amusing, and makes a heck of a lot more sense than the mask just being able to magically hide his identity from everyone. Kudos to them for that one at least.
Zevox

[Psyren]

On a more positive note, something that I did like that I think deserves some recognition:
Carol quickly identifying Hal under his mask and reacting the way she did. Amusing, and makes a heck of a lot more sense than the mask just being able to magically hide his identity from everyone. Kudos to them for that one at least.
Zevox

That was indeed hilarious, even though it took longer than it should have. But it's always funny to watch a Clark Kenting get subverted in progress.

[Tyndmyr]

That was pretty awesome. I was wondering if they were going to go down the tired old path of a domino mask making something magically unrecognizable. Well handled.

[Dr.Epic]

Well, I haven't seen it but I heard things about, mainly it's horrible. I'm still going to see it mainly because I want DC to score a cinematic win against Marvel with something other than Batman. Also I can at least riff the film with LotR references and that'll be entertaining.

[Bob_the_Mighty]

I saw the movie last night and in my opinion it was pretty lame. It seemed like there were a lot of parts that should've been built up to that just sort of happened instead of actually being explained. I think it might be the only movie I've ever regretted seeing in theaters as opposed to waiting and then renting it when it came out on DVD. Also, maybe I wasn't paying close enought attention when these things were explained, but I didn't understand them, and since they were touched on some here I'll ask...

What was up with the power of Fear? I thought that all of the Guardians agreed that it was a bad idea to use it except one, and him trying to harness it turned him into Parallax. So why is it that when Sinestro tells them that they need to try to harness the power of Fear to use against Parallax that they're all so quick to agree? Don't they just do the exact same thing that created Parallax in the first place? To me this simply didn't make any sense.

Another thing I didn't understand was the scene were Hal gives the ring to Hector. First off, why would he do that? He knows that Hector won't be able to use it, and as soon as he found out he'd be pissed, only then Hal wouldn't have the ring to use to stop him. Second, how can he blast a hole in a wall with it and then immediately not only fail to use it to blast Hal, but have the blast deflected back at him, despite the fact that Hal doesn't have the ring?

[Tirian]

That was pretty awesome. I was wondering if they were going to go down the tired old path of a domino mask making something magically unrecognizable. Well handled.

So, in the interest of saving me ten dollars, why is Hal wearing a mask? At least they came up with a reason for it in Emerald Dawn (that he was actually serving a jail sentence while he was initially in training).

(Not that anyone will ever come up with a better rationale than "No, they're just terribly comfortable. I predict everyone will be wearing them in the future.")

[Jayngfet]

So, in the interest of saving me ten dollars, why is Hal wearing a mask? At least they came up with a reason for it in Emerald Dawn (that he was actually serving a jail sentence while he was initially in training).

(Not that anyone will ever come up with a better rationale than "No, they're just terribly comfortable. I predict everyone will be wearing them in the future.")

They said it'll appear whenever he needs to use his powers and not be recognized. Hence why when he's among friends, on OA, or gets found out, it instantly comes off.

[Soras Teva Gee]

I'm going to say its about the worst superhero movie I've seen that's not actually bad.

There's any number of nice little spots, but the whole thing is a total mess without any core identity. This movie doesn't know what it wants to be and what its plot actually is. It can't decide whether it wants to be about Hal as a person and his associated character, about the GL Corps with its entirely separate group of characters, or about facing the villian. Not to mention Parallax in particular is way too big to be used for an origin story villain, I just don't buy it.

The early Hal Jordan's critical aspect (at least since Geoff Johns took control) has been him and Sinestro, the interplay between them. And we are treated to only one one scene of this. Sinestro in general was a hollow shell, all the right parts were there but he never got to come out and play. It robs him of all his future significance really.

I'd rather have seen a movie about Hal and Sinestro with a the Manhunters as the villians since they are nice and disposable. Or barring that keep it on Earth and do story about Hal's personal life while learning to use the ring with Hammond as the villian. Parallax is a wasted here, actually he's wasted with the useless exposition that starts us off.

(Also in the movie the Guardians weren't nearly prickish enough)

[Zevox]

Also, maybe I wasn't paying close enought attention when these things were explained, but I didn't understand them, and since they were touched on some here I'll ask...

What was up with the power of Fear? I thought that all of the Guardians agreed that it was a bad idea to use it except one, and him trying to harness it turned him into Parallax. So why is it that when Sinestro tells them that they need to try to harness the power of Fear to use against Parallax that they're all so quick to agree? Don't they just do the exact same thing that created Parallax in the first place? To me this simply didn't make any sense.
You are correct, it doesn't make any sense. I noted this in my first post after seeing the movie too - for some reason Sinestro and the Guardians were dumb enough to think that using the power of fear against an entity that devours fear was a good idea, and boy does that not make the least bit of sense from any perspective.

Just one correction: it's possible that, assuming that the largely-unexplained parts of Parallax's origin are as in the comics, he was not created by the Guardian's effort to harness the yellow light. He was a pre-existing entity composed of the yellow light which possessed the Guardian when he attempted to harness that light. So forging a yellow ring would not have the same result.

Of course, they could have changed that and simply not made it entirely clear, but if they did it just means their movie makes even less sense.


Another thing I didn't understand was the scene were Hal gives the ring to Hector. First off, why would he do that? He knows that Hector won't be able to use it, and as soon as he found out he'd be pissed, only then Hal wouldn't have the ring to use to stop him. Second, how can he blast a hole in a wall with it and then immediately not only fail to use it to blast Hal, but have the blast deflected back at him, despite the fact that Hal doesn't have the ring?
Again, you are correct - that scene didn't make a lick of sense. Certainly the ring doesn't work like that in the comics, and even their half-assed "you have to be chosen" explanation in the movie doesn't make it make any sense given he was able to blast the wall.

I'd rather have seen a movie about Hal and Sinestro with a the Manhunters as the villians since they are nice and disposable.
Oh, definitely agree there. Especially since then could bring up the history of the Manhunters as the Green Lanterns' predecessors, and thus introduce the whole questionable nature of the Guardians and their authority and decisions, giving the Corps some nuance. (Plus then they could actually do the "YOU DARE ACCUSE THE GUARDIANS OF FEELING FEAR?!" scene properly, unlike the way it was done in this movie.)

Zevox

[Erts]

From a comic fan's perspective, is it better or worse?

[Bob_the_Mighty]

Just one correction: it's possible that, assuming that the largely-unexplained parts of Parallax's origin are as in the comics, he was not created by the Guardian's effort to harness the yellow light. He was a pre-existing entity composed of the yellow light which possessed the Guardian when he attempted to harness that light. So forging a yellow ring would not have the same result.It's definitely possible that I misinterpreted what happened, but still, in the movie Hector is infected by the bits of Parallax that get left in Abin Sur. Since it's clearly capable of infecting people and controlling them I would assume that it didn't completely move from the yellow light into the Guardian, and that something would've been left behind. Even if that's not the case, I would think that since the only previous attempt to harness the power of the yellow light ended up with the creation of the most powerful enemy that the lanterns have every faced that they would've been a little more reluctant to try to do it again to stop said enemy. Either way, it just seems like a silly concept.
I want to add that I haven't actually read any of the Green Lantern comics, and all that I know about the whole Green Lantern story comes from this movie and a few episodes of the old Justice League cartoon, so I might've missed a lot of background that could've been important. Or maybe not, maybe this movie was just as bad as it seems.

[Shatteredtower]

While it was a poor film, I can think of one justification for that last scene: Sinestro was the only one to survive his first encounter with Parallax because its energy wanted him to survive.

[Zevox]

From a comic fan's perspective, is it better or worse?
Kind of hard to answer, given those of us who have seen it are either one or the other - nobody has seen it when not a comic fan, become a comic fan, then seen it again (yet, at least). Given the confusion many non-comics-fans have reacted with, you might guess it would make the movie better, but then a comic fan may be annoyed by the changes, particularly given none of them improve anything (usually the reverse).


It's definitely possible that I misinterpreted what happened, but still, in the movie Hector is infected by the bits of Parallax that get left in Abin Sur. Since it's clearly capable of infecting people and controlling them I would assume that it didn't completely move from the yellow light into the Guardian, and that something would've been left behind.
If that is what they meant to imply, it would be a huge change from the comics. Neither Parallax nor the yellow light in general work anything like that (well, Parallax possesses people, but there's no way residual energy from one of his attacks could). If they didn't intend such a change, what happened to Hector was probably simply that his contact with Parallax's residual energy gave him his powers, he wasn't controlled in any way. (Of course, that doesn't really make sense by the comics either, but it's less of a departure.)

Of course, considering Parallax's appearance, powers, and personality were all demonstrably changed anyway, and it's questionable whether his origin and very nature were changed, assuming they intended the interpretation that is less of a departure from the comics is perhaps not a good assumption...

I want to add that I haven't actually read any of the Green Lantern comics, and all that I know about the whole Green Lantern story comes from this movie and a few episodes of the old Justice League cartoon, so I might've missed a lot of background that could've been important. Or maybe not, maybe this movie was just as bad as it seems.
Unfortunately, very little of the GL mythology is conveyed in the Justice League cartoon (in no small part because a fair amount of it was written after that cartoon aired), and this movie did not do a good job of conveying it (and may have changed significant aspects of it).

But even knowing the mythology, yeah, the movie still isn't good. There are plenty of things that make no sense, and the redeeming features mainly come from the action, a few good jokes, and a handful of select scenes. It isn't one of the worst comic movies ever, but that's not really praise.

Zevox

[Runestar]

I am beginning to notice a disturbing trend with these superhero movies.

The final boss fights all stank.

Green Lantern tickles parallax for a few seconds and he explodes. I think that scene lasted 20 seconds max.

In Iron Man, Tony Stark had to operate at low power. So no fancy antics or firepower.

In IM2, the final fight was too short, and had more flying than actual fighting.

Come on, is it too hard to splurge a bit more on the special effects dept and give us a longer, more drawn out battle scene? Why do the people all like to talk so much? :smallfrown:

[The Glyphstone]

The boss fight(s) in Thor were pretty epic. The one vs. Loki was, at least -the Destroyer was kind of a letdown.

[Psyren]

I am beginning to notice a disturbing trend with these superhero movies.

The final boss fights all stank.

Green Lantern tickles parallax for a few seconds and he explodes. I think that scene lasted 20 seconds max.

In Iron Man, Tony Stark had to operate at low power. So no fancy antics or firepower.

In IM2, the final fight was too short, and had more flying than actual fighting.

Come on, is it too hard to splurge a bit more on the special effects dept and give us a longer, more drawn out battle scene? Why do the people all like to talk so much? :smallfrown:

The final fight in X-Men 1st Class (all three parts of it) was very powerful. Watchmen's climax was pheomenal, and so was the first Spiderman's.

I agree though, there aren't a whole lot of hero movies whose ultimate battle impressed me.

Huge special effects really aren't needed to convey emotion.

[Mikeavelli]

Is it just me, or does it seem like there are a lot of missing scenes?

I'm actually a fan of the comics, and familiar enough with the Green Lantern mythology to get all the basics down, so that's not it. It's, well, there were probably a half-dozen moments in the movie when I thought to myself, "this would make so much more sense if they'd included the scene where they set this up."

The absolute worst one was where Hal is talking to the Guardians, and he tells them to come help defend earth. We've been over how stupid most of the dialogue in that scene is already, but the part I'm picking on is the end of it where he says, "don't send the whole corps then, just let me go."

That was already what was happening! You were on earth in the last scene and there was nothing compelling you to leave! You could have left Oa whether or not the guardians approved! Why is this any kind of a moral victory?!

[Psyren]

Even worse than that is how he runs into Hector at the party and they're all "Oh hey, what's up man! Long time no see!" and the audience is like "Buh???"

[Mikeavelli]

It took me a while to get that too, but Hector is the Senator's son.

Hal is the man the Senator wishes was his son, the senator knew Hal's Father well, and has been doing him favors his whole life.

Carol Ferris knew Hal since childhood, and therefore knew the senator, and therefore knew the Senator's son.

The connection between Hal and Hector was really quite explicit - they both have been getting favors and jobs they're not really qualified for because Senator Hammond is making the decisions on who will be doing the most prestigious jobs, they're both in love with the same woman, but can't overcome their own personal faults, etc.

[Zevox]

The absolute worst one was where Hal is talking to the Guardians, and he tells them to come help defend earth. We've been over how stupid most of the dialogue in that scene is already, but the part I'm picking on is the end of it where he says, "don't send the whole corps then, just let me go."

That was already what was happening! You were on earth in the last scene and there was nothing compelling you to leave! You could have left Oa whether or not the guardians approved! Why is this any kind of a moral victory?!
Oh Cthulu yes, I remember that. Truly a facepalm-worthy moment - I'm shocked I forgot to list it in my initial post after seeing the movie. :smallsigh:

Zevox

[Dr.Epic]

I just checked my local cinema's screening times and it looks like with my schedule I might have to go to..dun dun DUN...

a 3D showing :smalleek:

NNNOOOOOOOOOOO!!! $3-$5 mores for a pointless, gimmicky effect. Oh well, I can't get to it this week and the site I checked doesn't have screening times for next week so maybe I'll luck out. I might still be able to catch a later showing, but with my schedule it'll be difficult.

[Tyrant]

I just checked my local cinema's screening times and it looks like with my schedule I might have to go to..dun dun DUN...

a 3D showing :smalleek:

NNNOOOOOOOOOOO!!! $3-$5 mores for a pointless, gimmicky effect. Oh well, I can't get to it this week and the site I checked doesn't have screening times for next week so maybe I'll luck out. I might still be able to catch a later showing, but with my schedule it'll be difficult.
I ended up going to see it again with some friends who wanted to see it. I had nothing better to do so I went along. I saw the movie in 3D the first time and 2D the second time. I wouldn't pay the money for the 3D. It may have just been my theater, but noticeable parts of the movie were quite dark in 3D that weren't in 2D. That and nothing really seemed to make it worthwhile (to me at least).

[Dr.Epic]

That and nothing really seemed to make it worthwhile (to me at least).

You can say that about pretty much any 3D film.

Anyway, as much as I hate to do it, I may have to. I'm not sure I can make a different screening. Also, after Thor, this is the superhero film I wanted to see the most this year. Not because I think it'll be good, but because I want to riff it with LotR references.

[Bob_the_Mighty]

If that is what they meant to imply, it would be a huge change from the comics. Neither Parallax nor the yellow light in general work anything like that (well, Parallax possesses people, but there's no way residual energy from one of his attacks could). If they didn't intend such a change, what happened to Hector was probably simply that his contact with Parallax's residual energy gave him his powers, he wasn't controlled in any way. (Of course, that doesn't really make sense by the comics either, but it's less of a departure.)

Of course, considering Parallax's appearance, powers, and personality were all demonstrably changed anyway, and it's questionable whether his origin and very nature were changed, assuming they intended the interpretation that is less of a departure from the comics is perhaps not a good assumption...Hm, maybe it didn't exactly possess Hector, but I'm pretty sure I remember Parallax telling him to do stuff and then killing him near the end when he failed to do it.


Unfortunately, very little of the GL mythology is conveyed in the Justice League cartoon (in no small part because a fair amount of it was written after that cartoon aired), and this movie did not do a good job of conveying it (and may have changed significant aspects of it).Yeah, I didn't really pick up much from it other than how GL got his ring, that yellow was somehow his weakness, and that Sinestro was his enemy and had a ring that made yellow constructs.

[Zevox]

Yeah, I didn't really pick up much from it other than how GL got his ring, that yellow was somehow his weakness, and that Sinestro was his enemy and had a ring that made yellow constructs.
:smallconfused: Sounds more like you watched the old Super Friends cartoon than the Justice League one. Sinestro barely showed up in the Justice League cartoon at all, and if memory serves always a background character when he did, and I don't think the yellow weakness existed in that show.

Zevox

[Soras Teva Gee]

:smallconfused: Sounds more like you watched the old Super Friends cartoon than the Justice League one. Sinestro barely showed up in the Justice League cartoon at all, and if memory serves always a background character when he did, and I don't think the yellow weakness existed in that show.

Zevox

Sinestro was the villain in an episode of Superman:TAS well well before Justice League. Featuring Kyle Rayner, who also had more then a little Hal Jordan in it. Then when Justice League went with John Stewart for well obvious reasons much like they went with Hawkgirl over Aquaman. This disconnect was never really adequately explained, just handwaved with John having been a lantern already well before Kyle but off in space for an extended period, which they later switched.

Anyways back in that Superman episode Sinestro appeared as rogue-GL with a yellow power ring and gave Supes and Kyle a good fight. After that practically the only place Sinestro has dialogue is in an episode of Static Shock guest starring Stewart, but I barely remember what happened there.

To my recollection the yellow weakness was never there, though referenced in a few places.

And Sinestro is possibly the most wasted villian in JLU.

Of course this is all before Geoff Johns awesomely revamped the whole mythos, and in the DCU proper at the time Hal was the Spectre, Kyle was GL and also John, the Corps was dead, the Guardians were dead then not dead, and Sinestro had been dead for years having been killed by Parallax which was just what Hal called himself when crazy. Because Hal had to become a major villian and then die so that younger hipper Kyle could take over, though Kyle turned out alright.

And then Geoff Johns came along and Parallax became a giant space bug of doom and the rest was history...

[Bob_the_Mighty]

:smallconfused: Sounds more like you watched the old Super Friends cartoon than the Justice League one. Sinestro barely showed up in the Justice League cartoon at all, and if memory serves always a background character when he did, and I don't think the yellow weakness existed in that show.

ZevoxYes, Super Friends, not Justice League, my bad. Although I did watch some of the Justice League one, too.

[Runestar]

I ended up going to see it again with some friends who wanted to see it. I had nothing better to do so I went along. I saw the movie in 3D the first time and 2D the second time. I wouldn't pay the money for the 3D. It may have just been my theater, but noticeable parts of the movie were quite dark in 3D that weren't in 2D. That and nothing really seemed to make it worthwhile (to me at least).

That would be the case if the green lantern had been first filmed normally, then converted to 3D, rather be be filmed in 3D exclusively. Probably nothing more than a money-making scheme, seeing as to how 3D cinemas are all the rage these days. :smallmad:

[Zevox]

Yes, Super Friends, not Justice League, my bad. Although I did watch some of the Justice League one, too.
Ah, then you've seen even less than I thought. The Justice League show at least had a few episodes where Lanterns other than John showed up, and one where the Guardians were involved. Super Friends didn't do much with the characters at all outside of showing off their powers and once recounting Hal's old, very basic origin story, at least from what little I recall of it.

Zevox

[Bob_the_Mighty]

Ah, then you've seen even less than I thought. The Justice League show at least had a few episodes where Lanterns other than John showed up, and one where the Guardians were involved. Super Friends didn't do much with the characters at all outside of showing off their powers and once recounting Hal's old, very basic origin story, at least from what little I recall of it.Yeah, it's really not much at all. I'd like to read some of the GL comics, and more comics in general, but I have no idea where to start with any of them so I just haven't bothered to try.

[Aotrs Commander]

I have just seen the movie. I had an interesting oppurtunity, since Cartoon Network over here shows the animated film Green Lantern: First Flight at the weekend, so I was able to compare and contrast (as well as better recognise the characters, as my Lantern experience in limited to the DCAU and that one episode of Duck Dodgers).

Both were very good, having different takes on the mythos.

The live-action movie's not quite a stinger was something I naturally expected, but I did wonder why they wasted it on that, instead of saving it for a sequel, if they weren't going to address Sinestro in the film.

What did amuse me was the cartoon was WAY more violent! Seriously, there was lots of blood and somebody got impaled! At half-past eleven on a Saturday morning on the children's channel! It was awesome! Either the censors are getting cool with stuff over here (partly due, one suspects, to Star Wars the Clone Wars, which also holds no prisoners setting a president), or they didn't watch it all the way through.

Renolds will make a good Deadpool, I feel; he certainly carried Hal off okay, to my admittedly limited knowledge. (I actually am more familiar with John Stewart.)

[Mauther]

I was reluctantly underwhelmed by Green Lantern. I didn't think the acting was bad (Reynolds was charming enough, Strong was arrogant enough, and Lively was pretty enough), if not inspired. I always considered GL (Hal Jordan) as one of the more mature DC-supes so I still prefer someone like Fillion instead of Reynolds (I know Reynolds is in his 30's but he still looks like he's 20 something) but Reynolds did good enough with what was presented.

I went in relatively low expectations, but I'll admit I still had high standards since GL is one of my 2 DC faves. The problem is the Lantern is a hard character for main stream audiences, kind of like Thor in the Marvel line. You can set most of the other DC heavies in the real-world, and with the exception that they can fly or are super strong or can run very fast or talk to fish, they can still blend in. Even some of the wierder origins (superman the alien and Aquaman an Atlantean prince) can be mentioned then moved to the side to not interfere with the story. Essentially, once you mention their origin to explain why they have these powers you can really get past that whole point for most viewers. For Superman for instance, with the exception that he is nigh unstoppable, he could just have easily been from some special foreign land. Most of the enemies he fights (on film) are terrestial, and most of the story takes place on Earth. The Green Lantern is an intergalactic cop, so your story is going to have to get elbow deep in space/science fantasy. And frankly, that scares the beejeesus out of movie execs and many movie goers. So they were never going to let there be a straight Lantern movie.

My biggest problem with the film was this was clearly 2 or 3 movies crammed into one. We got to see Oa, and the corp, but for like 5 minutes, including 2 minutes of training. We see Hammond for like 10 minutes, etc. Even the Parrallax arc is rushed. We see it at the hanger, then the next instant its eating a city. I'm not advocating a navel-gazing film, but if they'd slowed down and fleshed out the stories a lot could have been improved. We get tossed 3 members of the Corp, but none are fleshed out at all. Back on Earth, out of all the humans, only Carol Ferris is fleshed out. Hell, I don't think I even caught his best friends name (Thomas) in the film because they bounced over that relationship. I'm not saying we needed to meet and find the inner voice for every character on screen, but they just kind of threw characters and relationships up on the screen and hoped you cared.

If they insisted upon an origin story, which I guess you would have to do in this case since your also introducing the concept of the GLC, I would have preffered the origin story, introducing the GLC and Sinestro, Ferris and his terrestrial buds, and some mid-level moderatly interesting villain Hammond or Atrocitus/Black Hand or even (as others have recommended) the Manhunters to tie in with the Guardians. That would have given time to develop the character thru his relationships and still leave time for plently of neat special effects. Then in a second movie they could go into Parralax, and the corruption of Sinestro. As it is, I could give a bigger fig if Sinestro falls, he's second string compared to Jordan since he failed and failed spectacularly where Jordan succeeded. Rather than being among the best Lanterns ever, the film portrays his as an over confident weakling.

And finally the "teaser" after the credits. DC needs to stop copying Marvel. They are not very good at it. The Avenger teasers work because they are tieing each story into the larger hole. Fury recruits Stark (Iron Man), Stark approaches Thunderbolt Ross about putting together a team (Incredible Hulk), SHIELD agents discover a hammer in a crater (Iron Man 2), Fury shows Selvig the Cosmic Cube (Thor). So each one builds into the deeper Avengers mythos, but its really just a tease for fans. The Synestro scene did nothing since its refers to a scene that will clearly have to be reiterated in any future Green Lantern sequel.

[Mauther]

Totally off topic, but it seems as good a place to ask as any. Did they ever reconcile Alan Scott, the first Green Lantern (magical and vulnerable to wood) versus the Hal Jordan and the follow ons (superscience, members of the corp, and vulnerable to yellow). I familiar with the Lantern lore, but that's a bit more esoteric than I've got. While never a fan of the original Scott, the remodeled Armored Green Lantern from Kingdom Come is probably my favorite look. Also, since Scott's ring is magical he's one of the few big leaguers who could theoretically takes Supes in a standup, mano-y-mano brawl.

[Zevox]

Totally off topic, but it seems as good a place to ask as any. Did they ever reconcile Alan Scott, the first Green Lantern (magical and vulnerable to wood) versus the Hal Jordan and the follow ons (superscience, members of the corp, and vulnerable to yellow).
If by "reconcile" you mean "come up with a reason why their powers are so similar even though they have no real connection in-universe," then no, not to my knowledge. The few times I've seen Alan in the comics he's simply mentioned that his powers are similar but different in source, and that he isn't a member of the Corps.

Zevox

[TheEmerged]

If by "reconcile" you mean "come up with a reason why their powers are so similar even though they have no real connection in-universe," then no, not to my knowledge. The few times I've seen Alan in the comics he's simply mentioned that his powers are similar but different in source, and that he isn't a member of the Corps.

Zevox

Well, yeah, but they keep changing their mind. For a while there, the answer was that Alan's lantern was the Starheart - the combined & imprisoned chaos magic that the Guardians defeated early in the universe's history.

Then the answer became that Alan's Lantern was in fact a Green Lantern that was made vulnerable to wood instead of yellow due to the user's hubris.

Then we were back to the Starheart bit, because somebody realized how bad it sounded that the Guardians could just change the weakness whenever they wanted to.

Then they announced that Alan has been sustaining himself and was really just a mental projection from the ring of his will.

Then the Lantern became just a small part of the Starheart.

Last I checked, Alan *is* his lantern now.

[Dvandemon]

I finally see why Green Lantern's outfit freaks me out; it's like it isn't a whole pice suit, it comes in strands with...crevices(?) with glowing energy coming through. Still doesn't make any less creppy, resembling bare muscle
Secondly, it sucked. I just watched it, and it was awful. It was dripping with the cheesiest dialogue I've ever heard ("The ring didn't choose you because you're fearless. It chose you because you can overcome fear." Gag.) Hal was probably the most ridiculous example I've seen of Mighty Whitey since Avatar, and Parallax...
Despite being DC's obvious Galactus stand-in, he... wrecks up a lone city block (complete with extras running first up the street, then back down it, then up again!) before leaving the planet to chase the little green man into the sun. Hey genius, if you kept wrecking up the planet, Hal would have to stay there and fight you! Not to mention he even LITERALLY spouted the "You Have Failed Me" cliché to his weird toady underling that nobody cared about.

I would like to know what made him a Mighty-Whitey (sincere here, would like to know any interesting characteristics) and Parallax do you mean in the movie of in the comics? Because as far as I know he's nothing like Galactus.

[ThePhantasm]

DC needs to stop copying Marvel. They are not very good at it.

Actually, to think of it, just about everything that was wrong with the GL movie can be attributed to this in some way or another. They were trying to copy the feel of the Marvel movies, and doing it badly. What has made the Marvel movies successful is some faithfulness to the tenor of the original comics... they change stuff (just ask X-Men fans) but they strike the right chords. This GL movie did that in a few places but in others it seemed too generic, too much like "lets copy a bit of Tony Stark here, a bit of Batman there, etc." I enjoyed the GL film but must admit in retrospect it seems rushed and diluted.

[Psyren]

I would like to know what made him a Mighty-Whitey (sincere here, would like to know any interesting characteristics)

He has the same Avatar problem of suddenly knowing more about being a Na'viLantern than the Lanterns do, and without even the nominal explanation of a training montage that Avatar had. He's convinced that green can beat yellow without giving us any reason he'd feel that way besides "I'm the protagonist so I know I can win."


and Parallax do you mean in the movie of in the comics? Because as far as I know he's nothing like Galactus.

I was comparing movie Parallax to movie Galactus, yes. Both are closer to the big ball of planet-busting evil from the Fifth Element than anything in their comic versions.

[Abies]

Even worse than that is how he runs into Hector at the party and they're all "Oh hey, what's up man! Long time no see!" and the audience is like "Buh???"

{Scrubbed}

We had seen Hal in a room with Tim Robbins, and they showed more than passing familiarity. We had seen Hector was the Senator's son, so we already know there is at MAXIMUM two levels of separation between the two guys. It is hardly outside the realm of acceptable believably (or reasonable amounts of confusion) to be able to understand and accept the two guys knew each other.

Nitpicking like this makes movies unenjoyable for some folks. I guess they are happier finding things to be confused or unhappy about rather than just enjoying a pleasant, mindless diversion.

And yes, I did like the movie. It was fun to watch And yes, I did note the multiple "discrepancies" between the comics and the movie. I still found it within myself to find to enjoyable and appreciate what the performers and storytellers had done. Were there logical inconsistencies? Sure. Were there parts that could have been better explained/explored? Sure Would exploring those "plot holes" made the product more enjoyable for 99.9% of the viewing audience? Nope, no need, they liked it fine.

Be happy they made the movie. They did not set out to personally offend us. All they wanted was to make money and perhaps entertain.

[Psyren]

You should know that passive-aggressive flaming is still flaming.

Rather than respond to you, I'll just link to this:

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/moviebob/8971-MovieBob-Green-Lantern-The-Fanboy-Free-Breakdown

[Green-Shirt Q]

I finally saw the movie yesterday. I don't think it's half as bad as critics say it is, but I'm having a hard time calling it a good movie. It was kinda boring and a lot of things in it didn't make any sense.

I just remember one part of the movie where Green Lantern all of a sudden breaks into a secret military base to fight Hector Hammond at exactly the right time, even though there's no way he could've known about it. My friends and I all shouted "WHAAAAT?!" in unison. We had a good laugh about that afterwards.

[EDIT]We also had something on an argument over Paralax. I asked the quetion "What would a giant cloud of sentient fear care if it was shot by missiles?" My friend shot back with the argument that if it was a physical being, it didn't matter if it was energy or a god-like being made of fear, it'll still freaking hurt. Thoughts on that?

[TheEmerged]

Saw it myself this weekend. It's nowhere near as bad as some people are claiming. It's in the 3 of 5 star range.

Are there flaws 2-3 minutes worth of explanation could have corrected? Yes. It's strange really, a lot of movies could use 5-10 minutes of wasted scenes editted out. This one apparently cut about 5-10 minutes it shouldn't have.

[KnightDisciple]

I really enjoyed this movie. I'd give it a B+, possibly scraping into an A-.

The plot was nice and tight, with no loose ends and no "wait, why didn't they try that" moments (at least not right now). The pacing was, barring just a couple of scenes, quite good.

The acting was, at worst, solid (if a touch cliche for one or two characters). The Lanterns, Guardians, Carol, and Hector were all good to great (Reynolds was spot-on and doing a great job).

The effects were great; I saw it in 2D and enjoyed it fine. I've heard 3D washes out color, which is a very bad thing in this film, but I can't give direct experience.

Overall, I'd love to see a sequel from this.

[KingofMadCows]

It wasn't bad but I definitely would have preferred if they had used the $200 million they spent on this movie to make another 10 seasons of DCAU shows.

[Zevox]

It wasn't bad but I definitely would have preferred if they had used the $200 million they spent on this movie to make another 10 seasons of DCAU shows.
Considering how much I've enjoyed some of those shows (Justice League, Teen Titans, Young Justice), I'd concur.

Then again, a Green Lantern cartoon series is already planned and in production anyway, so with any luck we'll get the best of both worlds yet. :smallsmile:

Zevox

[junglesteve]

I only had one thought through out the movie 'the 90s called they want their cheesy script back'