Banana Scoop

A month or so ago, I reviewed Captain America: The First Avenger and labeled it as a decent superhero flick that ultimately broke no new ground in the genre and then proceeded to give it 2/5 Stars.  So after watching Green Lantern, I want to do either one of two things: Raise The Cap’s score or give this one an even more dismal rating.  This is a result of me realizing that I might have realized that Marvel is doing their superhero franchise more credit than I give out because with Green Lantern I witnessed just how bad you could make a superhero movie.  With more green screen then actual green in a movie about green aliens, Green Lantern embarrasses itself with weak writing, a rushed plot, and a hero that just might be trying a little too hard.

Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds) is an irresponsible but competent fighter plane pilot who, after a mysterious flashback to his own father’s death, gets kicked out of the force for wrecking a valued plane.  It’s only the beginning here when simultaneously, a purple alien hits Earth after being mortally wounded by an enemy.  Asking his magic ring to find a suitable hero, Hal finds him self confronted to the alien, where he eventually accepts his presence, and takes the ring.  After some corny cliche first superhero moments [the awkward activation, the accidental superhero moment, and the training], guess what Hal does?  He quits.  But not for long, cliche hero moments come to the rescue when he turns it all around to save the day.

You hold no significance. At all.

Oh yeah, and drama about Fear is also occurring.  I saw it like that because they consistently bring up the ideas of Fear, Willpower, and Fearlessness, and it comes across as half-as*ed.  That’s the first thing about this movie I did not enjoy.  Everything seemed to be half-as*ed.  Whether it be the lack of chemistry between his love interest Blake Lively, Reynold’s general charm, or the way the script is written.  I understand The Green Lantern is a cherished superhero franchise who has a very valued message of confronting fear and having lots of will power and such in the comic books, a message that probably took nearly 40 years to solidify.  But it’s screen adaptation tries to squeeze in all that history and folklore in the two hours while simultaneously trying to make Reynold’s as charming as possible, as well as make a decent action movie.  In the end, all three come up extremely short.

Green Lantern falls to tired superhero formula, whereas likely 6 years ago this movie would have been a great addition to the superhero genre.  I continue to reiterate that if a superhero movie is made, it must break new ground to be able to do well.  My opinions of successful superhero movies are The Dark Knight, Spiderman, and Iron Man for all three very different reasons.  The Dark Knight had a superb script and supporting acting.  Spiderman broke new ground in the superhero genre for creating a relatable hero with a great script and action, and Iron Man simply put a fresh face on superhero as Tony Stark, the likable smart as*.  So when a movie like Green Lantern shows up and tries to replicate the success of these movies, I’m always disappointed.  Ryan Reynold’s tries to be as likable as Tony Stark, but he surprises us in no ways Robert Downey Jr. did, the action isn’t as pulse pounding as some of the Spiderman sequences, and the villains and supporting characters aren’t anywhere near as memorable as Ledger’s Joker.

Oh my, what corny dialogue you have.

You might think it’s wrong to compare movies one to another this way, but I don’t think there’s any other way.  With movies that have such a similar plot structure, this is indeed the absolute best way to compare them.  What I’m looking for in a superhero movie is something I’ve never seen before.  Retire the damsel in distress, retire the quick witted hero, retire it all and come up with something new.  All in all, Green Lantern was a loathsome endeavor that I had myself leaning back in my chair, thinking why?

1/5 Stars

Once again Cap, I'm sorry I gave you such a score close to this one, because in all honesty you're miles ahead of this guy.