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| Ryan Reynolds as Hal Jordan |
The story was a fairly obvious origin piece. In that comic movies never stick strictly to their source (Sin City excluded) certain elements were changed to make the story appealing to a wider audience. Hector Hammond (Peter Saarsgard) is one of Hal Jordan's earliest villains, if not his first (because would the Puppet Master really have held up in this day and age?) and his origins are tweaked to connect him more directly to the movie's larger antagonist, Parallax (a far more modern addition to the GL mythos). None of the changes to the details were offensive enough to this aficionado, helping to create a tighter story.
Reynolds does an OK turn as Hal Jordan, cocky womanizing test pilot with a soft spot for his boss, Carol Ferris (Blake Lively). He has the confidence, but to me, Hal has never been the jokester that Reynolds is known to be. After hearing so many rumors of Reynolds playing the Flash (one would assume the Wally West incarnation) and after seeing him play the ultimate loudmouth Deadpool, I was not completely sold on his Hal Jordan. Lively is indeed lively as Carol, going from no nonsense business woman to high flying test pilot to tender love interest with no jarring transition. It will be interesting to see if they follow her transformation into Star Sapphire in any of the subsequent sequels to see how Lively handles becoming a villain. Saarsgard's Hammond is forgettable, and we never quite get the connection between he and Hal other than they are rivals for Carol's affection, apparently.
But the strongest performance is turned in by Mark Strong. His Sinestro is the perfect blend of confidence, leadership, and disdain for weakness that we would have expected. Stick around through the first part of the credits for the (hopeful) promise of a sequel that may surpass it's predecessor.
The CGI was a little bit clunky at times, especially when it had anything to do with flying, specifically landing. But the construct effects were spectacular, with some wide variety shown during Hal's hilariously brief training session. The set pieces were well realized, with some definite nods to the comic sources including the monuments to fallen Lanterns. There are Easter Eggs galore in the gatherings of Lanterns (beyond the obvious Kilowog and Tomar-Re), as I recognized no fewer than a dozen characters; Stel, Salaak, Boodikka, Bzzd, Medphyll, K'ryssma and several others whose names I may have never known.
The movie was a little slow at times, but by and large it delivered an entertaining experience. I am hoping for a sequel, as there were areas that could be improved and openings for some of the more interesting concepts to carry over from the comics (the other Lantern Corps, Manhunters, etc.)
Not the best movie I have ever seen, and not the best Green Lantern movie possible. I was actually more impressed with Green Lantern: First Flight, the animated feature that came out last year. But a somewhat solid offering.
For those wondering: there are no mentions whatsoever (that I could detect) of any other DC Comics property (no mentions of Metropolis, Gotham or Thymescria). So no hints as to the proposed Justice League feature.
