Green Lantern: Grading, Review, Discuss, Tracking, Sequel?

Discussion in 'Science Fiction & Fantasy' started by Captain Craig, Jun 16, 2011.

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How would you grade Green Lantern?

Poll closed Jan 2, 2012.
  1. A+

    5 vote(s)
    3.5%
  2. A

    7 vote(s)
    4.9%
  3. A-

    11 vote(s)
    7.7%
  4. B+

    20 vote(s)
    14.1%
  5. B

    18 vote(s)
    12.7%
  6. B-

    23 vote(s)
    16.2%
  7. C+

    10 vote(s)
    7.0%
  8. C

    15 vote(s)
    10.6%
  9. C-

    13 vote(s)
    9.2%
  10. D+

    4 vote(s)
    2.8%
  11. D

    3 vote(s)
    2.1%
  12. D-

    3 vote(s)
    2.1%
  13. F

    10 vote(s)
    7.0%
  1. Admiral2

    Admiral2 Admiral Admiral

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    I'm sorry. Next time I'll be sure my honest opinion about an actor is as brilliant and well thought out as the giant alien space clouds, just to please you. :rolleyes::rolleyes:
     
  2. Neroon

    Neroon Mod of Balance Moderator

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    Just got back from seeing the film, and.... it more or less met my expectations. Which weren't that high in the first place. Mind you, I'm coming from a lack of familiarity with the GL universe. At any rate, I'm not entirely certain what it was that disappointed me. I had been concerned the special effects would overwhelm things, but honestly.... they didn't do that at all. I think what I didn't care for was the characters themselves. I cared not at all about them, seeing a lack of dimension in about everyone except Hector. He was at least pitiable for the most part. But the rest.... meh. Ryan Reynolds seemed to snark his way through it though I did find a few of his lines funny enough. Carol..... well, I'm with Admiral2 on her character as well as Blake Lively's performance.

    I won't be TOO surprised if there's a sequel... but it won't shock me if there isn't one either. I think the film tried to wow folks with the effects and all... but we've seen so much of that already. Sure it was pretty... but that's about it. There are plenty of worse films out there, even in the superhero genre... but in the end I guess I was bored with it. Which is saying something with Lively on screen.
     
  3. Trekker4747

    Trekker4747 Boldly going... Premium Member

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    Who's that one movie critic who always counters the flow, like if it's a raved about movie he says it sucks and if it's a piece of shit movie he elevates it to Citizen Cane levels of great?

    What's his take on GL?
     
  4. Captain Craig

    Captain Craig Vice Admiral Admiral

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    ^^^^
    Armond White?
    I don't see his review listed on RT.
     
  5. Timby

    Timby o yea just like that Administrator

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    Armond White, and no, he hasn't reviewed the movie yet.
     
  6. Trekker4747

    Trekker4747 Boldly going... Premium Member

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    That's what I thought his name was but for some reason I kept telling myself that was the name of some lame comedian who's special only airs on HBO at 2 AM.
     
  7. DarKush

    DarKush Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Checked out the film today. I thought it was decent. It was better than I expected, but I'm not sure that's saying much. The film wasn't as jokey as the first trailer suggested and Ryan Reynolds (while still not my favorite choice) did well enough in the role. Same with all of the actors, though some are not given much to do.

    I never liked the look of the characters or designs from the trailers and other promotional work. It looks slightly better on film for me, but I still wasn't super impressed. Parallax plays better in the film, once his movie origin is explained, though I still don't care for his look. Stay after the credits, there's a tease for a potential sequel.

    The film moved at a brisk pace, and it covered a lot of territory, but perhaps it breezed by so much stuff, the film didn't feel weighty enough for me. I never got that sense of dread that should've been permeating the film as Parallax steadily made his way across the galaxy. Some critics have derided the climax. I didn't think it was as much of a letdown as some other critics do, however, the CGI was shaky in spots.

    If there is a sequel I would watch it, but I didn't leave the theater wishing there would be another sequel. Only Mark Strong's Sinestro left me wanting to see more of him. I don't think the film delivered on giving us enough memorable moments to make us want another sequel.


    Spoilers below....

    I think because they covered so much territory so quickly, perhaps I missed some things or got confused, but early on the narrator (Tomar Re I think) tells about Abin Sur stopping Parallax, but after he escapes Ryut, it seems like the Guardians or Sinestro at least don't know who he is. It confused me. I also don't get why a being as powerful as Parallax wasn't in a more secure location. I summed it up to maybe not wanting guards to be tempted by Parallax. But why not have automated systems to make sure he is imprisoned or to keep people from haplessly coming across his cell?

    I also didn't get why Parallax shifted from destroying Oa to going after Earth. What's the big deal about destroying the man who succeeded the man who captured you if you've already killed the dude that captured you? Parallax stated that once he consumed Earth he would have enough power to take on the Guardians, but there was no indication that he needed Earth at all before, and it felt like they just threw that in to shore up his other justification and to center the action on Earth. Plus, previously Parallax had just cut through Sinestro's hand-picked elite squad like it wasn't nothing. It didn't appear that he needed Earth to take out Oa to me. It goes back to the tired Earth in peril plot that too many sci-fi movies rely on. It's like audiences will only care if Earth is threatened. If the film had actually spent more time on Oa and fleshed out the Corps better I think that would've made non-GL affiliated audience care enough about Oa to have that be the center of the film.

    Perhaps it was for cost reasons, or to establish Hal as a badass by having him take on Parallax alone, but that didn't make sense to me either. His training is far too brief before he quits the Corps and returns to Earth; didn't make sense to me because the Guardians let him keep the ring and the lantern. Seems like they would've taken it from him or he would've given it back to them. That would've made his decision to quit actually feel real. I also didn't care for Hal going to Oa just in time to stop them from unleashing Sinestro with the yellow ring on Parallax's ass to essentially tell them that he's going to take on Parallax alone.

    If you're going to take on Parallax alone, why ask for their permission or go tell them, just do it. Then again, I wonder why not just ask for their help? Why not demand it? And why wouldn't the Guardians override him? Seeing the Corps fight together to save Earth or Oa could've been an oh shit moment this film really needed.

    As for Parallax overall I got mixed feelings. I sort of liked how they combined his story with Krona's IMO and I liked how he ripped the fear and people's souls right out, but I didn't care for the dirty cloud look. I don't think Parallax was the best villain to start out the franchise with. He's the type of villain you work up for. I wish they had followed Secret Origins more and had Atrocitus be the one who killed Abin Sur and have Hal and Sinestro work together to hunt him down.

    As for others:
    -Blake Lively did okay as the love interest Carol Ferris. I thought she and Reynolds had nice chemistry. Unfortunately I was looking at her character through the prism of what she is to become and I wished they had picked an actress with more edge. I can't see Lively being a credible villain, though she might look okay in the Star Sapphire bikini.

    -Peter Sarsgaard as Hector Hammond. I thought he was creepy enough, though sometimes his delivery was weird. I didn't care for his makeup, but he turned out to be a decent villain.

    -Angela Bassett as Amanda Waller. They didn't give her much to do, but her backstory does get told courtesy of Hammond's telepathy. Her fate was left unknown, but hopefully they will bring her back. And hopefully she'll get to be more villainous and calling the shots.

    -Tim Robbins was okay as Hammond's disappointed father.

    -The Corps: There wasn't much focus on them. Kilowog's one training scene was pretty much the long and short of his appearance in the film. Tomar Re didn't get much face time either. Sinestro got a little more. Regarding Sinestro, the after credits tease with him becoming a Yellow Lantern didn't make much sense since Parallax had already been defeated, and the reason for taking on the yellow ring was to combat him. I wish they had went more with the comics story of his fall. That could've been a good follow up film. But it appears that me might come out the gate evil in a second film.

    -It was never explained why Abin Sur needed a starship. I thought I read somewhere that they would address that.

    Hovering between B- and C+
     
    Last edited: Jun 17, 2011
  8. Kegg

    Kegg Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    A pretty dire prognostication for this flick, nay, the costumed-punchy-people genre, in the Irish Times.

    Tara Brady observes (from her review):
     
    Last edited: Jun 18, 2011
  9. JD

    JD Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I'm sooo torn on this movie. I love the GL mythos, and I want to see the movie, but the reviews are making me really nervous. I was really hoping everyone on here would love it, but the majority of you guys seem to be saying pretty much the same things as the critics, and honestly that has a much bigger impact on me than the pro critcis.
     
  10. Timby

    Timby o yea just like that Administrator

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    Like I said earlier, it's not offensively awful or anything, it's just kind of ... there. I do think it's a better rental, as opposed to dumping $22 on tickets.
     
  11. JD

    JD Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Yeah, and I don't like seeing movies alone, and if I go with my mom then I have pay for her, which takes me up to $30 bucks.
     
  12. DarKush

    DarKush Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Though I'm inclined to agree with Timby, I say go see it to make up your own mind. I don't think it's a bad film, but I don't think it left me wanting more. Not enough gee whiz moments, though some of the constructs were pretty cool.
     
  13. OdoWanKenobi

    OdoWanKenobi Admiral Admiral

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    Maybe it helped to have my expectations in the gutter, but I actually kinda enjoyed it. Oh sure, there's plenty of problems. There's not enough action, and a very thin plot with some cliches and contrivances. What is there I found fun enough, though. Reynold has charisma that manages to carry the movie. The action sequences that are there are all pretty original and look great. The only weak link in the cast is Blake Lively. It's odd that, too, since she was great in The Town. Here she's just phoning it in.

    The movie does focus almost entirely on Hal, instead of the Cop. If you've seen the trailers, you've pretty much seen everything that Sinestro, Kilowog, and Tomar Re do in the film. The rest of the Corp do absolutely nothing. I actually hope this gets a sequel. Now that the origin is out of the way, perhaps we can do a less Earth-bound story focusing more on the Corp as a whole. Maybe bring John Stewart and Guy Gardner into the mix?

    As for the special effects, well, sometimes they work and sometimes they don't. I had reservations about the suit. On Earth it looks just fine. On Oa, it sometimes looks like Ryan Reynolds's disembodied head is floating on a CGI background. The constructs all look great, though, and are used pretty originally. I especially enjoyed Hal's solution to an out of control helicopter.

    So yeah, in finale, I enjoyed it well enough despite its obvious flaws. For movies this summer that I've seen I would rank it ahead of On Stranger Tides, and behind Thor.

    Oh, and don't get up to leave as soon as the credits start rolling. There's a small scene partway through that made me happy with nerd-glee. It's probably not hard to figure it out, as it's something we all wanted to see.
     
  14. Sagart

    Sagart Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    'Green Lantern' is a very frustrating movie. There are parts of it that are good, one or two that are very good but it's laboured with a poor script and awful editing; but, for long periods, it commits what I believe to be the cardinal sin of superhero movies - it's boring. If they make a sequel, and I hope they do, make it more sci-fi, more galactic. Leave the Earth bound stuff to Batman and Spiderman!
    Here’s hoping if they get a sequel it’ll be more ‘Wrath of Khan’ than ‘Motion Picture’. Think about it – Parallax=Big, floaty thing in Space=V’Ger (hard to grasp threat to humanity). Sinestro=Intelligent, charismatic, real personal threat=Khan (mano a mano with GL). Bring It On!!
     
  15. Captain Craig

    Captain Craig Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I honestly think she misses the mark on THOR "didn't make a thunderous boom", I doubt even the studio was expecting another $300m Iron Man. They knew the property was a tougher sell. The movie's made $175m and almost $435m Worldwide, hardly a squeaker. As for X-Men, it's the 5th entry and I'm sure with Singer on board they would like $200m but if it does about like Singer's first X-men movie(which it's more on track to do) that's not all bad.
    Green Lantern is not perfect but Airport '79? As a comparison I find that a bit full of hyperbole.
     
  16. Dream

    Dream Admiral Admiral

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    http://www.deadline.com/2011/06/green-lantern-makes-3-35m-midnights/

    Looks like GL is going to make about the same as Thor for its first weekend, around 60-65 million. Very good numbers.
     
  17. Kegg

    Kegg Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    In other words... it didn't make a thunderous boom?

    Perhaps. Though it's an interesting thought that hadn't occurred to me - that the current glut of superhero films may not be a constant for the forseeable future. Obviously, even if true that wouldn't mean an end to superhero films, just as we still get disaster movies (2012, everyone), and there was a superhero film contemporaneous with the age of the disaster film I'm sure many here are familiar with.

    Food for thought, anyhow.
     
  18. Trekker4747

    Trekker4747 Boldly going... Premium Member

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    Okay, I've not seen GL yet, and I've not seen Airport '79 in ages but I don't see how the two movies could ever be used as a basis for comparison on one another.

    And god how is that awful-looking Mr. Popper's Penguins having such an "impressive" opening? :wtf:

    I'll likely go see Green Lantern tomorrow night and right now I'd look to give it a B- pushing C+ which, for me, is a fairly low grade considering a movie has to be pretty bad or dull for me to put it in the C group of grading.
     
  19. Admiral Buzzkill

    Admiral Buzzkill Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    How can a movie review make someone "nervous?" You either like a movie when you watch it or you don't.

    Deadline has the Friday box office totals at 24 million dollars now, with the movie tracking toward 60 million plus for the weekend - better than X-Men, slightly behind (if the numbers hold) Thor despite being on several hundred fewer screens and no IMAX. Some folks at Warners are breathing deep sighs of relief tonight.

    My favorite moment was Carol: "I've seen you naked, you think I won't recognize you because I can't see your cheekbones?" I've always wanted to see that who-are-you-kidding-with-that-mask moment in a superhero movie, and this one finally delivered. :lol: :techman:
     
  20. Trekker4747

    Trekker4747 Boldly going... Premium Member

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    Movie reviews reflect the opinions of people who've seen the movie. If most reviewers/people who've seen the film are giving it negative word of mouth then there's a greater chance that the movie isn't good than if it was the other way around.

    If a person has a vested interest in the movie or its character(s) it could make them nervous that movie getting a large number of negative reviews isn't doing that character/franchise justice and thus the enjoyment of the movie isn't likely.