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

[davejames]

Professor Zoom wrote:

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I hate upconverted. Alice in Wonderland's 3D was shit, big waste of money. Didn't help the movie sucked too.

I have to imagine it was the crappy upconverted 3D (which was probably very dark and muddled) that made the critics hate it as much as they did. Because at the very worst, the 2D version I saw should have gotten like a 40-50% score.

25% just doesn't make any sense to me.

[The Wormhole]

No, not impressed with this at all. It's basically generic superhero origin stuff. We start with a guy living his normal life. He's a bit of an asshole but really a good intentioned guy with his heart in the right place despite his attitude and frequently screwing up. Then one day while minding his own business, he becomes a superhero and ends up saving the world as his trial by fire. Total and complete yawn.

3-D sucks, and I hate that my theatre is basically insisting we see movies that way by making it impossible to see 2-D showings. 3-D is hardly utilized, so I'm basically wearing glasses that makes my eyes hurt, give the picture a darker tint and oh yeah, makes the movie cost $17.00 to see. Really, Avatar was the only movie which was properly suited to 3-D and actually justified the higher price, even if it did suck.

[Professor Zoom]

davejames wrote:

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I have to imagine it was the crappy upconverted 3D (which was probably very dark and muddled) that made the critics hate it as much as they did. Because at the very worst, the 2D version I saw should have gotten like a 40-50% score.

25% just doesn't make any sense to me.

Maybe the critics were also responding to the craptastic story. It doesn't matter if it's in 3 or 2D... Alice blows. And not in the good way.

[Professor Zoom]

Samurai8472 wrote:

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http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=3190&p=.htm

woah. That sounds totally familiar.

http://trekbbs.com/showpost.php?p=5046286&postcount=140

[Guy Gardener]

Not a bad story, just small and simple.

They could have squeezed every thing they had into 20 minutes and continued the story to a larger conclusion.

But it's nice to see that the Smoke Monster is still getting work post Lost.

[davejames]

Professor Zoom wrote:

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Maybe the critics were also responding to the craptastic story. It doesn't matter if it's in 3 or 2D... Alice blows. And not in the good way.

Oops sorry, should have specified I was talking about GL there.

[The Borgified Corpse]

Ugh. These official review threads are so difficult to read nowadays. Too much box office speculation, not enough examination of the creative merits of the movie.

The Wormhole wrote:

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3-D sucks, and I hate that my theatre is basically insisting we see movies that way by making it impossible to see 2-D showings. 3-D is hardly utilized, so I'm basically wearing glasses that makes my eyes hurt, give the picture a darker tint and oh yeah, makes the movie cost $17.00 to see. Really, Avatar was the only movie which was properly suited to 3-D and actually justified the higher price, even if it did suck.

I pretty much agree there. Thankfully, most of the big theaters here in Tempe, AZ give the option of 3-D or 2-D. All things being equal, I pick 2-D every time (with the exceptions of Avatar & Tron Legacy, both of which had the otherworldly feel greatly enhanced by the 3-D). But most of the time when I see 3-D, it's only because the 3-D showing was at a more convenient time.

Noname Given wrote:

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One spoilerish comment:

The ending scene (for me) just came out of nowhere. After hearing Hals speech to the Guardians and praising him for a job well done/reminding Sinestro of the Latern Ring's ability to choose corectly - he just goes off and puts on the Yellow/fear ring? I the original GL continuity, I believe Sinestro was expelled and crafted the yellow ring himself for use in revenge. I would have lliked to SEE something like that rather then a quick end clip of him doning the ring and having the uniiform turn yellow.

Yeah. That seemed like such a forced set up and Sinestro seemed like a much smarter guy than someone who would fall for something that totally had "BAD IDEA" written on it in big bold letters.

Overall, I thought the movie was decent but nothing special. This was my first real exposure to the Green Lantern (other than Justice League: The New Frontier). I think his powers are pretty cool but the movie itself is pretty anemic. I found myself really wishing that I was watching Reynolds play the Green Lantern in a Justice League movie. I can put up with fun-but-unremarkable Marvel movies like Iron Man 2 & Thor because I know they have a plan, building up to the massive Avengers movie next summer. Since DC doesn't currently have such a plan, I'm much less patient.

Reynolds was his decent, motor-mouthed self but Hal Jordan can't hold a candle to Tony Stark in the lovable asshole department. Still, Reynolds has the chance to redeem himself if he still gets to make that Deadpool movie they were talking about a couple years ago.

Blake Lively was surprisingly charismatic considering her CW pedigree. Too bad most of the other supporting characters (particularly the Earthly ones) don't make much of an impression.

[Mr Light]

I just read the Secret Origin comic today. There was a lot more of that in the movie than I remembered. I forgot Hector Hammond was it (but briefly, not as the main villain). I still wish they did that story instead, only if Atrocious had his Red Lantern powers. The best thing about it is the bonding of Hal and Sinestro.

[KB24]

I haven't seen this one, and don't intend to in the theater, rental tops, but I do want to share what put me off of seeing this one, as I like the comic book.

Too much effing CGI. After the trailer, I get this Ang Lee Hulk vibe most definitely. Yes, you are going to need graphics to adapt this material, but did everything remotely possible have to be cg? I learned my lesson with the whole gungan versus droids battle in The Phantom Menace.

I'll wait for dvd. If something stinks in 3D, seeing it on video won't much matter.

[timothy]

I have no doubt that gl will make it's money back and more. I plan to see it tomarrow after work. now the real question is do you have to stay to the end of the credits?

[The Borgified Corpse]

I suppose a turn to the dark side was inevitable. Even if you're not familiar with the comics story, he's still called Sinestro for pete's sake! Also, he's played by Mark Strong, who did a fairly good turn as a good guy here but is just so much more perfect at oozing menace in films like Robin Hood & Sherlock Holmes.

Here's my ranking of the 4 big summer movies I've seen so far:
1. X-Men: First Class. It's been a long time since I've been this excited about a movie this good.
2. Thor. Unremarkable but with a lot of fun performances, particularly from Chris Hemsworth, Kat Dennings, & Clark Gregg.
3. Green Lantern. It's not as good as Thor but it's kind of on the same tier.
4. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. It just totally smacks of disinterest and a deliberate lack of effort.

Ranked among Martin Campbell movies, it's quite a disappointment considering this is they guy who gave us Goldeneye, Casino Royale, & The Mask of Zorro.

Ranking it among comic book movies, there are 3 tiers:

TOP-- This is where I put excellence, both universally acknowledged excellence--like the Tim Burton & Chris Nolan Batman movies, Spider-Man, Superman, the 1st couple Blade movies, & the 1st couple X-Men movies--as well as overlooked gems like Constantine, Daredevil, Superman Returns, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990), TMNT (2007), & V for Vendetta.

MIDDLE-- This is where Green Lantern goes, alongside other fun diversions like Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Thor, Hellboy, The Crow, Superman II, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II, and, on a good day, mediocre sequels to greatness floating on the good will of the originals like Spider-Man 2, Spider-Man 3, X-Men: The Last Stand, & X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

BOTTOM-- Of course, there are several levels of Hell, ranging from stuff I absolutely despise (300, Sin City, Superman IV, The Punisher (Tom Jane or Dolph Lundgren versions)) to tragic misfires (Watchmen, Superman III, anything with Hulk or Fantastic Four in the title) to guilty pleasures of mine (Elektra, Ghost Rider, Blade Trinity, Batman Forever, Batman & Robin, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III).

[Trekker4747]

So, The Green Lantern's powers have no effect on yellow-colored objects, right?

So who wins in a fight between him and The Bride?

[RAMA]

OK so I wrote a long review and lost it in a crash...so needless to say at the moment I'm just going to post a grade...B+

Grrr

Edit: Some quick thoughts: I thought the animated movie was better overall. I saw the movie in 3D and I enjoyed that aspect. Its only my second one but I enjoyed indoctrinating a newcomer to it as well and she was gasping at the beginning! I thought Oa was breathtaking. Weakest part: the ending. More on this tomo...

RAMA

[RAMA]

Trekker4747 wrote:

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So, The Green Lantern's powers have no effect on yellow-colored objects, right?

So who wins in a fight between him and The Bride?

Nope, its simply a color for various emotional states or thought processes, yellow is fear, green is will, etc. The relative strength of each is defined by the mastery and strength of the user, though generally it appears will and fear are the strongest. Its no longer an impurity in the battery.

RAMA

[Samurai8472]

The Borgified Corpse wrote:

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Ranked among Martin Campbell movies, it's quite a disappointment considering this is they guy who gave us Goldeneye, Casino Royale, & The Mask of Zorro.

His only dud was "Legend of Zorro" which had the annoying kid factor. It didn't have feeling of the first movie. It was like "Spy Kids"

"Edge of Darkness" was partially due to Gibson's antics