Superhero movies have been huge over the last decade. But for every one becoming a hit others have failed to take flight. Green Lantern is a good example. While known to the majority of comic book readers, non-fans may struggle. Such is the peril of these films. If it isn’t a ‘known property’ ingrained in people’s consciousness making it work can be difficult. Given Green Lantern has been one of the year’s biggest flops showing just what a tightrope such films endure.
Working as a test pilot for an aviation company, Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds) lives for the skies. Little does he know destiny arrives when an alien crash-lands on earth. Approaching the dying sentinel, the being gives Jordan a ring bringing him great power. Becoming a green tinged superhero named Green Lantern, his foray into the hero business is tested by Parallax (Peter Sarsgaard) who aims to destroy Earth. Learning to become the hero he wants to be, Jordan tries to become the emerald knight before a threatened dark dawn appears.
Green Lantern achieves the dubious feat of becoming one of those rare superhero movies where nothing happens. Although the usual origin story trajectory is shown along with the requisite action, goofy sidekicks and romantic subplot, all of which we have seen before. Director Martin Campbell seems content to offer nothing more than the norm for a genre film like this and approaches the script as if he’s directing Chekhov.
These movies are meant to be fun not a chore. It’s difficult to enjoy as the story takes forever to get going and crams in way too much of the comic book mythology into one film. The narrative is overly complicated and this sinks some admittedly fine performances, especially from Reynolds who does his best. He is aided by some quite remarkable special effects – although at times it appears the film-makers seem more content on creating spectacle than engaging plot.
Occasionally having its moments, Green Lantern is a generally dull plod through the catalogue of superhero clichés. For every hit hero movie there are misfires like these which serve as a reminder to stick to a simple story where fun and excitement are paramount.
Movie Review Rating 4 / 10
Movie Review by Patrick Moore
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Patrick Moore's Movie Review is an alternative look at current movie releases in Australia.
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