Green Lantern: Movie Review

Let me start this off by saying that I am one of the last people on Earth who should be writing a review of this movie. Ever since I was six years old and got my Justice League action figures, I have been a Green Lantern fan. Superman, Batman, Robin, Wonder Woman, Flash, Hawkman, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, Green Arrow, Firestorm... I had them all... but Green Lantern was always my favorite. Well, 1989 came around and Tim Burton's Batman wowed me and I went through a bit of a Batman phase, but I always came back to Green Lantern. In 2007, I started reading comic books again after a long hiatus... and Green Lantern was the first thing I started with again. The Sinestro Corps War was going on and it was an amazing time to jump into the Green Lantern universe that Geoff Johns was writing and had been writing since 2004. I caught up quickly and was loving it. I read a lot of other comics too, but of the superhero comics, Green Lantern remained my favorite. I own three different Green Lantern t-shirts. I have a 1:6 scale Hal Jordan (13" tall) on a shelf at home. I wore a plastic Green Lantern power ring around town yesterday because I was excited about the movie. I am a Green Lantern fan... to the extreme.

Oh, wait... this was a movie review... not my life story in regards to superheros and comic books. lol! The movie. The movie felt like dessert. It was a real treat. Very cool to see the characters that I know and love come to life on the big screen in an epic galactic story. The Green Lantern constructs (green energy formed to whatever shape the wearer of the ring can imagine and will to create) were spot on! Those were especially fun to see in 3D. The 3D is not necessary in this movie, but it didn't feel like a gimmick either. The constructs definitely benefited from the 3D, but the action sequences were a little choppy since it was 3D... even Avatar was that way and it was the best 3D I've ever seen. I was glad I went to a 3D showing, but for my next viewing (tomorrow), I'll be going to a 2D showing =o)

But back to the movie itself. Visually stunning. The fanboy inside me was jumping for joy at every new character and every new development =o) But enough of the good... I do have my complaints. I wish it was longer. I wanted to see more. More of all of the characters. More of Hal's training on Oa. More of Parallax influencing people. I felt like most things were cut short or rushed. The movie was an hour and 45 minutes... it could have easily been a three hour movie. There was a lot of story to tell and a lot of ground to cover. For someone like me, who knows the characters and the mythos of the Green Lantern universe, that wasn't a show-stopper, just a mild disappointment that I could easily overlook. I know why it wasn't longer... it was an expensive movie to make. So much special effects have to take place when you're doing things on planets that don't exist and using powers that can only be created by artists using a computer. I am very hopeful for a sequel (or maybe even a trilogy) that will give them more freedom to tell the story. In a sequel, the characters will already be established and the origin story already told... with minimal setup, they could jump right in to a great story... like with Batman Begins and then The Dark Knight. Or with Iron Man and then Iron Man 2... oh wait... not so much that last one... I thought Iron Man was awesome and Iron Man 2 really fell flat for me. Anyway, back to Green Lantern.

I think I've done well trying to remove myself from my extreme love of Green Lantern to at least give a somewhat objective review. I loved it. I think Iron Man was a better movie, but I enjoyed Green Lantern more because it was Green Lantern. So, basically... everyone should go see Green Lantern right now! That will ensure a sequel and maybe even a trilogy! :D Also, take all of this not only with my extreme bias in mind, but also knowing that I'm writing this after getting very little sleep and operating entirely on caffeine. But yeah, I loved it. Awesomeness. I can't wait to see it again. I'll pre-order the blu-ray the day it can be pre-ordered from Amazon. It will take great self-control to not see it more than twice in theaters. Maybe it will come to the cheap theater in town sooner than later. I'm just as giddy and happy after seeing it as I was waiting in anticipation before seeing it. I don't care what the critics say, this was a movie made for me... and it delivered. Not perfect, but great none the less =o)