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)

Free Comic Book Day!

Come and join us at Tony's Kingdom of Comics in Keizer, Oregon on Saturday, May 2nd, 2009 for Free Comic Book Day!!! Enjoy free comics, artists, creators, and a whole slew of costumed people to have your picture taken with. 10AM to 7PM! Be there!

Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane

The first 2 issues of Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane (season 2) are out and I finally got around to reading them. Terry Moore is the author and that was my main reason for picking this title up. I'll admit it, I'm a Terry Moore fanboy now. After reading the first 5 issues of Echo and the first 6 trade paperbacks of Strangers In Paradise, I'll be reading anything Terry Moore writes. He's a fantastic writer. He really knows how to make stories personal. His stories are not your typical superhero action comics with very little character development. After reading just the first issue of one of his series, I feel very connected to the character(s). And it's no different for Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane.

The first series of this title was written by someone else and the art had an almost manga style to it, so I steered clear. It also looked like it was marketed towards teenage girls. I am not a teenage girl. I avoided it. But, since Terry Moore has picked up writing the current series, I decided to give it a whirl. Boy am I glad I did.

Yes, this is probably marketed to teenage girls, but that doesn't make it not good. It is a fun, clean, all-ages comic. That is rare these days. It's good story-telling and fantastic art. Here is the cover of issue #2:
So, yeah, I like it. I'm anxiously awaiting issue #3. The first two issues came out right on schedule - it's a monthly title. Since this is a mainstream Marvel title, hopefully they will stick to that schedule. Echo, Terry Moore's sci-fi title put out by Abstract Studios, has not been so regular. Echo has been coming out about every 6 weeks or so. And even that is not bad at all when compared to All-Star Batman & Robin or Fell (almost a year between issue #8 and #9 of Fell). When books come out that irregularly, it almost makes me want to not buy the issues and just wait the 2 years for the trade paperback to come out. But that won't happen :) The new issue comes out and I'm so excited that all past history is forgotten. LOL

Anyway, back to Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane. Mary Jane is the main character in this story. She and Peter Parker are sophomores in high school. It deals with high-school-type issues and is very much about the people, not so much whatever is going on in the story. Aunt May, J. Jameson, and the like are simply side-characters and we don't see much of them at all. This story revolves around Mary Jane and her experiences in high school.

It's a fun read. Not your typical capes and cowls superhero story. I'm liking it :)