So it's no secret to anyone that knows me that I'm a Green Lantern fan. My van has a Green Lantern insignia on the back of it, for goodness sake. I don't hide it. Well, yesterday one of my biggest GL dreams were realized. The Green Lantern film was released, and in my opinion, did not disappoint!
Green Lantern stayed true to the methos. A dying alien, Abin Sur (Temuera Morrison) crash lands on Earth and bestows upon Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds) a power ring that grants the user the ability to create whatever he can imagine. Hal is not the most responsible person in the world, so the film follows Hal taking the reigns of power and becoming responsible. I feel a Spider-man quote coming on. Anyway on the flip side we have one of the villains, Hector Hammond (Peter Sarsgaard), who gets infected by Parallax (voiced by Clancy Brown), the other villain, and starts using his new abilities to take revenge on those that treat him wrong. From training on Oa to fighting Hammond and then Parallax, Hal becomes the hero without fear that the Corps requires.
I had a lot of trepidation when I heard Reynolds cast as Hal Jordan. Most of what we know Reynolds from is his wisecracking, goofball comedies. That was not the case in Green Lantern. Yes, there were times when Reynolds spouts off a few wisecracks, but for the most part it was toned down quite a bit. On the other side Reynolds really showed a different side when he delved into Hal's serious issues of inadequacy and self doubt. Another actor I enjoyed, and in my opinion had the hardest job, was Mark Strong as Sinestro. Any of you that know the GL methos knows that Sinestro is the GL turned villain in the GL mythology. Strong had the job of playing Sinestro as a good guy while hinting at his eventual turn. Strong did this perfectly. Showing his dedication to the Corps while showing a hint of superiority and frustration at the Guardians inability to act the way he thinks they should. Blake Lively's Carol Ferris was a shock to me. I've not had much experience with any of Lively's performances, but hearing she was an alum of Gossip Girl I was worried. Lively performed. She had the right amount of hard edge that makes me believe she could run a company, with the right amount of "girl the hero needs to save". Finally Sarsgaards performance of Hector Hammond was the right amount of villain you could sympathize with and creep that you want to see taken down.
GL great at tackling the deep emotional turmoil of the hero and plot, while keeping it light hearted enough to not depress you. Being a GL fan I couldn't have been more happy with the end result. GL was not only beautiful to look at, but fun and entertaining. There was solid performances from the main cast and great detail in the visual effects. The constructs Hal creates are fun and leaves you waiting to see what he creates next. I for one can't wait to see another movie.
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