The Masked Critic's Lair

The Masked Critic’s Review of The Green Lantern Movie 

Green Lantern a comic book superhero whose powers are only limited by his imagination. Yeah I wish the production of this film had been my imagination. There are so many comic book inaccuracies in this movie that I am positive that any comic book savvy Green Lantern fan was appalled. Let’s go down the list

1) Parallax was a parasitic entity dating back to the dawn of time and born from the yellow of the emotional spectrum. The parasite was the sentient embodiment of fear & resembles an insect/reptile hybrid made of clear yellow energy (much like a green lantern construct but yellow). Yet the film portrays Parallax as a fallen guardian of the green lantern corps, who looks like a float head shrouded in clods.

2) The villain Hector Hammond appearance in the comics is also very different in the movie. In the comics Hector’s head is drastically bigger to the point that his head is strapped to a chair to keep it straight & he needs a hover chair to get around. In addition in the comics he receives his powers from a meteor that landed near Abin Sur’s fallen space ship & not from a shard of yellow energy, AKA Parallax.

3) In the comic book Green Lantern/Hal Jordan is not a jokester & is often accused of being too serious. This is quite obvious a character defect & bad decision on casting Ryan Reynolds as Green Lantern/Hal Jordan as he is almost always plays a comedic character.

Ok now on to the Pros of this movie.

1) While Ryan Reynolds may not have portrayed his character correctly but three other actors portrayed there respected characters flawlessly. Although short lived Temuera Morrison portrayal of Hal Jordan’s predecessor Abin Sur was breathtaking. I felt as if I understood a lot about the character just from the few lines he spoke and his strong facial features. Mark Strong’s performance as Sinestro was awesome. Strong displayed Sinestro’s two key traits pride & arrogance without fail. He also set up the character perfectly for his fall from grace that took place briefly at the end of the movie & will take place in the sequel. Finally Michael Clarke Duncan’s voice acting on the character Kilowog. In the comic books Kilowog is a hardcore drill sergeant and is not to be messed with. Duncan’s deep voice and in your face attitude gave the perfect voice to a character that having originated in comic book never really had a voice.

2) The key thing I imagine worried those familiar with green lantern (be it through comics or animated shows) was how the constructs (green lantern energy forms) were going to look on the big screen mixed with real characters. Well after seeing the movie my worries were put to rest. The constructs looked awesome (especially in 3D). The best scene showcasing this was the sparring session between Hal & Sinestro.

3) I’ll admit that there were a bunch of funny and interesting Easter Eggs hidden throughout the movie that comic book lovers like me enjoyed. The first Easter egg is a symbol shown on Hal Jordan’s girl friend Carol Ferris’s pilot helmet. The symbol in the comics is that of the Star Sapphire or pink lantern corps (who Carol eventually joins and gains powers similar to that of a green lantern). The second Easter egg that I noticed is a present Hal gives to his nephew, it is a clear jet that I thought resembles the invincible jet that DC heroine Wonder Women piloted (other sites don’t list this one so it night just be me). Thirdly we have the appearance of Amanda Waller long story short in the comics she’s a hard-nosed character who’s made it her mission to keep super-powered beings in check by any means necessary (think DC’ version of Nick Fury). The fourth Easter egg is the appearance of many different species of green lantern corps members showcased throughout the comics, such as Bzzd(the fly/hornet), Stel (robot), Isamot Kol (lizard) and Hannu (the living stone warrior).Finally at the end of the film there is an after credit scene where (SUPER SPOILER) Sinestro unlocks the green force field containing the yellow lantern ring (FEAR) & places it on his finger becoming a yellow Lantern, who will no doubt (like in the comics) become a great threat to the universe and the green lantern corps.

Ok you can see why I did and didn’t enjoy the movie. Overall I give the movie a rating of 6 out of 10. I have great hopes that a sequel to this movie will be much great and that this movie served as a sort of test drive.

THE MASKED CRITIC HAS SPOKEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!