The Green Lantern [M]

In a universe that is as vast as it is mysterious, exists an elite force of protectors for peace and justice: they are the Green Lantern Corps and they have been protecting the universe by using the power of will against the power of fear for centuries. But now, a new enemy called Parallax threatens to destroy the universe and it falls to the Green Lantern’s newest recruit, the first human ever selected, to prove his species’ worth and save the day. 

In a word, this film was meh. “Meh”, I find a nice and short word that clearly describes a film that is neither good not bad, but just there. The Green Lantern was one such film. 

In a universe that is as vast as it is mysterious, exists an elite force of protectors for peace and justice: they are the Green Lantern Corps and they have been protecting the universe using the power of will against the power of fear for centuries. But now, a new enemy called Parallax threatens to destroy the universe and all worlds in its way, and it falls upon the Green Lantern’s newest recruit, the first human ever selected, to prove his species’ worth and save the day. 

I think the one thing that sort of blemished this film for me was the fact that everything happened really quickly with little or no explanation as to what the hell was going on, or who any of the characters were, or what ties they had with other characters. Everything was thrown at you and just happened really randomly and fast: one minute Hal, the film’s protagonist, is training to be a Green Lantern, the next, he’s all alone saving the Earth from being engulfed by the crusty space-cloud-thing that was Parallax. It was all very jagged with hardly any room for the audience to breathe and take everything in; like being on a road full of speed bumps in a car with a driver going over the limit. 

Having said that, though, the people who did the special effects should be getting free drinks. The special effects of the materialisation of the Green Lantern weapons, Parallax, and all the fight and hero sequences were pretty damn cool and the only thing that could keep your eyes glued to the screen, thereby making the time go a lot faster. 

Starring Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Peter Sarsgaard, Mark Strong, Tim Robbins, and Geoffrey Rush, The Green Lantern was an alright movie that did have its odd moments. I have to admit that I struggled to keep up with the story, but I did like the idea of the whole will-versus-fear thing. There were some strong and good messages there. 

Filled with action, aliens, great special effects, pretty cool fight sequences, romance, and the occasional bit of comedy, it’s really just a film that was there and nothing more.