Green Lantern is probably one the most anticipated comic book movies of the summer, and although it's a fun movie, it wasn't as good as X-Men: First Class. The special effects and 3D were great, which is why I am giving it a "Yes" review, but the plot was only so-so. I am betting that there will be a sequel to the film, and perhaps they will be able to work out the kinks more in that movie since it will be the second in the series.
Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds, "Buried") works as a test pilot at Ferris Aircraft with the lovely Carol (Blake Lively, TV's "Gossip Girl"), whose father owns the company. One night, Hal is transported across town in a green bubble and stumbles upon a dying alien in a spaceship, who bequeaths to him a green lantern and a ring, which has "chosen [Hal]," the alien says. Hal soon realizes that this ring has special powers, and he must be trained to harness these powers and use them to defeat the evil Parallax that has been killing other Green Lantern fighters.
The movie started off a bit slow but then picked up, and the action scenes were great. There are some strong supporting actor appearances as well - Mark Strong ("The Eagle") as Sinestro, who helps to train Hal's character; Peter Sarsgaard ("Knight and Day") as the evil Hector, with whom Parallax is in cahoots; and Angela Bassett ("Jumping the Broom") as a government agent who wants to find out more about the alien that Hal found. Sarsgaard steals the show in his role, but Ryan Reynolds and Blake Livery did well in their roles as well.
Yes, see this movie. I have a lot of complaints about it, but in the end, the special effects and 3D won out in determining my rating. Some even went as far as to call the movie "cheesy," but I think it's more of a case of the filmmakers making sure everything is in place for the sequel, as one friend suggested. When it comes down to it, however, Green Lantern provides the glitz and "good vs. evil" scenarios that summer movies are famous for, and it does end up being entertaining.
Green Lantern is in theaters today, June 17th.
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Liz Parker is a 2009 graduate of the University of Michigan. She currently works as an Assistant Medical Editor for a pathology website. Visit her at her movie blog Yes/No Films
