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Green Lantern
There's been so many comic book adaptations over the past decade, from the exemplary Nolan Batman movies to the abysmal Fantastic Four abominations, that next year's The Avengers will practically have to reinvent the genre if it's to come off feeling fresh and new. When even the competent entries are beginning to look tired, how does a relatively obscure title like Green Lantern hold up? Surely this is scraping the bottom of the barrel, right?
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Strangely the guardians and Green Lantern leader, Sinestro (clearly destined to be a bad guy with a name like that), are not that smart, both being guilty of such an appalling lack of judgement on several critical occasions that you wonder how they managed to acquire such positions of authority let alone keep the universe in check. If there is one thing that the proceedings of the story show, it's that there is a very good reason why the ring chooses the Green Lanterns and not the incumbent authority figures as otherwise we'd all be dead. The leaders of our universe seem to possess a remarkable sense of self assurance coupled with an equally remarkable level of incompetence. Thank heavens Lantern rookie, Hal Jordon (Ryan Reynolds), was there to save our skins from this farcical intergalactic bureaucracy.
But criticising the film too heavily feels a bit like beating up on the Dark Knight's younger, weaker brother. Green Lantern shoots for fun and if you're willing to sit back and go along for the ride, it hits the mark. The special effects are excellent and exciting and all the cosmic and aerial space featured in the film make this a worthy 3D watch. Ryan Reynolds is a likeable hero and the rest of the cast hold up their end of the bargain. Writer/director/star of Eagle vs. Shark and Boy, Taika Waititi, makes the rather inexplicable leap from indie NZ auteur to Hollywood actor and doesn't look out of place.
All in all, Green Lantern looks a lot better than you feel it ought to and this is a good thing.
Stuart Jamieson
www.greenlanternmovie.warnerbros.com
P.S. Don't bother waiting for a post credits sequence typical of a comic book movie, all you get is a boring static slide advertising the associated comic books. There is the obligatory sequel teaser following the picture credits, however, the content of which is a tad silly and obvious given all that has come before.
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