Film Reviews

The Green Lantern

• Rating:
• Director: Martin Campbell
• Starring: Blake Lively
• Details: US/114mins 12A

If nothing else, this huge-budgeted comic book adaptation proves one thing: Ryan Reynolds is a bona fide movie star. He has the charisma, the ability and general presence of someone who can carry a huge blockbuster, and he's finally been given a chance to do it with a character with endless potential. All of that just makes Lantern even more of a crushing disappointment, though. It's not that this is a particularly bad film, just an opportunity missed on an epic scale.
Reynolds is slick test pilot Hal Jordan, a man chosen by a fallen member of The Green Lantern Corps - an elite group who protect the universe - as the next intergalactic hero. When he wears a special ring powered by the lantern, he can literally make whatever object he imagines appear in front of him - which comes in handy when there's a giant, eh, scary cloud thing called Parallax hurtling towards earth. After some training with cynical Alpha Hero Sinestro, and smooching with Blake Lively's ballsy boss, Hal gets lanterned-up and is ready to do battle with Peter Sarsgaard's warped Dr. Hector Hammon (as well as the aforementioned giant face in a cloud).
A workmanlike director, Martin Campbell is probably best known for his brilliant reinvigoration of the Bond franchise with Casino Royale, but he's never worked on a production with effects this heavy before. True, few helmers have, but the resulting film feels strangely flat when it should be brimming with fun. In fairness to Campbell, the effects are well-handled and some of the action is mildly impressive, but the script is so by-the-numbers and at times clichéd that it'll vex even the most dedicated comic book fan.
There's a wryness to Ryan Reynolds that audiences have now come to expect. He may have been brilliant in the sombre, underrated Buried, but the man was born to play a role like this. Yet here, he's barely given a chance to wax lyrical with some trademark quips, or showcase his admirable comic timing (along with action hero physicality) - so what was the point in casting him? Once again, the Canadian actor is the best thing about a bloated, sub-par production that continuously hints at how great it could have been.
An amusing training session in space; genuine sparks between Reynolds and Lively; a core plot involving a snarling Sarsgaard that could've worked with the inclusion of a pissed-off cloud. There's enough in Green Lantern for a 'pass', and if the audience likes the main character enough to warrant a sequel, then maybe the creases can be ironed out. But as a standalone film, it's simply just too full of could-have-beens.

Review by Mike Sheridan