I gave Martin Campbell’s “Green Lantern” a big fat pass this week, while the rest of the critical establishment was busy tearing it down. (Guy joined their ranks with a take 180 degrees from mine.) I still think there is a lot of reaching for negativity in many of these assessments, but as the steam from the Hyperbole Express begins to clear the loading platform, I’d love to hear what the readership thought of the film, which hits theaters tonight at midnight screenings. (I may even give it another look because I’m interested in the largely hailed 3D conversion.) Sound off with your thoughts in the comments section below when you get around to seeing it this weekend.
Comments
40 responses to “Tell us what you thought of ‘Green Lantern’”
My whole theater seemed to have given up on it halfway through; everyone was laughing at it.
It seems to be appealing to a younger audience than most superhero movies. It’s fast paced, cool to look at, and seems to be populated solely by one-dimensional characters. I actually thought most of the visuals were quite stunning, but I couldn’t get past some of the poor editing choices and the horrendous script. Ryan Reynolds wasn’t bad. Blake Lively was forgettable. Mark Strong was quite effective. Peter Sarsgaard was absolutely hilarious. There were definitely pieces of a cool movie in there, and I’d be interested in seeing a more fleshed out sequel if WB moves forward with one. It’s not as bad as Fantastic Four, and in some ways, I actually enjoyed it more than Thor. But X-Men: First Class is far superior.
I’d need to rewatch Catwoman and Elektra (or not) but Green Lantern is on par with the genre’s biggest misfires and could be the biggest yet. Visually unappealing, bad acting, lumbering pace, and above all else extraordinarily boring.
There was only one trailer for this that even looked good. Doomed from the start.
Good God. It’s nowhere near as bad as Catwoman and Elektra. Come on.
I honestly symphatize with your position of being in the small minority to like/appreciate/sort of dig something in the midst of near universal dislike, but, I don’t know if you should be the one to complain about the “Hyperbole Express”.
But I digress. There are films that I dig but can understand why they would do very poorly with critics (say, My Life in Ruins. Seriously.) and then there are those that, even despite their flaws, would appear to at least be able to score with 50% of them but don’t. Like “Speed Racer”. I guess certain films almost work as invitations for critics to pick them apart and divide into small little pieces just because they feel like they can do it with them. This isn’t what I look for in reviews.
I probably won’t be seeing Green Lantern but it isn’t due to the ciritical reception. I actually like a lot of Campbell’s work so I may give it a look later.
I want to be on your said Kris, but I would have to lie to do so in this case.
:(
It was awful. Worse than Super 8.
The only thing I liked about it were the assortment of Green Lanterns and the brain trust of wise men that ruled their world.
And the fog monster was okay (at times). And Skaarsgard’s performance got *slightly* better once he made his full transformation. But, when I say slightly, it’s only a step up for the laughable clique of a villain he was able to produce from his severely underwritten part.
And it was really hard being embarrassed for Angela Bassett. I almost got the sense that even she knew how silly her dialogue was.
“Good God. It’s nowhere near as bad as Catwoman and Elektra. Come on.”
Green Lantern is just as bad. The fact that it’s a more expensive film with a higher caliber of talent makes it even worse. Who watched the dailies and thought it was working? Earth doesn’t work, Oa doesn’t work. At the very least the action sequences should have worked. But no, they were just as flat and clunky as the screenplay.
It’s a chore to sit through, instantly forgettable, dumb, boring. It’s a huge step back for DC Entertainment.
I’m taking my toy and going home. *stomps off*
Haha ^ Don’t feel bad, Kris.
I’m afraid I shant be seeing this unless someone I know drags me (doubtful). I don’t know the source material, and the reviews have only strengthened my lack of desire to see it anyway. I’ll wait for the dvd. :(
It is your basic bad movie. Certainly not worst of the year quality, and compared to DC’s worst efforts such as Catwoman and Jonah Hex it looks like a huge success, but it felt like one of the most cliched superhero films I’ve ever seen, and the love story and villain subplots were woefully underdeveloped. The animated First Flight movie is better and tells a similar origin story albeit with a different villain.
As far as the good goes, I was impressed by the visual effects, loved Geoffrey Rush’s brief voice acting performance, and the helicopter crash was a good setpiece, though the film felt a bit dialed down on the action-level overall. I’ll give some praise to the 3D as well. While not as good as the best live-action shot in 3D films, it might be the best full-length conversion I’ve seen (the 20 minutes converted for Harry Potter 5 in Imax looked incredible but I hear it is much harder to do full-length films), and if you are gonna see it you should probably go in 3D, which is not always the case with 2D conversions or animated films.
Wow. Guess I’m against the grain on this one too. I know the writing could have used more punching-up, but the visuals made up for most of the bad dialogue, didn’t it?
http://blog.flickchart.com/index.php/green-lantern-a-flickcharters-movie-review/
The movie looked bad from the start. The trailers got better and I really hoped the talent involved (big Campbell fan) would have made it work and that the trailers weren’t doing it justice. Was really hoping it would surprise and be pretty fantastic. Unfortunately it’s as bad as everyone feared. Would’ve much rather had seen Thor, X-Men, or Super 8 again.
This is off-topic, but did anyone else see the photograph of Tom Cruise from “Rock of Ages” on the Entertainment Weekly website? He looks kind of wonderful as a 1980s hair-band singer.
Kris, could you do one of these for Midnight in Paris? I-and I’m pretty sure many people-have a lot to say about it.
Damn, this one’s getting pounded! I have decided not to see any superhero films this year (I’m SO sick of them!), but I will say this in defense of Kris: You show me a critic who never sticks up for a universally reviled film from time to time, and I’ll show you a critic whose opinions I’m not interested in reading.
As. Thanks, Robert.
Didn’t like it at all.
If I could choose to have anyone’s voice in the world I would pick either Liam Neeson or Mark Strong.
Kris, with all do respect, you are losing it . I can’t see any person , with half a brain appreciating this dog mess- maybe only 8 year old boys . The excessiveness of the CGI was giving me a headache, plus the ridiculously forced romance between the leads.
I felt sorry for the talented Peter Sarsgaard . What is happening to his film career ? I truly miss his edgy indie roles.
Blake Lively better continue her romance with Leo DiCaprio-that is only way she will stay in the limelight, not by her acting. I still don’t under the love people had for her acting in ” The Town”. Whenever she was on the screen, she was a major distraction.
what was awful:
– the script, just every aspect of it. Underdeveloped romance, underdeveloped villain, underdeveloped hero. The only ounce of character we got of Hal Jordan was the horrific flashback inspired by the picture he kept in his plane… They also had such an opportunity to take advantage of a really decent villainous performance from Peter Sarsgaard who did wonders with what he was given to work with…but he could have been given so much more.
-Blake Lively. She gave a performance on par with the script she was working with…yikes.
what was acceptable:
– the CGI. Was it overly present? Yes, but the story called for it, and in most cases it was…at least alright.
and yet…Somehow I enjoyed this movie. I knew what I was getting myself into.
Haven’t seen Lantern, but I do recall the Hyperbolic Express careening through last week with a review called Super H8ed It, which sounds like something a tween girl thought up.
Just to add to my earlier thoughts:
The Best Parts:
Ryan Reynolds – basically carries the weight of the first half of the movie on his back; charismatic, charming, everything Hal Jordan should be.
Mark Strong – if there’s ever been a picture perfect translation of a comic character, here it is (though he’s probably right there with Tony Stark and Marv from Sin City).
The design of Oa and the various Corps members, dedication to the concept (though you could play a drinking game every-time the word fear was used)
And other than flying sequences (where it looked like Hal had a floating head on a fake body) I thought the cgi was pretty seamless and frankly that suit actually looked awesome.
The Bad:
Parallax: really poorly designed, I don’t know if the giant bug/xenomorph type thing from the comics would have really been any better, but at least it wouldn’t be a tornado with a face.
Story-gaps: How did Hal know to save Hector’s dad and Dr. Waller? How did Hal get to keep his ring after he quit? Stuff like that ended up bugging me.
Most everything involving Hector Hammond, not his performance so much, but the storyline surrounding him, seemed really underdeveloped.
Too much earth-bound action: While I realize a hero has to make his debut and everything, if they really wanted to make this the Star Wars of the DC universe, how about actually showing something beyond Ryut and Oa? Send Hal off with Sinestro to see some aliens, would have highlighted the real strengths of the film.
And yes, Blake Lively was as wooden as a board in the first scene of the film, but she got better as it went on, when I found unusual.
In all, I liked it slightly less than X-men First Class, but much better than Thor. I found the first Spider-man to be a fairly apt comparison, same cheese level with the origin story.
“Haven’t seen Lantern, but I do recall the Hyperbolic Express careening through last week with a review called Super H8ed It, which sounds like something a tween girl thought up.”
It was full of clearly conveyed reasoning with tons of follow-up comments and commentary that addressed specific concerns critically. Nice try, though.
Since I used to read the comic many years ago I had to see it in spite of the terrible trailers.
The best I can say is that it exceeded my low expectations. Reynolds wasn’t really right for the part but he did provide comic relief — it would have been worse played straight.
The effects were well done but poorly designed. I can’t believe that $150 to 200 million can’t buy a better looking effects-driven movie. Green Lantern’s suit was too obviously CGI — bad decision.
I have stick up for Blake Lively — although they never should have tried to make her an executive as well as “the girl”, she was nice to look at and spirited.
The thing that ultimately dooms this prospective franchise is that the material is just not all that great — huge contrast to, say, X-Men.
It’s on par with Hellboy movies. But what a waste of talent with Ryan Reynolds. The least they could do is show more skin. You know…the reason why The Proposal was such a hit (with all due respect to Sandra Bullock).
it’s written and produced by Greg Berlanti, who has worked on shows like Brothers & Sisters, Everwood and Dawson’s Creek. Apparently he thinks he can just make an easy transition from rom-com (Broken Hearts Club, Life as We Know It) and watered-down TV drama into blockbuster (he also created TV’s “No Ordinary Family” and shares writing credit on the forthcoming Clash of the Titans sequel)…
was anyone else concerned or confused why the studio decided on Berlanti to spear-head this film?
I’m very surprised by the cold reception. I liked it much better than the other split personality superhero film of the year.
I had a good time at Green Lantern. Granted, I went in with lowered expectations. But I thought it was solidly entertaining. Some story and dialogue problems, but I don’t think they took away from the experience enough to make it a drag.
Kris, with all do respect, you are losing it.
With all due respect, you mean no respect there whatsoever. If occasionally having a good time at a critically punished piece of populist entertainment, particularly one to which you might have a sentimental attachment, is what passes for “losing it”, surely none of us are altogether there. I handed in my sanity card years ago when I liked Daredevil.
This widespread “you have no credibility because you don’t agree with me” mentality can make the internet a really depressing place. And I speak as someone who hated the film.
With all the expositions out of the way, I hope the sequel will be a lot better.
Wish List:
1. Forget the love interest, focus on the relationship to his nephew.
2. Forget Oa, and have the trainer and fish Green Lanterns show up on Earth to help Hal fight Yellow Lantern.
3. More Ryan Reynolds charm and humor. Have him improv/ ad lib.
“It was full of clearly conveyed reasoning with tons of follow-up comments and commentary that addressed specific concerns critically. Nice try, though.”
Tapley, please. Now you’ve boarded the Hypocrite Express. Pity those of us who see a touch of Hyperbole in that review title – the thing most people glance at anyway (and nevermind the fact that unlike the Green Lantern, Super 8 was largely liked – I guess nothing is exaggerated if you are going with an “unpopular” opinion). Clearly if something comes from you it’s a well reasoned argument and everyone else is a raving lunatic. A word of advice, no matter how sure you are that you’ve provided sufficient support for your arguments/reviews if you are going to be throwing around accusations of that nature be prepared to be thrown right back at you. Also, lots of those negative reviews provided reasons for their negativity. And I can recall multiple occasions when you were ready to hate on a film before you even had a chance to see it.
That’s another point, Guy isn’t getting. The “you’re losing it” comment is perfectly acceptable when used as a reaction to an online review and is done in good faith. After all, if those critics routinely judge a filmmaker’s ability based on the kinds of things they’ve done recently then why can’t the same be done on the part of readers towards the kinds of things critics like?
That’s not even going into the whole liking something for sentimental reasons vs actively advocating for something being good argument.
Guy Lodge , do me a favor , please don’t speak for me , or try to express my true intentions. I enjoy reading this blog. And, actually , I have a healthy respect for both you and Kris Tapley. My comment was not intended as a personal attack or a character assassination. I have said , ” you are losing it ” to close family members and my friends. It was a joke, nothing more.
Glad to hear it. Apologies if I misread your tone.
It was a harmless title, Maxim. Get over it?
It’s not about whether Green Lantern was largely disliked or not. I EXPECTED THAT. It’s the level of vitriol — that more than a few have taken note of — that makes me feel like there is some hyperbole injected.
You can’t paint my Super 8 review and comments with that brush, though I know you’ll try. You don’t agree with my perspective on that film, fine, but don’t try to tell me I had some knee-jerk, blown-out-of-proportion reaction, when I’m in print otherwise.
And yes, plenty of the reviews make cogent arguments against Green Lantern, be it regarding structure, screenplay, effects work, etc. But I think it’s a stretch when someone wants to consider it as bad as something like Catwoman or to consider it worst-of-the-year material. (And since Super 8 is being brought into this conversation — unfairly and unnecessarily — I might as well mention that anyone who took umbrage with lazy screenwriting in Green Lantern but gave a pass to as much in Super 8 had better re-think it.)
“And I can recall multiple occasions when you were ready to hate on a film before you even had a chance to see it.”
What does this have to do with anything? We all go into films with this preconceived notion or that. Positive or negative. But it isn’t organic to this discussion in the slightest. Unless you think I was predisposed to like the film, which I wasn’t necessarily. (The ads and trailers started to make me worry.) Are you that desperate to have an argument with me on, like, every post?
For the record, I have no problem with the “you’re losing it” comment. I read it as a joke.
I haven’t seen the film (and don’t intend to), but what I have seen are the stills of the makeup work done on Peter Sarsgaard. Being that this is an Oscar site, I feel inclined to offer my prognostication on the films chances in that particular category. I’m guarenteeing that the film will get a makeup nomination, considering it has all the field requirements. Flashy makeup, check; shitty reviews, check. All that’s missing is Rick Baker. ;)
DylanS, you gave me my first chuckle of June 20th.
It was silly. Really no other word to describe it. The Fantastic Four comparisons are dead-on, kinda nice to look at, and Reynolds has charisma, a la Chris Evans, but the story and screenplay are just, well, silly. I smell a reboot in about 7 years.
As there was nothing on TV tonight and the local cinema a five-minute walk away had a 10:00 showing, my man and I went to see this tonight (would probably have preferred Super 8, but it wasn’t playing within walking distance). And you know what? I agree with Kris. Green Lantern has its problems (namely everything surrounding Hector; that was just piss-poor storytelling and character short-hand), but on the whole I enjoyed it more than both Thor and X-Men: First Class. Call me silly, call me stupid, call me an affront to cinephiles everywhere, but this is how I like my superhero movies. It’s just big, dumb fun. And Ryan Reynolds near-naked. The CGI was fine – the suit looked great – and Reynolds’s incredible charisma really carried the thing through the rough patches. Unfortunately, I had to see it in 3-D, which was just unnecessary, if not an outright abomination. And yeah, there was some pretty ugly thematic stuff mixed in with all that fear/will bs (did they have to make Peter Sarsgard quite so hideous even before his transformation?). But on the whole, the pacing was brisk, I was able to follow the story, I got sucked into the world of Oa, I (kind of) felt for Hal during the final face-off with Parallax, and I enjoyed turning my brain off for two hours. Green Lantern didn’t try to be anything more than what it was – a comic book movie – and for that, I’m grateful.
Just saw it.
Eh, not nearly as bad as I expected, given reviews/online response. But it was not very good, either.
What I liked:
-The Lantern Corp.
-The design of Oa.
-The Make-Up design.
-The special effects (wow, everywhere).
-The helicopter set piece.
What I didn’t:
-Basically everything else.
-The script did nothing to get me excited about what I was watching. It didn’t make me care about much in the story/mythology;as I went into GL cold on any of it’s origins.
-The acting was stiff from nearly everyone.
-I felt the pacing was off. This felt like a film over 2 hours, when it was actually about 1:45.
-Overall, a good 5 or 6 out of 10. That’s perhaps, because I expected the worst movie ever. I don’t quite think the film deserved the treatment it got.