Along with the likes of Thor, X-Men: First Class, and Captain America: The First Avenger, there seems to be a slew of super hero movies this Summer. So far, the results have been mixed, but here we have one from DC (as opposed to the ones listed, they are all based on Marvel comics.)
Ryan Reynolds stars as Hal Jordan, a cocky test pilot who is given the powers of the Green Lantern, a group of heroes from thousands of planets (or sectors) formed by The Guardians Of The Universe using an 'Emotional Spectrum of Willpower'. Each member assumes great power, mainly the power to will anything in their imagination into being.
Meanwhile Parallax, 'the ultimate being of fear' (voiced by Clancy Brown) has returned from an exile in a far off sector, and killed Hal's predecessor Abin Sur (Temuera Morrison) in the process, but not before Abin Sur sends his Green Lantern ring off to find a worthy replacement for him.
At the same time some of Parallax' DNA has wound up in Abin Surs corpse, so when scientist Hector Hammond comes to examine the body, he becomes infected with it, giving him telepathic and telekinetic powers.
As you may be able to tell, the plots a bit jumbled (I hate having to write origin stories for this kind of film, they can be utter gibberish sometimes.) And sadly, that reflects on screen too.
It's good fun when it's on. Reynolds is his usual charming and witty self as Hal Jordan. He truly makes the film interesting, and without him it would have been a lot less entertaining. Peter Sarsgaard is quite creepy and almost unrecognizable at first as Hector Hammond (and he gets really unrecognizable later), but there's quite a few superfluous characters such as Tim Robbin's dodgy senator Robert Hammond (father of Hector), and Hal's on again-off again love interest Carol Ferris (Blake Lively) who by no means drag the film down, but don't really add much to it. The love story almost feels like the film makers thought "Well, we better have one"...
But other than that, it's all entertaining enough. The action sequences are great, exactly what you'd expect from director Martin Campbell, the man who has twice now reinvigorated James Bond (In Goldeneye and Casino Royale), and the dialogue is snappy and witty and there is a great (if predictable) setup for a sequel after the first lot of credits, but once you've seen it, you've seen it. I have no real desire to go and watch it again, or pick it up on Blu Ray in a few months, but did enjoy it while it was on.
It's not an essential comic book film by any means, but it's a fun way to spend a couple of hours if you can get past the messy plot, you'll probably get something out of it.
***
A decent, if pretty forgettable super hero movie. Entertaining for it's duration, but don't go looking for a First Class movie, in both respects.
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