Really the reaction out of Green Lantern is different from the prespective of someone who has a good knowledge of GL from the comics. As a character dealing with his own undisclosed demons, Hal Jordan was even a bit more complicated in the comics. Specifically when dealing with the direct influence of Parallax. That is where the movie takes some liberties. Its its just that as the title being called “Green Lantern” people expected more. It had a lot to live up to and it didn’t to most people. IMO, I enjoyed the movie for what it is and given what was presented in a 2 hour film, they did a pretty good job.
Maybe if they had the length of say, Watchmen, they could have presented a better story. Aside from a few small things, the Watchmen movie was extremely close to the comic right down to Rorschach eating those cold beans out of a can.
If you have a chance, read into a few of the mini-series Green Lantern comics. Rebirth does a great job and explain what exactly Parallax is and how it affected Hal. I have LOTS of love for Green Lantern, I think the writing (particularly of what Geoff Johns has been writing) is far and beyond what other comic book characters have to offer.
first, how the hell did GL make it to this thread?
second, tape-bot your own nothing
third, josh-im assuming your referring to their protrayal of paralax, i thought it was a decent job since that specific character was just an floating yellow entity, meh leave it to hollywood to add extra smoke for no reason.
Ive been reading GL since the stone ages and keeping with it, blackest night was the best series hands fucking down, nothing in the universe was written that well.
With that said i thought the movie was c or C+. they tried really hard to squeeze in too many references of the entire series in one movie (although im guessing none of you know who amanda waller is) From the planet ryut to the cameos of the lanterns in the meeting. it just wasnt that coherent. If you were a fan like me, you would at least understand the reference that they tried to put out but if your a not, then the movie was probably enjoyable becuase you didnt have any solid expectations.
I mean cmon they didnt even squeeze in the reference to hal getting the ring for the first time. abin sur was supposed to say “eh a human, never thought i would live to see the day” that shit alone sets up Hals training in OA.
Yup Parallax, there was a bit if a question mark over my head over why the character was made that way but I grew to accept it and I liked it for what it was.
As far as Amanda Waller, I’ll be honest, I don’t know her too welll. Just a few tidbits like her working for Lex Luthor in the comics and her (fat) appearance in the Justice League Unlimited toon.
If I would give the movie a rating, then I would be inclined to give it at least a B-. Sure a few things here and there bothered me to no end (Like the ridiculously short training and lack of Kilowag ) I still liked it. Then again, I guess I might not be that hard to impress when it comes to these summer blockbuster movies. Really I just look for fun. The Expendables was universally panned but I fucking loved it.
Blackest Night is fun, I think Geoff Johns is my favorite DC writer.
Amanda Waller is some government bitch that didnt trust any of the supers in the DC universe. She made so many cameo’s but was never a solid villian or hero.
I was kinda like, what? when they said a rogue guardian is the host body for paralax. and they didnt even bother to touch on the yellow weakness for the rings. that really disapointed me. its like going through a superman movie and not hearing about kryptonite. but i guess it woulda added uneccesarry time on the plot to explain it, but its still a huge thing in the GLuniverse for them not to have it.
Wait, Amanda Waller? Wasn’t she in the CADMUS arc thing? I only remember a name similar because of the Justice League / Unlimited shit they put out on CN.
I’m surprised Saul hasn’t jumped in on all this comic book talk. I would love to jump in but I haven’t read any GL, I haven’t even seen the movie. I’ll just chime in about wanting to chime in instead.
someone mention red sun? i dont read many people’s post lol. fuccckkkkk comic book is sick as fuck!!! GL movie is ass don’t watch it lenin. for god sakes dont fucking watch it.
it was OK wasnt good at all. if they wouldnt add the hole romance crap then yes i would say “good” or "decent"
other than that…it was all about that hot ass bitch (which btw she is fine as fuck) and hal, him being a faggot throughout the movie and quitting life. Still the movie was meh…rather watch the animated series or read the comics.
the best part of the movie was when it was over and i got laid. best shit ever
Ya of course every Friday night we still have movie discussion night. Also Upa and Naked Snake will have a discussion about comic books and Symbolic like always will talk to himself about wanting to go out and get some food lol. He’s always hungry:P
In regards to the Green Lantern movie is that when you make a comic book movie you are trying to adapt one medium into another. You are trying to convert the loose medium of comic books into to the strict medium of film. Trying to jam at minimum five years of a comic book character’s history into a two hour film with it’s three act structure is difficult so a lot of stuff will be cut out or combined for time restraints. Also you can’t make it too “comic book geeky” and esoteric so that the mainstream audience can understand what’s going on. It cost a lot of money to make these films so they need to make it for a wide audience so that as many people can see it to make money back. That’s why art films don’t do well because a lot of them are so complicated to understand. And that’s why blockbusters have simple story lines so that the whole world including people who don’t speak English can understand it. For a blockbuster you don’t need to understand the dialogue to get the story. It’s mainly visual.
I think what is also overlooked is the Hector character. I like the dynamic between the overbearing father and the timid son. I like how the themes and the characters are strongly established. For a comic book film that’s actually really good screenwriting. This is actually surprising how insightful this movie was. You have Hal a character who doesn’t think but acts all the time and you have Hector a character who thinks but never acts. Both have their own version of the Oedipus complex. Hal is haunted by a lost father figure while Hector is traumatize by a domineering father. And this is where the ring is interesting because it combines the main traits of both characters. The ring makes ones thoughts into action. To me the acting is good of course. Reynolds plays Hal as an adrenaline junkie daredevil who is in love with cheating death because he wants to always reenact the trauma of his father’s death. He gets off in being so close to death that he wants to cheat it. It’s really good screenwriting because it logically sets up the final battle in which he has to go close to the sun to defeat Paralax. This is very “Raging Bull” like in his masochism. Also like a daredevil who has no concern about risking his life, Hal also has attachment issues. That’s why he can’t commit to Blake Lively. But that’s logical because his father suddenly left him when he was young. So it would be hard to bond with anyone because you’d be afraid they’d abandon you.
Hector is also well portrayed by great actor Peter Saarsgaard who is mostly in indie films (He’s great in Boys Don’t Cry). Saaragaard plays Hector as a super neurotic who is only comfortable in his skin when he is thinking about science and nothing else. He can’t relax at the party, he can’t communicate with his father, and he gets all creepy around women. But the only time he is happy is when he examines that alien body. That’s like the only time in the film where he is only genuinely happy. Look at how giddy he is after he discovers what he found after he examines the purple alien body. He’s so happy he can’t help himself. Like Ephialtes in 300 he’s a tragic figure. He’s stuck in an environment that does not nurture his needs.
So I see the film for what it is and not what it’s suppose to be. I think it had a lot of multilayered three dimensional characters. A lot of people don’t like comic book movies because they’re not faithful to the comic. It’s like a lot of Star Wars fans who expected the new prequel to be something that they wanted and not what George Lucas wanted. They wanted a blue house and he made a red one. But that’s another discussion.
Oh ya we shall have a gathering tomorrow . Everyone and anyone is invited. The more the merrier. Anyone new who is interested please text me at 310 344 9367.