Green Lantern Post-Release Thread - Page 4

One of the best comments in this hyperbole-laden thread.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kevin Matchstick 

Just to step back a bit, how has Reynolds been "forced down our throats"? By taking that small role in Adventureland? By doing the blockbuster Buried? But, you're right. Casting him in Green Lantern is unprecedented. They only ever cast proven box office megastars as superheros.

And another good 'un.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phil 

My reaction was closer to Renn's - not the end of the world, but the movie has SO MUCH origin to get out of the way. It had this rote, obligatory, "let's get Green Lantern 1 out of the way" vibe. And as I've said elsewhere, the one thing that makes GL unique among superheroes is the Green Lantern Corps, and they turn out to be a series of walk-ons.... Reynolds was game; had this dialogue crackled like Iron Man's everyone would be a little happier today.

And another.
 

Caught in a half-way house between Spider-Man and G.I. JOE, this never really worked the way I hoped it would. There were positives (Reynolds, Strong, many of the intergalactic moments) but they never outweighed the negatives (stodgy, misshapen script, too many generic elements/performances.) Even with all the botched ingredients and pervading air of "missed opportunity", I think it's pretty clear this isn't the cinematic monstrosity it's being painted as here. Although it's hardly surprising that a disappointing film of this nature is being ripped apart in an orgy of exaggeration and bile. Why let reflection and debate get in the way of all those zingers?

Quote:

Originally Posted by D.T. 

Jesus, that was retarded. First of all, how did no one get killed by the helicopter's propeller? Second, a bunch of people are about to die, and the first thing he comes up with is to form the body of a hotrod around the helicopter, then recklessly direct the thing around on a floating track? "This helicopter is out of control! I'll devise a way to increase its momentum and continue to endanger the lives of all these people!"

 

Make a big fucking hand to grab the helicopter and put it down. Done.

But it was sweet payoff to the early scene in the film where he plays with a Hot Wheels track after talking to his nephew!  DAMNED GOOD STRUCTURE, THAT!

Now, if he had used his big fucking hand to smack his whiny nephew around a bit... then you'd have a case!

Just got back from it. Jesus, what a lazy, unenjoyable mess. I've read department store giveaway comics that were better written & more enthralling than this bucket of failure.

The Good:

1) Mark Strong. Dude is a pro.

2) The ring's "constructs" worked really well onscreen, I thought. For a power that always seemed weak on page, it really popped when in action.

3) Those early few minutes on Oa with Tomar Re & Kilowag's lesson on the hazards of flying in space were genuinely interesting. The CGI-ness didn't bother me at all.

4) Blake Lively's body. Damn!

Acting wise, she was perfectly fine in her role. Carol was obviously written to be Gwyneth Paltrow's Pepper Potts to Reynold's Stark-y Jordan but the problem is that the two have ZERO chemistry. Every interaction was sleep inducing.

The Bad:

1) The script. Was this written over a weekend on a dare? Seriously, the ineptitude on display here rivals that of Battlefield Earth, Emmerich's Godzilla, The Phantom, & Dick Tracy (don't let nostalgia color the fact that the movie meanders for it's first 45 minutes before deciding to tell a story), I don't buy for a second that GL is a loopy property that would come across a silly no matter what. It's been said for ages: Star Wars wasn't good because it was set in space, it was good because we gave a shit about the characters. This is something that seems to be done with ease in WB's animated scripts & it's truly baffling why they would risk $300 million on a script so poorly developed.

2) Ryan Reynolds was miscast like a motherf*cker. He'd be a perfect Flash, where his charm would have free reign, but there's no getting around how light-weight & one-dimensional his Jordan is. I laughed out loud when Jordan had his "Macho Bravo" moment 5 minutes in. Now, the actor who played his stern older brother? THAT GUY was Hal Jordan. In spades.

3) The Direction/Editing. It's hard to imagine this was by the same guy that made the stellar Casino Royale & Goldeneye. NOTHING worked.

4) Hector Hammond. How is this Cronenberg-ian character not gonna traumatize a generation of kids? Seriously,

I wanted to leave 20 minutes into this thing & I'm almost sorry I didn't. I spent 10 bucks just to feel like sh*t. Thanks, WB.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Art Decade 
1) The script. Was this written over a weekend on a dare? Seriously, the ineptitude on display here rivals that of Battlefield Earth, Emmerich's Godzilla, The Phantom, & Dick Tracy (don't let nostalgia color the fact that the movie meanders for it's first 45 minutes before deciding to tell a story), I don't buy for a second that GL is a loopy property that would come across a silly no matter what. It's been said for ages: Star Wars wasn't good because it was set in space, it was good because we gave a shit about the characters. This is something that seems to be done with ease in WB's animated scripts & it's truly baffling why they would risk $300 million on a script so poorly written.

I have a really strong feeling that there were two different scripts that somebody in the studio made them mash together.  The Hector Hammond Villain script and the Parallax Villan script.  In one of these there's a much more prolonged training period on Oa while Sinestro is trying to figure out how to fight Parallax as sort of a b-plot, and then when Hal finds out Parallax is headed towards Earth he goes to the Guardians to beg to let him try and save Earth, even though he hadn't finished his training. 

Now that I think about it, there are a lot of lines in the trailers that weren't in the finished film that make me think that they probably did shoot a lot of that and then cut it for some reason.  Sinestro's 'If you die, your planet will be destroyed' line was nowhere in the film, as far as I can remember.

There were 2 scripts? That makes sense, the film's narrative is completely disjointed. It felt like each scene was cut out from a multi-episode GL tv series & stitched together.

That makes a lot of sense. There is no melody no through line with the characters or the villains.

I should clarify that I don't know that there were two scripts, just that it's a theory that I had that seems to fit the movie that we got.  And the four writing credits.  Berlanti, Green, and Guggenheim have worked together a lot in the past, but it looks like Goldenberg usually writes alone. 

The more I think about Green Lantern, the more it reminds me of Howard The Duck.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anger Management 

You should check this out, esp. if you have watched and enjoyed GL, to see if you agree with this or not. It's extremely funny (Warning: Major Spoilers Ahead):

 

Toplessrobot presents the best scenes of GL:

 

http://www.toplessrobot.com/2011/06/topless_robot_presents_the_best_scenes_from_the_gr.php

Y'know, I was all set to agree that the hate on this movie was getting hyperbolic, but damn, that article is spot on.

Nice to see we've reached the Hate for Hate sake's part of the discussion.

Just wanted to stop by and cast my vote for this movie is a big pile of stinky balls. I've defended some bullshit this summer, but not for you, Green Lantern.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anger Management 

You should check this out, esp. if you have watched and enjoyed GL, to see if you agree with this or not. It's extremely funny (Warning: Major Spoilers Ahead):

 

Toplessrobot presents the best scenes of GL:

 

http://www.toplessrobot.com/2011/06/topless_robot_presents_the_best_scenes_from_the_gr.php

frighteningly accurate.  The part about the aftermath of the first sub boss battle made me laugh out loud.

Yeah thats pretty spot on and it leaves a terrible taste in my mouth. I wanted this to be a win for Campbell, Reynolds, DC and this hero.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anger Management 

You should check this out, esp. if you have watched and enjoyed GL, to see if you agree with this or not. It's extremely funny (Warning: Major Spoilers Ahead):

 

Toplessrobot presents the best scenes of GL:

 

http://www.toplessrobot.com/2011/06/topless_robot_presents_the_best_scenes_from_the_gr.php

That article single-handedly changed my viewpoint from not bad to sucks really hard.

Looking forward to that TRANSFORMERS 3 FAQ next week. Should be blast watching him punch holes through Bay's latest masterpiece.

felix, Why would a negative, so called, Faq, be better than the final collision of...BAYHEM and Rock Em Sock Em Robots?  Transformers 3 should be...Awesome! It might even be...Better, than the, All Kinds Of Awesome...Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen!

I've no doubt it'll be better, fleed (I bought the novelization). But I am sure they'll be plenty of head scratching stuff for us to discuss later.

felix, I never have had any use for head scratching questions, in a series of such Glorious...BAYHEM, as the Transformers films!  Rock Em Sock Em Robots both good and bad in...Awe-Inspiring 3D!  Nuff Said!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anger Management 

You should check this out, esp. if you have watched and enjoyed GL, to see if you agree with this or not. It's extremely funny (Warning: Major Spoilers Ahead):

 

Toplessrobot presents the best scenes of GL:

 

http://www.toplessrobot.com/2011/06/topless_robot_presents_the_best_scenes_from_the_gr.php

I feel bad because even thought this movie was MEGA-stupid, a dissection that funny is really too good to be wasted on this tripe. The people (myself included) bombing on this nonsense clearly put more effort and thought into it than any of the 67 screenwriters or Martin Campbell.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Art Decade 

There were 2 scripts? That makes sense, the film's narrative is completely disjointed. It felt like each scene was cut out from a multi-episode GL tv series & stitched together.

Yeah, but the thing is, Martin Campbell very likely wasn't just a hired gun on this thing, and given marching orders to just shoot what's on the page. The inability to unite any possible multiple script issue problems into a coherent, compelling story, lies on his shoulders.

Then again, maybe this was just a paycheck gig for him, because you couldn't discern any level of care for the material at hand.  Not saying that he had to be a rabid GL comics fanboy, or anything....just a desire to tell a great, superhero/ space-swashbuckler.

It almost seemed like they tried to combine the playful campy-ness of Spider-Man 1 with the origin story themed Batman Begins, which might come out mismatched for some people. I personally thought the film was good. The immense hate for a film that is essentially mediocre at best is pretty of surprising to me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bychance 

It almost seemed like they tried to combine the playful campy-ness of Spider-Man 1 with the origin story themed Batman Begins, which might come out mismatched for some people. I personally thought the film was good. The immense hate for a film that is essentially mediocre at best is pretty of surprising to me.

Why is hate for a movie that is mediocre at best surprising?  Any movie that has the top praise of "mediocre at best", would obviously be hated by some people.

And I reject this line of thinking that says no one should love or hate this film, because the movie was a piece of shit for so many reasons.  I haven't seen Catwoman, or Elektra, so it might not be the worst Superhero film, but it's certainly one of the worst superhero films I've seen.  I think the hate for this film is completely justified.

There's a reason the studio knew they had a stinker on their hands, there's a reason top execs were trying to edit this mess of a film into something that worked.  That reason is, the film is a disaster. 

Saw it this weekend wtih my son, who absolutely loved it--he's 9, almost 10.  I didn't hate it, but echoing the statements of other folks, it was a bit disjointed in parts.  But I look at it as, GL is a huge universe, and origin films are usually hard to do, and when you have as much stuff as GL has available, it makes it even harder.  I applauded the effort, but there was definitely not enough time spent with GL on Oa, and from the trailers, you'd think a good portion of the movie would have been based there.  I guess they felt that Hal couldn't spend too much time off Earth to establish the relationship with Ferris, etc.  Also, I was kind of annoyed that they hinted at this prior relationship with Ferris, Jordan, and Hammond, but there was no explanation.  Did they grow up on the same military base, were they neighbors, etc.?  And what was up with their moms?  Did they just not have any mothers at all?  You saw the dads of all three, but never the moms (although there may have been a quick glimpse in Hal's flashback scene), and you didn't know what happened to the moms either.

I enjoyed the Oa scenes and seeing GL use his powers the most, and I wish Reynolds could have a little more screen time with the other GL corps.  But as I read somewhere, this sort of felt like, "Let's get this one out there so we can make the 2nd one."  I'm hoping that this turns out like X-Men in that, the first movie was not terrible, and kind of surprised folks, but then the 2nd movie was done really well.  This wasn't nearly as good as the first X-Men movie, but I'm hoping they still get to make the second one, and they take the criticism from this one and fix it in the next one.

I caught it this weekend. I guess the fact that it got hammered helped my expectations, because I enjoyed it for the most part. I actually ended up digging the nerdworld of the Corps, somehow. You can tell that they certainly chopped it up a bit. They went from point A to point C a few times. But, heck, I guess we can look forward to the GL EXTENDED CUT!! Anyway, some light, campy fun. Certainly, if somehow they do make a sequel, I'd like to see them get someone like Raimi in there mixing it up. 

I also saw Tree of Life.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bychance 

The immense hate for a film that is essentially mediocre at best is pretty of surprising to me.

Obviously you haven't been around movie websites too much.
 

I didn't think that it was too bad. I'd put it on par with the first Iron Man: A nice matinee diversion that I don't ever need to watch again.

It should have kicked ass, though. There's just so much in the GL world that's conducive to a really fun, high-octane adventure, but they made a pretty standard superhero movie. At its best, GL is big, fun SF with a dash of superhero, but this tried to be superhero with a dash of SF. Ditching Hector Hammond and having more Sinestro, and actually building up to that character's fall would have gone along way.

As it is, this just felt like they wanted to get just enough pieces in place so that they could make the movie they actually wanted to make later on. Why not just make that movie in the first place?

In retrospect, the Jack Black comedy angle would've been the best way to go. This really should've been about a schlub (with a good heart) that has to learn how to be a hero, rather than a badass ex-Air Force test pilot who has to overcome being an asshole to his family and friends.

Jack Black has Kung Fu Panda for that!  Hehehe

Bartleby_Scriven, That would have been...Horrible!  Green Lantern as a...Jack Black (so called) Comedy?  I am so glad, that the filmmakers went with...Hal Jordan the most...Awesome, of the Green Lantern Corps!  I hope that, The WB, does approve a sequel!

Sorry Duke. Different strokes and all that. Actually, Green Lantern would've worked much better with a teen or young boy. Something along the lines of Explorers or The Last Starfighter.

There's just no unique draw for Hal Jordan. At least in the comics Johns has skewed his politics way right (Jordan supports torture at one point), which makes him fascinating in contrast to his road buddy Green Arrow. In fact, the majority of the Justice League work better with the ludicrous juxtaposition of standing next to their buddies.

Quote:

Originally Posted by duke fleed 

I hope that, The WB, does approve a sequel!

duke, I don't understand the placement of those commas above. Please explain. Not calling out a typo or anything. Genuinely interested in your attempt to forge new grounds with that piece of punctuation.

Kevin Matchstick, No particular reason for the...Comma!

Just saw this movie yesterday and I think it may just be the worst movie I've seen this summer.   There's nothing offensively wrong about the movie but it's so middle of the road and so lacking in vision that the sum is greater (or lesser) than its parts.   Honestly, GL looks and feels like a January/February dumping ground movie that somehow got on the summer schedule.   My guess is that it would have been there if there was a new Batman movie out this year.   Also, the 3D was completely pointless.   I guess it was post converted because every other movie is doing it but there was literally no reason for it.   So disappointing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dynamotv 

Just saw this movie yesterday and I think it may just be the worst movie I've seen this summer.   There's nothing offensively wrong about the movie but it's so middle of the road and so lacking in vision that the sum is greater (or lesser) than its parts.   Honestly, GL looks and feels like a January/February dumping ground movie that somehow got on the summer schedule.   My guess is that it would have been there if there was a new Batman movie out this year.   Also, the 3D was completely pointless.   I guess it was post converted because every other movie is doing it but there was literally no reason for it.   So disappointing.

I know where you're coming from about the palpable blandness of Green Lantern, but on a technical level, Transproblems is far and away the worst movie I've seen this summer. What Green Lantern lacked in spark (amongst other things), it at least partially made up for with storytelling, cack-handed and disappointing though it may have been. Bay's magnum crapus was the ugliest, most brazen debacle of a movie I've seen since its predecessor, Megan Fox Screams "SAAAAAAAAAAAAM!!!" a Lot in the Desert. It might not be as obviously bland as G.L. in some ways, but I was worn down by the all the explosions and racial nightmares the same as I was by Blake Lively's tawdry interjections and Hal's longtime aversion to heroism.

Superb point about G.L. feeling like a January / February dumping ground special, by the way. That's exactly how it feels!

Objectively, you're right.   Transofrmers DOTM is the lesser movie.   The horrible racial humor is there, the horrible any humor is there, the 40 minutes of bloat is there BUT the ambition and money on the screen makes for a more entertaining movie.   There were times during Green Lantern where I was fighting to stay awake.   At least I had no problem with that during TF.   Another thing?   TF was shot in 3D and the effect was the best utilized since Avatar.   GL had the laziest use of it.   It was more like "because every other movie has it" kind of laziness.  It's a race to the bottom for sure but at least one of the movies felt at home on the big screen.   The other feels like I was watching it at home on TBS late at night.

Makes me wonder if the Jack Black comedy route wasn't the better way to handle this?

dynamotv, Umm...No!  Green Lantern 2, if Greenlit, should be set...100% in Space, or on...Alien Worlds!  Blake Lively's Carol Ferris should become...Star Sapphire, just as her codename Sapphire on her helmet says.  Hal vs Sinestro and Star Sapphire, would be...Epic!

Quote:

Originally Posted by dynamotv 

Objectively, you're right.   Transofrmers DOTM is the lesser movie.   The horrible racial humor is there, the horrible any humor is there, the 40 minutes of bloat is there BUT the ambition and money on the screen makes for a more entertaining movie.   There were times during Green Lantern where I was fighting to stay awake.   At least I had no problem with that during TF.   Another thing?   TF was shot in 3D and the effect was the best utilized since Avatar.   GL had the laziest use of it.   It was more like "because every other movie has it" kind of laziness.  It's a race to the bottom for sure but at least one of the movies felt at home on the big screen.   The other feels like I was watching it at home on TBS late at night.

 

Makes me wonder if the Jack Black comedy route wasn't the better way to handle this?

Valid points all, sir. I think the Jack Black comedy version could have been quite fun around 2000/2001, but the chances of it turning into one of his typical lame duck comedies now (or any time in the last decade or so, really) make me somewhat glad we got the version we did... if only for the chance to see an improved sequel or reboot that's truer in spirit to the comics.

The 3D was certainly the best feature of Bay's movie and you can absolutely see every penny on the screen once again, so at least when Bay wastes exorbitant amounts of money on these movies there's no mystery over where it went. I can totally appreciate people preferring it between the two films, because as you rightly said, Green Lantern feels like it belongs in the Ghost Rider category - to be watched in a trashy capacity if it's on TV, if it is to be watched at all.

I just happen to fall on the other side of the camp because I find Bay's shooting style too brazen and monotonous to function even as popcorn viewing, so the only thing people willingly praise about it is just another element that put me off. Bay's inability to turn his action scenes into stories within a story, rather than just WHIZ BANG GO BOOM on repeat tunes me right out. At least, there were bad arcs and things of that nature to analyze and chuckle wryly at in G.L. If I hadn't paid to see Transformers, and had been watching it on TV instead, I highly doubt I'd have finished it.
 

Well it's certainly a race to the bottom with these two movies but at least TF 3D sparks much more interesting conversations than Green Lantern so at least there's entertainment value there.   I will say the one thing that really worked was the space fight with Paralax.   It was fun, pulpy, and something you don't normally see.   If this does get a sequel/reboot, more of that nerdy out there stuff please. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by dynamotv 

Well it's certainly a race to the bottom with these two movies but at least TF 3D sparks much more interesting conversations than Green Lantern so at least there's entertainment value there.   I will say the one thing that really worked was the space fight with Paralax.   It was fun, pulpy, and something you don't normally see.   If this does get a sequel/reboot, more of that nerdy out there stuff please. 

That's typically what GL is, and what makes it fun and interesting. They tried to model other successful superhero movies with the whole origin angle when they should have been emulating classic Star Trek. Sure, you need to have some character there, but the ideas and the adventure should always be in the front seat with this franchise. Like Kirk, the coolest thing about Hal Jordan is his job, and he's really good at it. That should be all you need to know about the guy.

Took my 8 year old son to it, and he asked if we could go home halfway through.  I'm not joking.

The main thing that I took away from it?  The idea that as well as Marvel has figured this movie business out is exactly how much DC doesn't understand.  From a parent's perspective (and obviously that only means so much) I was stunned at how much swearing was in the first 30 minutes of the movie.  I mean, it's a comic book movie and while they certainly want to punch it up and cross over so that it's entertaining for adults and children and I get that.  So how was Iron Man able to do that so easily without resorting to constant swearing?  He's 8, he knows the difference between good words and bad words but trust me when you go to a movie with a young kid you take notice of these things in ways you wouldn't otherwise, and it happens a LOT.

Combine that with Parallax (a fairly freaky villain, mysterious and yet the scenes where he is pulling...souls?...fear?...out of his victims in an impressive but disturbing visual), and Hector Hammond whose transformation was very disconcerting...I'm just saying it seems like a lot of bad choices if you're planning on crossing over to multiple audiences like the Marvel films.  My son has seen the Spider Man films, he's seen the Iron Man films, he's seen Thor, he's never come close to asking to leave before.

Great post, A-Pathetic. It's funny. Watching that final battle, you can kind of see how the movie could have been great, or at least more entertaining for kiddos  (and adults). Hal Jordan pulling out more and more goofy constructs to beat back doomsday. Or even if they had spent more time in space, with the many otherworldly members of the corps. There are Green Lantern action figures for characters that had barely any screentime - let alone lines. 

Anyway, you're right. That soul-pulling effect was pretty good. 

I felt that soul pulling effect just watching the movie.  

Quote:

Originally Posted by D.S. Randlett 

That's typically what GL is, and what makes it fun and interesting. They tried to model other successful superhero movies with the whole origin angle when they should have been emulating classic Star Trek. Sure, you need to have some character there, but the ideas and the adventure should always be in the front seat with this franchise. Like Kirk, the coolest thing about Hal Jordan is his job, and he's really good at it. That should be all you need to know about the guy.

Yeah, they used too much origin/backstory in this thing, and it crowded out the "space cop armed with boxing gloves of PURE WILLPOWER" that is really the essence of Hal Jordan. That and his friendly competition/romance with Carol, which I actually did like the more the movie went on. But Hector Hammond (and his dad) could have easily been cut...it reminded me of when they stuffed the Abomination into whichever Hulk movie that was.

And A-Pathetic raises a good point, Parallax would have scared the poop out of me as a child.

justinslot, The Abomination was there to make The Hulk an...Incredible Hero!  To me, it was the...Best part of...The Incredible Hulk!

They reviewed this on How Did this get made? podcast...............perfect :)

http://traffic.libsyn.com/howdidthisgetmade/HDTGM_14_MAIN.mp3

A bit too goofy and cheesy for me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Art Decade 

The more I think about Green Lantern, the more it reminds me of Howard The Duck.

I THOUGHT THIS TOO!

Thanks to Hector Hammond's character framework, and Tim Robbins just flat out appearing in it.

I'm surprised more people didn't catch the comparison. It's hilarious...

"The oath? How am I supposed to know the oath?"

So Green Lantern was about a hero taken to an alien world..

..who battles a scientist that's possessed by...

..a big evil alien thing

Tim Robbins is there.

..and the best part of the movie was the lead actress' body.