Too Green Will Kill You

It's day two at Manila and it's day two for superheroes. This time we take on the first DC hero besides Batman and Superman, it's green, it's Green Lantern. The first thing that lured me to watch this is Blake Lively, 'nuff said. The trailer for Green Lantern didn't get interesting until the four-minute footage from Wonder-con (click here for the Wonder-con footage!). It sure have a different experience from the earthly Batman or the God-like Superman but still, it doesn't offer a new thing in general. But let's give it a go. It's directed by Casino Royale's Martin Campbell and stars Marvel's Deadpool Ryan Reynolds and Mark Strong (oh yeah!)

The story is about a test pilot Hal Jordan who forced himself to believe that he doesn't know fear because it's in his job description. His destiny became fulfilled when he met the dying Abin-Sur who is a great warrior from the Lantern Corps but didn't have the intelligence to lock the warriors' nemesis, Parallax. Before he died, Abin-Sur's ring chose Hal Jordan to be the next Green Lantern. Next thing he knew, Hal was in Planet Oa with other Lanterns, Tomar-Re (voiced by Geoffrey Rush), Kilowog and Sinestro (Mark Strong in his usual power). Abin-Sur's founded body was examined by Dr. Hector Hammond (Peter Sarsgaard) who gets exposed to Parallax's fear entity, which makes him able to move things with his mind (telekinesis? maybe).  Hal tried to carry the burden as Abin-Sur's successor and also protect his planet from the planet-consuming Parallax at the same time.

The thing about this movie is the timing. To reach this level of special effects it needed this new decade but for the quality of the story, it should have been released in the 2000s. The superhero genre is now evolving thanks to another DC hero, Batman and many Marvel heroes like Iron Man, X-Men, and Spider-Man. Superhero is not about the action and the coolness rating, but also depth. What kind of hero would easily back-off when others told him he's not a hero? It's Hal Jordan apparently after losing a training battle with Sinestro. He enjoy being Green Lantern but he quits the corps. Strange huh? It's like being a pilot with no aircraft. But Ryan Reynolds did a great job here, but his character wasted him. Blake Lively is stunning and her Carol Ferris character is smarter than Lois Lane; she realized Hal's cheekbones! Whereas Lois remained clueless about no-glasses Clark Kent.  Mark Strong is soo goood as usual, he's very fitting to the role. The Will vs. Fear story is kinda shallow, for the sequel, it's gonna repeat the theme. As for Hal, I think the ring requires you not only to overcome fears but also have better imagination (race tracks? machine guns? jets? why not rockets?) As Sinestro said, "How human." Also, from all those Green Lantern corps, the most active one is only Sinestro. How come? And how did a newbie defeat a huge enemy alone when the group, even Abin-Sur failed? It's a strange heroic act. The timing is not quite good for me either after watching X-Men: First Class the night before. It's so different in quality. However, it's still an okay entertainment at the cinema, offering smooth effects and new take on superheroes. I wished it's better, that's all. Green Lantern: rated C+