Green Lantern
DC's latest shot at getting another one of their characters besides Superman and Batman on the big screen. Now this one will probably get me a lot of negative comments but I for one enjoyed this movie. I have been rooting for this movie ever since I first heard about it. DC's track record in the movie department is a very short one. Trying to pull out a lesser known character as Green Lantern, essentially a space cop assigned to a sector with only a green will powered ring, was going to be a tough job. Now when I say lesser known I am not referring to my fellow comic nerds but rather the general public. Ryan Reynolds as comic book Green Lantern favorite Hal Jordan was a spot on pick. At first when I heard I moaned and groaned but honestly he pulled it off. Blake Lively as Carol Ferris was a good supporting actress, helping Hal come to grips with his new found power. Peter Sarsgaard as villain Hector Hammond did an admirable job playing a character with a very larger bulbous head. Mark Strong was excellent as Sinestro, who starts out as Hal's ally but ultimately becomes a villain using the yellow power ring of fear. Now for a movie as heavy with CG as this I expected a multitude of mistakes but in all there were only a couple, usually with the mask. The suit which was all CG looked fantastic in action and in most still shots. Planet OA was amazing to look at. During opening week I watched and read almost every review as they came in and unlike X-Men it was like finding a needle in a haystack when it came to good reviews. I was definitely disheartened by this because I knew that DC had a lot riding on this being successful. If this performed very well then the likelihood of us getting more DC characters on the big screen would be better. Alas the movie performed better than studio expectations the first weekend but, unlike Hal Jordan, I am afraid that we may have to wait and hope for another character to give DC that big push. Let's face it right now DC is riding Superman and Batman's capes in the movie industry. Now like I said with such a big task of heavy CG I thought the movie pulled it off. What Hal created with his power ring were interesting constructs. Now remember this was an origin story and now that is out of the way a sequel wouldn't get bogged down with having to do so much explanation. So I went opening weekend like so many others and I walked out actually enjoying the movie. It was way better than other critics would have you believe. All in all I give Green Lantern 3 gamma bombs out of 5.