Originally posted at www.squirrelsofdoom.com June 28, 2011
By Roz Young
This is actually a Green Lantern review, even though I didn’t mention Ryan Reynolds, DC or the words Green or Lantern in the title. Really quickly, Rotten Tomatoes is killing this movie. It has a whopping 27% “freshness” rating, compared to X-Men: First Class and it’s delicious 87% random produce-inspired nonsensical ranking parameter. Now, Matt can tell you all about why checking out the Rotten Tomatoes website isn’t going to help you find great movies. He will go on and on if you let him. Seriously, on AND ON AND ON. So, maybe you should just disregard what some punk on the internet decides about the Green Lantern and go spend your dollars on it anyways. I think you should, and if anything, you should listen to me. Or I’ll curse you. Like a gypsy.
It’s not that bad! It really isn’t! I was also hearing disturbingly unpleasant things about my beloved and highly anticipated that-other-green-dude-super-hero movie (PS if you didn’t see the Green Hornet you suck and Matt will shun you). If you are familiar with Hal Jordan or the Green Lantern Corps or the Justice League from comics or cartoons, you will go see this movie anyways. Because we dollar vote for our heroes and seeing them come to life on the silver screen is exciting. However, many of us already know that these movies are often underwhelming and tend to disappoint. Some of them are just plain awful (I’m looking at you, not so fantastic quartet, and *cough* cat lady). But the Green Lantern is pretty good. Here’s why.
Ryan Reynolds is always charming. He’s cute, he’s funny and he looks spectacular in tights (or ladies, just wandering around in a tight white t-shirt and loose yet surprisingly contouring jogging pants, right?). He looks like a super hero and he’s Hal Jordan, the cocky man without a purpose who becomes a galactic space cop. I’ve always thought that the Green Lantern might be too science fictiony for regular audiences. But, we’ve got cowboys fighting aliens later this summer, so what do I know?
The special effects on this movie are good, it’s not going to blow your socks off, but it’s fun. There’s a super bad baddie, a grotesque mind reading biologist, and cool magic ring that lets you create anything your mind can conjure up. I totally agree with the critics that it’s a “thinly written” film. That’s a bit disappointing, but what were people expecting? God, if Captain America does better I’m going to give up and move to Oa myself.
So, that brings me to comparing our recent experiences from the two comic book giants. Marvel vs. DC. When we saw X-Men: First Class, I was entertained, happy to see them keeping pace with the old movies (high five cameo to Wolverine), and loving the introduction of few more X-Men. The casting is awesome and it’s a pretty slick movie. X-Men was great, but also because we are so familiar with these characters now. The Green Lantern is new to audiences, and let’s be honest, the whole idea is kind of weird. Hal Jordan gets left a magic ring by some alien and becomes part of a space posse that defends the universe using the power of their imaginations. I think you should see both movies and then let me know if the Green Lantern really leaves a rotten taste in your mouth. Yes, Marvel wins this time... but everyone knows how I feel about Captain Ameridouche. It’s coming. Oh, you might think the Avengers sounds kind of awesome, but you’re wrong. And when you want your money back, don’t come crying to me because... I told you so.
No comments:
Post a Comment