12.
Green Lantern (June 17) - $130 million
Every week a new
Green Lantern trailer seems to spring up, which reeks of desperation. With the movie's makers perhaps fearing a total fanboy affair, the
latest trailer finally, if unsubtly, explains some of what the bejesus is going on via narration (at the expense of
Ryan Reynolds' lead character), but this movie still looks like goofy sci-fi fantasy mumbo jumbo, riffing on
Star Wars with its "force" talk and computer-generated alien characters.
Green Lantern's power still isn't clear (apparently he can conjure whatever he wills?), and he seems to lack vulnerability. A clear, strong villain is also absent (beyond an amorphous "yellow" force), and that's a key ingredient to superhero movie success.
Green Lantern seems most reminiscent of
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, only less grounded.
Green Lantern may be big in the DC Comics universe, but he's not mainstream, and it can't help to have
The Green Hornet released recently. Reynolds' character looks like an attempt to duplicate
Robert Downey, Jr.'s from
Iron Man with a dash of
Superman. Warner Bros.' sheer force of will may drum up a decent sampling.
Bottom Line: Green Lantern's light doesn't seem bright enough.