What Green Lantern Got Wrong

[The Morningstar]

Batman did use it didn't he? He had so much will he couldn't control it.

 

[MadVillainy]

idk. I just feel the whole admitting he's scared arc for Hal just isnt a strong one

 

[The Morningstar]

It could have been done well. Having the strength to confront and overcome your fear is a decent message and could have made for a good arc.

But it was terribly executed.

 

[MadVillainy]

BUt I feel in Hal's case he does it everyday of his life even before being GL, so for him I dont think it's good

 

[Savage]

It really was. He could clearly use the ring and there was no issue with the color yellow/yellow impurity so there was no real payoff to him getting over his fear. The matter was just kind of there to kill time. Hal's fear and issues with his father is definitely something that could have been hinted at and explored in a later movie. This movie needed to show why Hal was selected above all others to wield this ring and all it showed was that this guy was too scared to even use it (which made me wonder how he even got it to work...and then he used it anyway!).

 

[MadVillainy]

what would you guys made his character arc

 

[Savage]

His issues with responsibility and accountability. It's a pretty big deal once he gets an entire sector of space to patrol. He's brave and has the willpower. Everybody knows that. The issue is that he is so immature and irresponsible and he doesn't think so. That's why I thought Ryan Reynolds was cast well for the role. Then they didn't go that route and I felt like they missed the obvious.

Hal isn't aware of his flaws. He's overly proud of himself, overly confident, and just not the person you should even leave in charge of your houseplants far less for an aircraft and especially not for an entire section of the galaxy. He's a reckless maverick and he should have did something that resulted in major repercussions because of his irresponsibility with his powers (even Justice League: Doom touched on this part of him when he thought he got a woman killed and gave up being Green Lantern). There should have been something to make him wise up.

This "Am I worthy?" stuff is not Hal and never has been. Hal will tell you he's worthy in a thousand ways and whether it's true or not is completely inconsequential to him. Once again: Ryan Reynolds, $200 million budget, this was handed to them. What the hell, guys?

 

[Micromind]

I still cannot comprehend how can Joe Johnston make a more successful movie (Captain America) than Martin Campbell (Green Lantern) as I consider Campbell to be a better director than Johnston any day.

My guess would be that people had already made their minds to give a characters like Thor and Captain America a chance and looked at Green Lantern with indifference.

As Cap. America is tied with past events (WW2) and set in a realistic universe and Thor is considered to be a part of Norse mythology it was okay with general audience.

While GL brings with it weird SciFi elements, ugly villains (Hector Hammond, Parallax), campy humor and a weak script.

 

[The Morningstar]

It's nothing to do with people already making up their minds. It's about the execution.

And whilst Martin Campbell is a better director than Joe Johnston, what is Joe Johnston good at? Pulpy action adventure stories, as proven with Rocketeer. He has the right style and sensibility for Captain America. As does Kenneth Branagh with his Shakespearian roots for Thor. See that's what Marvel Studios gets. You can't just have any old director, whether they are great or not, for any old character. I mean, Johnston for pulpy adventure of Cap, Branagh for the operatic, Shakespearian Thor, Whedon for the ensemble, character driven Avengers and Shane Black for the action comedy Iron Man? Those directors are just perfectly suited to those types of films.

Also the choice of Alan Taylor, one of the guys behind Game of Thrones, for Thor 2 is pretty inspired. Marvel could have probably gone out and got a big name director, but they chose not to, they chose someone who is suited to the material and probably has a distinct vision of his own for the film.

Campbell? Who in the world thought it'd be a good idea for him to do a sci fi fantasy that is predominatly green screen work? It's a completely different style of film making than he is used to. It's almost like the WB suits picked the guy at random just because he's a well known director without thinking it through. And clearly Campbell didn't have his own vision for the film.

Add the fact that GL had a horrible script and you end up with a terrible movie.

 

[Savage]

Wow, that sounds absolutely perfect. Green Lantern is nothing like Martin Campbell's previous films, whether you look at it from a sci-fi perspective or a character perspective. Casino Royale was very successful so it would seem they went with him for that reason. The Mask of Zorro and The Legend of Zorro weren't exactly critical hits so their choosing him for Green Lantern is even more baffling.

 

[MadVillainy]

I still cannot comprehend how can Joe Johnston make a more successful movie (Captain America) than Martin Campbell (Green Lantern) as I consider Campbell to be a better director than Johnston any day.

My guess would be that people had already made their minds to give a characters like Thor and Captain America a chance and looked at Green Lantern with indifference.

As Cap. America is tied with past events (WW2) and set in a realistic universe and Thor is considered to be a part of Norse mythology it was okay with general audience.

While GL brings with it weird SciFi elements, ugly villains (Hector Hammond, Parallax), campy humor and a weak script.

No it had nothing to do with people making up their minds. If I remember GL was initially had more buzz in the GA media (due to it's cast) than THor or Cap.
ANd I honestly think that Martin Campbell might have been out of his element. Maybe. But I honestly think he ended up just being a hired gun for WB. I remember how Campbell said that Emerald Dawn was the basis for the movie and he seemed to want to cast an up and comer like Shawn Roberts, Sam Worthington, etc. and ended up getting Ryan Reynolds. As I said it seems to me that GL ended up becoming directed by WB rather than Campbell himself

 

[Lantern Venom]

I didn't mind Reynolds as Jordan. It isn't as if Reynolds is Topher Grace, who can't project seriousness even when he's trying. The problem was that the campy moments were pervasive. With the script he had, Reynolds was almost doing a rehash of Hannibal King.

I didn't mind comments like, "There's...water in the tap" or "I smell funny?" However, when Hal first finds himself on Oa, that was a time for him and the movie to switch tones. It didn't happen until he fought w/ Sinestro. That's not the Hal Jordan that I've read in the comics.

I also think there was a huge opportunity missed the training session. There could have been 2 more like it showing Jordan gaining skill and confidence. It would have made more sense for him to convince the Guardians that he had progressed enough to face Parallax rather than finally choosing to be part of the corp and (despite his lack of training) overcoming a villian that easily defeated a team of veteran Lanterns.

 

[The Guard]

While this is true this wouldn't exactly be the first production set almost entirely in space so I just don't see that as an excuse.

I don't know that GREEN LANTERN should ever have been set entirely in space.
And I don't know what is an appropriate excuse/explanation for the kind of thing you're talking about if budget isn't.

You have to look at it in context. This isn't a scenario where the director/producer of the film has his own in house effects studio to help keep costs down.

GL cost somewhere in the vicinity of $250 million as is. Imagine how much money an even bigger, more action-packed film would have cost. For a relatively unknown, untested character and concept, that's just not a risk a studio is going to take.

It's not but it is an important part of his stories. Space was barely touched in the movie and so was The Corps. Every scene on Oa felt rushed so they could get back to earth. Even his training was kind of short and jarring. It was less training and more of a quick hazing (which makes his defeat of Parallax all the more surprising).

And space was important in the movie.

The Corps. wasn't barely touched on. There were several scenes involving The Corps, the characters' relation to the Corp, the Corps purpose, and the politics of the Guardians use of The Corps. Sinestro, Kilowog and Tomar Re all received scenes to themselves The Corps just wasn't the focus of the movie.

As far as space being barely touched on.

The film contained:
-The opening with the Lost Sector
-Abin Sur VS Parallax
-Waller and Hammond's involvement in Abin Sur's examination.
-Hal flying through space and discovering Oa and The Corps.
-The Corps confronting Parallax
-Sinestro's several sequences with The Guardians.
-Hal and Parallax dogfighting in space.
-Hal returning to Oa.

I don't consider that barely touched on. I don't know why anyone would. Certainly less than the Earth elements, but "barely"? Not even close.

Different powerset, went to one alien planet, came back home to pine over girl and complain about the responsibility of the ring while using said ring.

It's a completely different concept than most superheroes. Again, how is he a generic concept? It's a guy with a magic ring and lantern. A man becoming a member of an alien peace force. Where have we seen that before in superhero lore, or so often that its become generic compared to other heroes?

It's his job. It's 90% of what's interesting about him. That's like saying Peter Parker saving lives is one of the things that make him interesting. Well no kidding. It's what I read the books for. There are other things but that's why people read that book as opposed to Adam Strange or Hawkman or Superman. Space origins? Yes. No other line of books in DC do what the Green Lantern books do and that captures the interests of people and their imaginations.

I'm pretty sure that people read Green Lantern books because they like Green Lantern, and the basic concept behind it, IE, emotionally driven light weaponry and the battles over such power with various Corps and their interests.

Not because there are no other comics that feature spacetrotting adventures.

Hal's job is certainly not 90% lot what makes him interesting. His job is more like 90% of the reason he faces serious threats.

The very nature of Hal's power, belonging to The Corps, Hal's demeanor, his status as a pilot, his quest to overcome responsibility, fear and power issues...his relation to his friends, allies, Earth, his struggle with authority, these are the things that make him an interesting character.

Not completely true. Batman was way more proactive than Green Lantern. He actually patrols his streets and goes out looking to help.

Batman was proactive with Falcone. He responded to everything else.

Green Lantern happened to be in situations like the dinner party. I can't really explain him rescuing Waller. That was incredibly random. If he actually patrolled the city as Green Lantern looking for people to save and found her then that makes his complaining about the responsibility of the ring even more foolish.

The film very clearly shows and tells you that the ring alerts Hal when there's trouble. The ring alerted him that there was trouble, and when he arrived, Waller, Senator Hammond and the other scientists were in trouble.

Budgetary reasons or no the entire movie felt like a tease for what could have been done than anything else. That was ultimately my problem with it. It felt like a lot of buildup and then the credits started rolling and I felt ripped off.

Good, it's supposed to tease more, a larger, more complex universe/storyline. So has almost every single superhero movie recently made.

I don't understand how people can feel ripped off about a movie that features Green Lantern doing battle with Parallax and punching him into the Sun. Disappointed that there wasn't more of certain things, okay...but "ripped off"?

Hal's origin is get ring, get trained, patrol universe.

That's the very basic origin. There's much more to Hal's actual origin story.

That's the thing. It really is not significant to his origin. To his character? Yes. There are lots of issues with Martin Jordan and the Ferris family that are important to his character but removing them from his origin would not affect it like say letting Uncle Ben live. Tony Stark's drinking is important to his character but that doesn't mean it's important to his origin and neither are Hal Jordan's connections on earth important to his.

The very fact that Hal is from Earth is important to his origin. Earth being in peril is important to his origin. Hal having to get to the point where can leave Earth and accept his new responsibilities is important to the origin.

Yes but Stark's origin was the first half of the film (if that) and then stayed there. Once he went back to the middle east as Iron Man and saved the day it was done. He knew who he was, his motivation was set, he became Iron Man at that point.

I'm not sure what your point is.

And yet he didn't accept being a Green Lantern until the end. He turned his backs on the Guardians and the corps (while still using their weapon) and then flew back once it was his planet in danger. He didn't learn his lesson that there are many planets out there that need his protection and that he should get over his fear of responsibility until after the Parallax threat was taken care of. I understand the character arc. I just don't think it was particularly well told or engaging.

It wasn't particularly well told or engaging. But that doesn't automatically make it "bad". Just average.

Like I said, it felt like they were just going through the motions and it felt like I saw the movie before. Even down to Tom's "Hey. Doesn't the Hero always get the girl?" Thank you, Tom, for reminding us that we have to check love interest off the list.

It's a legitimate point to raise, I'd think.

Those may be origin stories but there is a reason they have been retold in so many ways. The core is the origin. Take Superman for example. His being born on Krypton and being shipped to earth is his origin.

No, that's only the part about him coming to Earth. That's not Superman's origin. Superman's origin involves being raised by the Kents and then becoming Superman.

With that in mind, yes, you can have Abin Sur crash and Hal Jordan receive the ring in the same issue. You can have him flown to Oa for training in the same issue. It has been done and I have "Secret Origin" to show just that. It's a very good story (well, version) of his first adventure but it's only one of many.

Just because you can do that doesn't mean it's a good storytelling approach.

SECRET ORIGIN does not feature Hal receiving the ring and being flown
to Oa in the same issue. Hal gets the ring in one issue and goes to Oa in the next.

It could have been done well. Having the strength to confront and overcome your fear is a decent message and could have made for a good arc.

But it was terribly executed.

How was it terribly executed? What's terrible about it?

[quoteIt really was. He could clearly use the ring and there was no issue with the color yellow/yellow impurity so there was no real payoff to him getting over his fear.[/quote]

Except for, you know, defeating Parallax, saving the world, and by extension, other worlds.

This movie needed to show why Hal was selected above all others to wield this ring and all it showed was that this guy was too scared to even use it (which made me wonder how he even got it to work...and then he used it anyway!).

The movie never introduced the idea that he was chosen over all others, only that he was chosen. For all we know, he was chosen because he was the closest potential GL near Abin Sur. It was quite clearly shown that Hal was chosen because he has the ability to overcome fear.

His issues with responsibility and accountability. It's a pretty big deal once he gets an entire sector of space to patrol. He's brave and has the willpower. Everybody knows that. The issue is that he is so immature and irresponsible and he doesn't think so. That's why I thought Ryan Reynolds was cast well for the role. Then they didn't go that route and I felt like they missed the obvious.

They kind of did go that route. They did deal with those themes.

Hal isn't aware of his flaws. He's overly proud of himself, overly confident, and just not the person you should even leave in charge of your houseplants far less for an aircraft and especially not for an entire section of the galaxy. He's a reckless maverick and he should have did something that resulted in major repercussions because of his irresponsibility with his powers (even Justice League: Doom touched on this part of him when he thought he got a woman killed and gave up being Green Lantern). There should have been something to make him wise up.

There was something to make him wise up.

This "Am I worthy?" stuff is not Hal and never has been. Hal will tell you he's worthy in a thousand ways and whether it's true or not is completely inconsequential to him.

There have been plenty of "Am I worthy" stories, for both Hal and other GL's. It's a perfectly natural issue to have with that kind of power.

The problem was that the campy moments were pervasive. With the script he had, Reynolds was almost doing a rehash of Hannibal King.

No, they really weren't. There were little comedy moments here and there amidst a fairly serious take on the concept. Which campy moments did you have issues with?

I didn't mind comments like, "There's...water in the tap" or "I smell funny?" However, when Hal first finds himself on Oa, that was a time for him and the movie to switch tones. It didn't happen until he fought w/ Sinestro. That's not the Hal Jordan that I've read in the comics.

The tone of the film DID change when Hal went to Oa. There was a sense of awe and wonder, a reverence to the proceedings, and heavier themes were introduced, the requirements for being a Green lantern and that of him not being up the task, and afraid.

You've never read a comic where Hal Jordan gets a bit in over his head, has a bit too much confidence, and realizes he's a bit out of his league, or that he's been too cocky?

Really?

 

[maenalus]

what would you guys made his character arc

He doesn't need one. Hal is just a natural born leader and hero. That's the only way his being chosen for the ring makes sense.

My problems with the movie are:

1. The whole stupid traumatized by father's death/has to overcome his fear nonsense.
2.Trying to make Hector deep and complicated with the accomplishment/daddy issues. Hector Hammond is suppose to be the definition of petty and unscrupulous. The part where he gets upset to learn his dad got him the position over more deserving scientists was particularly un-Hector considering in his first comics appearance his crime was kidnapping and taking credit for the inventions of three scientists.
3. Parallax over hyped as the greatest threat the entire Corps has ever faced, only to be defeated so simply by one guy. Either he should have been much harder to defeat or they shouldn't have played him up so much. Also, while having the green energy be ineffective on everything colored yellow would be over doing it, the yellow energy at least should still be immune to the green.
4. Hal and Carol's vulgar language.
5. The light up effect on the costume.
6. Oa's design was bleh.
7. The editing and pacing.

There's other stuff I didn't like, but are more nitpicking than anything that really hurts the movie in my eyes.

 

[MadVillainy]

He doesn't need one. Hal is just a natural born leader and hero. That's the only way his being chosen for the ring makes sense.
4. Hal and Carol's vulgar language.


There's other stuff I didn't like, but are more nitpicking than anything that really hurts the movie in my eyes.

If he's the star of the movie then yeah he needs to have an arc. Protagonists have character arcs

and what vulgar language? I dont remember it being anything worse than what's heard in the average PG13 summer blockbuster

But I agree with the rest of your points

 

[maenalus]

I've never subscribed to the opinion that every protagonist needs to undergo a fundamental change in his attitude and thinking. In the the case of Hal Jordan, I don't see how that's suppose to work. Not his origin story anyway. The whole point is he's chosen for a great undertaking, one he doesn't even seek out, because he possesses the great qualities it requires.

Any vulgarity from good guys in movies like this, which ought to be more kid friendly, is just jarring and out of place.

 

[Lantern Venom]

No, they really weren't. There were little comedy moments here and there amidst a fairly serious take on the concept. Which campy moments did you have issues with?



The tone of the film DID change when Hal went to Oa. There was a sense of awe and wonder, a reverence to the proceedings, and heavier themes were introduced,

I thought the camp should have been kept at minimum after the Oath in Hal's apartment. Hal showing off for Thomas, trying to impress Carol with his powers, and preening after waking up on an alien world were my chief cringe moments. That seemed like something more indicative of Peter Parker or Johnny Storm type than Hal Jordan. The movie winked at the camera too much.

Keep in mind, I liked the overall product. The costumes, Oa, Kilowog, the Guardians, Sinestro's role, and the construct effects were all well done. GL could have been better, but it was still a decent effort.

 

[Savage]

I don't know that GREEN LANTERN should ever have been set entirely in space.
And I don't know what is an appropriate excuse/explanation for the kind of thing you're talking about if budget isn't.

You have to look at it in context. This isn't a scenario where the director/producer of the film has his own in house effects studio to help keep costs down.

GL cost somewhere in the vicinity of $250 million as is. Imagine how much money an even bigger, more action-packed film would have cost. For a relatively unknown, untested character and concept, that's just not a risk a studio is going to take.

I just think that GL did not use it's money in an economic way. They went for an inventive way of doing the costumes at the expense of effects for other scenes and characters. GL was already heavy with CGI characters. Bringing up Star Trek again I was a little surprised to find such a fast paced and action packed movie only cost $150 million. I'd wonder where GL's money went but I know it went into creating a CGI world, not unlike Avatar, that it could not showcase too much because of that same budget. I would've been fine with corners being cut in favor of more practical effects for costumes, characters and more CGI constructs for longer battles. The way those Lanterns were quickly disposed of by Parallax was just pathetic.

And space was important in the movie.

The Corps. wasn't barely touched on. There were several scenes involving The Corps, the characters' relation to the Corp, the Corps purpose, and the politics of the Guardians use of The Corps. Sinestro, Kilowog and Tomar Re all received scenes to themselves The Corps just wasn't the focus of the movie.

As far as space being barely touched on.

The film contained:
-The opening with the Lost Sector
-Abin Sur VS Parallax
-Waller and Hammond's involvement in Abin Sur's examination.
-Hal flying through space and discovering Oa and The Corps.
-The Corps confronting Parallax
-Sinestro's several sequences with The Guardians.
-Hal and Parallax dogfighting in space.
-Hal returning to Oa.

I don't consider that barely touched on. I don't know why anyone would. Certainly less than the Earth elements, but "barely"? Not even close.

I guess I phrased it wrong and what I mean to say is The Corps didn't do much to show why they were such a force to be reckoned with. Their power wasn't really shown and their purpose was simply to introduce the concept and provide cannon fodder for Parallax in order to show much they need Hal Jordan. The majority of the space scenes were introductions to Oan concepts, complaining to the Guardians, and getting thoroughly whooped by Parallax in very short scenes simply meant to show how helpless (and rather useless, really) they all were. It was a very limited and lackluster representation of what could have been, in my opinion.

I guess I would have been happy actually seeing the Lanterns do their job competently at least once to establish them so that this threat actually seemed like the big deal they made it out to be. Parallax didn't look strong. The corps just looked weak.

It's a completely different concept than most superheroes. Again, how is he a generic concept? It's a guy with a magic ring and lantern. A man becoming a member of an alien peace force. Where have we seen that before in superhero lore, or so often that its become generic compared to other heroes?

It wasn't the concept that was generic but rather the execution. They treated it with the basic "Hero gets powers, hero's love interest isn't interested because hero needs to learn lesson, hero's love interest is in danger, hero learns lesson just in time to save the day." The power ring, the corps, and space for that matter, didn't really add anything to the story aside from a different version of "Super power, here's where the super power came from, here's where your threat originates" The movie just did not feel all that different from any other superhero movie and it's a shame because this is one of the more unique comic book concepts out there.

I'm pretty sure that people read Green Lantern books because they like Green Lantern, and the basic concept behind it, IE, emotionally driven light weaponry and the battles over such power with various Corps and their interests.

Not because there are no other comics that feature spacetrotting adventures.

Hal's job is certainly not 90% lot what makes him interesting. His job is more like 90% of the reason he faces serious threats.

The very nature of Hal's power, belonging to The Corps, Hal's demeanor, his status as a pilot, his quest to overcome responsibility, fear and power issues...his relation to his friends, allies, Earth, his struggle with authority, these are the things that make him an interesting character.

Those do make him interesting but on their own, as concepts, they don't make him unique. How he reacts does, yes, but his powerset, his profession as a member of the corps, the rules he has to abide by, the authorities he has to answer to, these are things no other superhero has to deal with. Green Lantern offered a unique version of a superhero who is part of a group he can go to for support. It offered a view on the universe where there are laws that can be broken and people you have to answer to (only seen in Men In Black previously and even then not nearly on this scale). Green Lantern's character offers a combination of unique ideas and concepts in the comics that aren't normally found in other books. It's why it's so disappoint when the writers of the movie just saw him as "Here's our superhero, here's his girl, here's the bad guy, bing, bang, boom. We have a blockbuster."

Batman was proactive with Falcone. He responded to everything else.

Not true. Especially in The Dark Knight. Batman was working from the very beginning. He stopped Scarecrow's operations, he tracked down Lau to China and brought him back, he pursued Maroni in the nightclub, Batman is very much a character on the move in his movies and doesn't just wait for things to happen. Even in the daylight as Bruce Wayne.

The film very clearly shows and tells you that the ring alerts Hal when there's trouble. The ring alerted him that there was trouble, and when he arrived, Waller, Senator Hammond and the other scientists were in trouble.

I'm going to have to watch the movie again because I have not seen it since theaters. I remember him just bursting in to save the day out of the blue. Or was that for Carol when she was abducted by Hector. I do remember a scene where I wondered "How did he know about this?"

Good, it's supposed to tease more, a larger, more complex universe/storyline. So has almost every single superhero movie recently made.

I don't understand how people can feel ripped off about a movie that features Green Lantern doing battle with Parallax and punching him into the Sun. Disappointed that there wasn't more of certain things, okay...but "ripped off"?

That's the thing. All the good stuff came at the climax. All of the incredibly constructs and space dog fighting. It's one of those movies that I'd have no problem fast-forwarding from action scene to action scene because of it. Everything that connects those scenes are very bland and badly written. It is just not an engaging movie and I think that's at least partially because I know there is something better they could be showing. I know that they're holding back. If that movie was supposed to be a tease, if it was supposed to be an extended trailer for Green Lantern 2 then great. It did it's job and teased me. Why is it that other movies can tease and still leave me feeling satisfied? The Empire Strikes Back, X2, Spider-man 2. I list sequels because these flat out had cliffhanger endings and I still felt like I got my time and/or money's worth.

They introduced the concept of the Green Lantern, the corps, and the sectors. They introduced this vast world and universe full of various life forms. All of these wonderful places in the galaxy to visit and I'm left looking at a desert. I did feel ripped off. As ripped off as I'd have felt if Star Wars showed the Canteena scene only to have the rest of the movie take place on Tatooine anyway.

That's the very basic origin. There's much more to Hal's actual origin story.

There really isn't, though. His fight with Hector Hammond wasn't part of his origin. He was already Green Lantern by then. His teaming up with Sinestro against Atrocitus was not part of his origin. An origin story is about the first adventure, yes, but the origin of his powers and identity as a superhero is rather short.

The very fact that Hal is from Earth is important to his origin. Earth being in peril is important to his origin. Hal having to get to the point where can leave Earth and accept his new responsibilities is important to the origin.

These things are important to the development of his character and can be changed from interpretation to interpretation. It's the ring, Abin Sur, The Corps, and his training that are important. In other words if DC were to create an Ultimate Universe these are the things that would most likely carry over.

I'm not sure what your point is.

My point here is that the whole movie wasn't Iron Man's origin. Just a part of it. The same should have been done here and it just felt like it was being stretched out and padded for the sake of a runtime or in this case lazy writing. I won't even say budget because about half of Thor was based on earth and that was awesome.

It wasn't particularly well told or engaging. But that doesn't automatically make it "bad". Just average.

Painfully average for such an extraordinary concept and character. It wasn't bad in a Catwoman kind of way but bad in a "You really took the laziest way possible with the character." kind of way. It felt like it was grinded out of a summer blockbuster machine. The worst thing a movie can be in my opinion is boring. Even movies like Fantastic Four, Ghost Rider, and Daredevil hold some entertainment value even if they are laughable. I throw Green Lantern in with Elektra in that they're just bland wastes of time.

It's a legitimate point to raise, I'd think.

I do not agree. It was particularly random considering he was staring at a guy in a suit made of green light. His thought isn't "Hey, take me for a ride!" or "Do something! Make a plane!" but "Shouldn't you be getting laid right now?". It was one of the more awkward segways I've seen in a movie.

No, that's only the part about him coming to Earth. That's not Superman's origin. Superman's origin involves being raised by the Kents and then becoming Superman.

Which is not enough for an entire Superman movie. Not unless it's a Smallville movie. There needs be plenty of time seeing the hero do what people came to see. You can't introduce the concept of the Corps and then show less interesting stuff. That's what brings this movie from mere disappointment to ripoff. When you know they're hiding the good stuff from you.

Just because you can do that doesn't mean it's a good storytelling approach.

SECRET ORIGIN does not feature Hal receiving the ring and being flown
to Oa in the same issue. Hal gets the ring in one issue and goes to Oa in the next.

You are right about that one. So two issues out of six to get the very basic origin out of the way as opposed to a whole movie where he's not even sure he wants to be this (a story that's usually saved for the sequel for a reason. Spider-man 2 for example).

How was it terribly executed? What's terrible about it?

It wasn't really a character arc seeing as how he was already virtually fearless in the beginning of the movie aside from the panic attack he had about his father. He clearly wasn't afraid of heights so I'm not attributing a panic attack to fear. His fear of responsibility felt like it came because the movie said it should be there. He at least tried before. He was irresponsible but he cared about proving people wrong. Certainly his nephew. As soon as he got the ring he became this coward all of a sudden just so that he wouldn't be a coward again later and his issues with his father's death still weren't dealt with (only saw the movie once almost a year ago so I may be remembering it wrong). I don't see how he became a more responsible person at the end. I don't think he did. In my opinion that would have been more interesting to watch. The movie makers just decided he was a coward and then made him not a coward and that that would be the story arc.

Except for, you know, defeating Parallax, saving the world, and by extension, other worlds.

You're misinterpreting that (or at least taking it out of context. Thanks for that.). The ring only works if you are able to overcome great fear. Hal was pretty fearful throughout a good chunk of the movie. That's part of why I think fear should not have been his story arc because he wouldn't be able to even get the ring to work by the movie's own rules.

The movie never introduced the idea that he was chosen over all others, only that he was chosen. For all we know, he was chosen because he was the closest potential GL near Abin Sur. It was quite clearly shown that Hal was chosen because he has the ability to overcome fear.

The ability to overcome fear that he didn't use until the end. Which makes me wonder how the ring even worked before that. He was chosen for an ability he did not showcase until the end of the movie. I have a problem with that. There was probably someone else out there who had the ability to overcome great fear right away and not wait until a planet destroying level crisis.

They kind of did go that route. They did deal with those themes.

They touched on it at the beginning. I was looking forward to that. Then they decided he was so irresponsible because he was afraid of it, which was...beyond ridiculous to me. He fears responsibility so he's irresponsible? Are they saying he did irresponsible things on purpose? I understand the fear of failure, especially failing loved ones, but they already showed that he at least tried. Then he gets the ring and just stops.

There was something to make him wise up.

There was something to make him brave again (because he was already brave in this movie. He just lost it at the convenience of the plot). He's not afraid of responsibility anymore. He's probably going to keep missing birthday parties and pissing off his superiors, though. Not fearing responsibility doesn't automatically make you responsible.

There have been plenty of "Am I worthy" stories, for both Hal and other GL's. It's a perfectly natural issue to have with that kind of power.

Yes but like I've said before, it felt out of place in the first movie. At least give him some time as an arrogant hero first before he screws up and decides this is too much responsibility for him to have. He got frightened after a session with Sinestro. No wonder Sinestro believes fear is the most powerful emotion.

 

[Ultra Nolanite]

Green Lanterns biggest mistake was not being a live action 2.5 hour First Flight. That's all it needed to be really.

 

[Naked Shia]

Green Lantern got NOTHING WRONG! OK?!

 

[kane9321]

the plot was teriblle
Lack of character development

PARALLAX

 

[The Guard]

I thought the camp should have been kept at minimum after the Oath in Hal's apartment. Hal showing off for Thomas, trying to impress Carol with his powers, and preening after waking up on an alien world were my chief cringe moments. That seemed like something more indicative of Peter Parker or Johnny Storm type than Hal Jordan. The movie winked at the camera too much.

Keep in mind, I liked the overall product. The costumes, Oa, Kilowog, the Guardians, Sinestro's role, and the construct effects were all well done. GL could have been better, but it was still a decent effort.

Hal Jordan is often in the same vein as Johnny Storm or Peter Parker. They like to have fun, and so does he.

Preening after waking up on an alien world is essentially just the movie's way of having Hal admire his costume, the way he has done in the comics when first discovering it, without "thought bubbles" or "dialogue boxes".

 

[Lantern Venom]

Hal Jordan is often in the same vein as Johnny Storm or Peter Parker. They like to have fun, and so does he.

Preening after waking up on an alien world is essentially just the movie's way of having Hal admire his costume, the way he has done in the comics when first discovering it, without "thought bubbles" or "dialogue boxes".

I guess it depends upon the era. In his earliest appearances, he just changed into his costume with no fuss, and he wasn't much of a jokester.

The movie did get the early "player" element right. Hal did enjoy stepping out with the ladies (usually in his GL costume) despite his feelings for Carol.

 

[The Guard]

True.

But while some of the basics from his earlier stories are there, we were never really going to get 1950's/1960's Hal Jordan. Frankly, that version of the character was something of a bore beyond the usual basics, kind of a stoic superhero cypher. This movie's GL was based on the GL of the 70's and 80's, EMERALD DAWN and SECRET ORIGINS, where Hal more or less embraced his powers and loved having fun with them.

The second part is why I don't understand why people would whine about him using the costume to try to impress Carol. It's something he did all the time in the books. The movie presents a compressed version of that, as she figures out who he is almost right away, but its still nice to see.

 

[Jordacar]

I think one of the biggest hurdles the movie had difficulty overcoming was nailing down how the ring and the constructs work. I got the feeling the writers were too lazy to really figure it out a lot of the little details themselves and simply hoped to keep the audience distracted with all the pretty colors. But I kept getting distracted by those little details.

Does the suit disappear when Hal takes off the ring (or when it runs out of juice), or does the suit stay on until he wills it off? (I've seen it done both ways, even in the same issue/episode/movie.)
Here's a question that's always bothered me: What would happen if Hal Jordan was shot with a gun? Like not as GL but just sitting around normally with his ring on? Would the ring protect him automatically or would he have to form a protective shield by his own will?
Speaking of which, what does it take to maintain an energy shield? That moment fighting Parallax when a piece of debris hits him even after he puts up a shield, I couldn't help wondering "Why even bother with a shield if he still gets knocked on his ass?"

Anyway, I figure the filmmakers would have to contend with a lot of this even if the script wasn't lousy. Don't get me wrong, I've been reading the comics for years and these kinds of things aren't such a big deal in other mediums, but on the big screen I think they become much more glaring.