World What Went Wrong With the 2011 Green Lantern Movie?

[TMC1982]

It's been five years since Green Lantern failed to ignite a DC Cinematic Universe. We look at what went wrong.

 

[Syncos]

Honestly? They tried mashing too much stuff together.

They should have done a (pretty much) straight adaptation of Secret Origins, have Hector Hammond be the bad guy. Then done Parallax later.

 

[TMC1982]

Movies that were supposed to launch franchises (but didn’t): Green Lantern

 

[Herofan]

I'm not sure Bradley Cooper would have been a great GL/much better than Reynolds but he probably would have been better. Cooper especially, though similarly relatable, has/could have had a lot of charisma. With Reynolds as he was portrayed it seemed like the studio was uncertainly hedging a lot, trying to cram in a lot of self-humor for if it wasn't otherwise impressive.
I also think the special effects, including the Green Lantern suits, actually were and, from the marketing, also looked pretty bad/generic. And the plot was weird and hard to describe or get people excited about through the marketing.

 

[LTuser]

IMO the only thing the film did wrong, was it made itself TOO comical..

 

[Mandon Knight]

Wrong choice of director, for the material at hand. Get the fundamentals wrong and the rest will by result, go wrong.

 

[Tacit Ronin]

IMO the only thing the film did wrong, was it made itself TOO comical..

Really? That's the only thing it did wrong?

 

[Herofan]

Wrong choice of director, for the material at hand. Get the fundamentals wrong and the rest will by result, go wrong.

But GoldenEye and Casino Royale were fun romps with quite a bit of good character work and Zorro also a fine character drama/fun action mix and decent origin. I'm not sure who would have been better.

 

[Delwin]

Not sure why it is thought to be so bad. It is (comparably) at lowest MCU level- mediocre however I liked RR vey much in a role.

 

[Vlyse]

Hector Hammond was creepy and a parody, Parallax reeks of "we need a giant monster in the 3rd act" and nothing more. Doesn't help the writers were Berlanti and Guggenheim.

But I remember enjoying it at the time and was surprised at the mixed/negative reaction. Definitely at lowest MCU levels, for me too.

 

[Delwin]

Same for me - nothing special but enjoyable.

 

[Iceman]

Less earth time might have helped.

 

[David H.]

The only thing I remember about this movie is arguing with a friend as to wether or not Reynold’s butt was CGI’d.

 

[unholyrevenger]

Use of Dead Parent Trope
Bad VFX
Parallax
Killing Waller
Hector Hammond
Wasting Mark Strong as Sinestro

 

[Mandon Knight]

But GoldenEye and Casino Royale were fun romps with quite a bit of good character work and Zorro also a fine character drama/fun action mix and decent origin. I'm not sure who would have been better.

Campbell has admitted he knew next to nothing of the character or his world and had very little knowledge or experience in CGI, not exactly recommendations for getting a job.

 

[TMC1982]

Green Lantern (2011) | Bomb Report

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

Green Lantern (2011) | Bomb Report

Interesting read

 

[Spider-Fan]

I am considering making a video about this. I was watching this last night now that I saw Aquaman this year and was comparing similarities between Aquaman, Wonder Woman, and Man of Steel. Then I came back to this and I saw some reasons I feel Aquaman and Wonder Woman really worked, and GL didn't.

 

[2kt09]

I am considering making a video about this. I was watching this last night now that I saw Aquaman this year and was comparing similarities between Aquaman, Wonder Woman, and Man of Steel. Then I came back to this and I saw some reasons I feel Aquaman and Wonder Woman really worked, and GL didn't.

Still haven't yet watched Aquaman, but how high up on that list is male & female lead going on an adventure?
MoS has that but happens much later and overall very meek conversations between the two.
GL's biggest mistake was having Hal come back from Oa and the rest of the movie goes on from there centered around him.

 

[Spider-Fan]

Still haven't yet watched Aquaman, but how high up on that list is male & female lead going on an adventure?
MoS has that but happens much later and overall very meek conversations between the two.
GL's biggest mistake was having Hal come back from Oa and the rest of the movie goes on from there centered around him.

Actually, I think the opposite. I think the movie suffered from having 2 plotlines: Earth and Oa. When growing a mythology, you need to sprinkle it slowly so the audience can follow. Green Lantern threw to much at you too fast. I think the whole movie should have been on Earth. Parallax needed cut, or at best relegated to just possessing Hammond with no physical body. Sinestro needed to be sent to Earth (against his will) to train Hal Jordan and explain what a Green Lantern is and its mythology along the way. This movie tried to have active plots in both Earth and space, and it didn't work. The sequel should have dealt more with Oa, the history behind Parallax and the spectrum, etc. Earth and Hal's training needed to be the 1st movie.

 

[Iceman]

Actually, I think the opposite. I think the movie suffered from having 2 plotlines: Earth and Oa. When growing a mythology, you need to sprinkle it slowly so the audience can follow. Green Lantern threw to much at you too fast. I think the whole movie should have been on Earth. Parallax needed cut, or at best relegated to just possessing Hammond with no physical body. Sinestro needed to be sent to Earth (against his will) to train Hal Jordan and explain what a Green Lantern is and its mythology along the way. This movie tried to have active plots in both Earth and space, and it didn't work. The sequel should have dealt more with Oa, the history behind Parallax and the spectrum, etc. Earth and Hal's training needed to be the 1st movie.

With that choice between Earth and Oa, could focusing on Oa instead have worked or would it be too out-there? Focusing on Atlantis worked well for Aquaman, although I guess Atlantis is not quite as far a leap.

 

[Spider-Fan]

With that choice between Earth and Oa, could focusing on Oa instead have worked or would it be too out-there? Focusing on Atlantis worked well for Aquaman, although I guess Atlantis is not quite as far a leap.

I don't think it would have because Oa is in another galaxy, which means Hal's core supporting cast would be basically out of the movie by Act 1. In Aquaman, despite not living there, he had roots or Vulko to build off of. Hal would have had no one to confide in on Oa as organically as Carol or his family. We could argue that Wonder Woman separated Diana from everyone in this same way, but her inexperience and her just being naive made her trusting of others and it got around that. Plus, her going on that journey was a sacrifice. I think understanding why the ring chose Hal was vital to the story.

But that's another issue: the movie says why he was chosen without justifying it on-screen. He can overcome fear, okay. When does he do that? When he succumbed to fear and crashed his jet? When he succumbed to fear and lost Carol? Etc. There isn't a moment where the movie shows us this before he has the ring. He just has one moment where he gets competitive with the drones and does something nuts, but that shows bravery and boldness. Not overcoming fear.

 

[Iceman]

I don't think it would have because Oa is in another galaxy, which means Hal's core supporting cast would be basically out of the movie by Act 1. In Aquaman, despite not living there, he had roots or Vulko to build off of. Hal would have had no one to confide in on Oa as organically as Carol or his family. We could argue that Wonder Woman separated Diana from everyone in this same way, but her inexperience and her just being naive made her trusting of others and it got around that. Plus, her going on that journey was a sacrifice. I think understanding why the ring chose Hal was vital to the story.

But that's another issue: the movie says why he was chosen without justifying it on-screen. He can overcome fear, okay. When does he do that? When he succumbed to fear and crashed his jet? When he succumbed to fear and lost Carol? Etc. There isn't a moment where the movie shows us this before he has the ring. He just has one moment where he gets competitive with the drones and does something nuts, but that shows bravery and boldness. Not overcoming fear.

Makes sense. I hope a GLC film can focus almost exclusively on events outside Earth if and when we get one though.

 

[Spider-Fan]

Makes sense. I hope a GLC film can focus almost exclusively on events outside Earth if and when we get one though.

Agreed. I would prefer that one not be on Earth like at all.

 

[frankgutz]

Ryan Reynolds acting as himself went wrong

Either way, i actually remember enjoying the film, critics were harsh on it tbh, i mean, some films like Elektra, Daredevil and some of the Fantastic Four exist so...