Monday, June 20, 2011

Is Green Lantern Badass?

I just got home from seeing Green Lantern 3D, and it was not the piece of crap that the internet would have you believe. I will freely admit that the dialogue is atrocious and ripped from just about any '80s action movie. I will also concede that there are too many instances of the film showing something and not explaining what the audience just saw. Then, in the very next scene, laying on the exposition without showing what they were talking about. In fact, a pretty big plot point (and piece of franchise foreshadowing) suffers from both these things.

That said, the movie is a pretty faithful retelling of the (most recent) Green Lantern origin story, and that is a pretty big plus for a comic book adaptation. GL is also a fun movie, and that makes it a rarity. It seems that injecting fun into super hero films is forbidden in Hollywood these days... as if audiences won't take the brightly-dressed flying man seriously unless the story has the heft of The King's Speech. When I walk into a comic book movie, I want a sense of fun, adventure, and wonder. Green Lantern had all of these, and I really hope they make a sequel.

One quick note about the 3D. Green Lantern is a very visual film, and the 3D did make the ring constructs and CG effects stand out. Is it necessary to see the 3D version? I would say "not at all," but I don't feel ripped off for paying to see it that way.

Is Green Lantern a good movie? Not really, but it is Badass.