by Matt Sernaker, Senior Editor

After years of waiting, fans of Green Lantern are finally rewarded with a big screen adaptation of their favorite ring slinging hero. Without any question, this IS a Green Lantern movie. All of the elements that fans would hope to see brought to life now exist on screen for the first time ever. To be a Green Lantern, you must have the ability to overcome fear, and while there was much debate over the final quality of this film (mostly concerning casting choices and CGI), I believe that audiences will be pleasantly surprised by the story of Hal Jordan of Earth.

Have no fear, but beware of minor spoilers!

First I want to make this very important statement: Ryan Reynolds steps into the role of Hal Jordan flawlessly. There was much concern over casting him in the lead role, with many critics worrying that he would just be giving us the equivalent of “Van Wilder: IN SPAAAAAAAACE!!!!”. Reynolds had told fans at WonderCon that Hal Jordan is a very different character, with a different style of humor, and they weren’t going to just have him make jokes if it didn’t fit with the character. As a fan, I really appreciated this statement, and I felt that they held true to it throughout the film, proving to be a true departure from the typical Ryan Reynolds viewing experience. Reynolds really gave 100% to this role, and it shows. Hal Jordan’s progression from Cocky-Test-Pilot to True-Selfless-Hero comes across very strongly, thanks to Ryan’s determination and charm. His performance as Hal really is one of the strongest pieces of the film and really helps to drive the movie.

The next big issue that fans were worried about was the use of CGI. Sure, we knew this was going to be a space opera, but as we know from the Star Wars Prequel series, CGI can kill a movie (I am looking at you Jar Jar). The creative decision to use a CGI suit for Hal instead of a traditional suit with CGI enhancements seemed to be a bit of overkill during the initial footage that was released, but critics can rest easy as the finished look for the suit and mask actually works remarkably well on the big screen. Yeah, the mask came across campy at times, but having it move with Reynold’s facial expressions worked very well for demonstration of the lack of fear that he needed to convey. Additionally, the imagery of the Green Lantern Corps and OA itself was probably the most impressive visual components of the film. Getting to see the Corps brought to life, with Hal standing amongst the extremely diverse group of aliens, was just something that fans only hoped would happen in their dreams. While the Corps itself did not play as large of a role as we would have hoped, it was crucial to emphasize the bigger picture of Hal Jordan’s role in this new universe.

Mark Strong also steals a lot of scenes as Sinestro, who demands the respect of the Earthman who replaced his now departed friend, Abin Sur. His interactions with Jordan are handled with care and they help to drive Jordan to become the hero of the story. Michael Clarke Duncan was a perfect choice as the voice for Kilowog and provides the character with the rich tone, intensity, and bad-ass attitude required for the Drill Sergeant of the Corps. Geoffrey Rush also captures the characterization of Tomar-Re without skipping a beat.

While Green Lantern is extremely faithful to the source material, the movie, unfortunately, stumbles in terms of pacing and in regards to some of the character motivation. All of the elements of the GL mythos existed in the film, but just when things start getting interesting, we are pulled away from the fun stuff to follow the uninteresting subplot of Hector Hammond (Peter Sarsgaard), the Earth-based threat of the film. Hammond’s overall arc is very forced and felt like it needed an extra flashback or two to reinforce the connection that he had with Hal and Carol, and maybe more clear motivation for the character. Sarsgaard did give off a stalker-vibe for the character, but the actions did not seem to match the tone of the story. I truly believe if this character had been removed from the movie, everything would have fit together without any problem whatsoever. Blake Lively gave a very unmemorable and half-hearted performance as Carol Ferris. The delivery of her lines came across as bland and uninteresting. While Reynolds was fighting to drive the movie, Lively was putting on the breaks. Director Martin Campbell (Golden Eye, Casino Royale) really missed some amazing opportunities to show off action packed moments with the Corps and the excitement that Hal could have had in putting on the ring for the first time. If you were given the most powerful weapon in the universe that was only limited by your imagination, wouldn’t you want to do some fun stuff with it?

Green Lantern succeeds at being one of the most accurate comic book adaptations in terms of plot points, character development, and visualization, and it should be recognized for these facts. This was definitely the first chapter of a bigger story, with many elements setting up future plot development. We can only hope that we get to see more installments of Hal Jordan’s adventures on the big screen.

ComicsOnline gives Green Lantern 4 out of 5 demonstrations of willpower.

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