Tag Archives: Comics

A Review of “Green Lantern”

In the interest of full disclaimer, I’ve always been more of a Marvel fan than a DC Universe fan. That fact notwithstanding, I played with Justice League action figures as a child, and developed an interest in the recent animated adventures of both the Justice League and Batman. The new Batgirl title has earned my affections, as well.

For the most part, however, I’m not nearly as knowledgeable regarding Green Lantern as I am about, for example, the X-Men.

Karen and I doubled with some friends this weekend to take in the new Green Lantern movie. I was secretly suspecting the worst after reading a less than favorable review, and I went in armed only with basic knowledge of the classic comic book hero: that he is inducted into an intergalactic corps of peacekeepers known as the Green Lantern Corps, that he is the guardian of Earth’s sector of space, and that he is deceptively powerful, as his ring transforms his will into energy, effectively creating any form that he can imagine. Green Lantern has always been one of the more original superheroes from the golden age of comics. 

And, while I understand the previously mentioned negative review, Green Lantern performed well. This movie is worth your time.

The issue with condensing origin stories into the plot of a two hour film is that there’s never quite enough time, at least not if you’re going to tell anything other than the origin story (which, of course, must be done, otherwise the movie would be largely uninteresting to any but the most seasoned of nerds). Particularly difficult here was telling two histories: that of Hal Jordan, and that of the Green Lantern Corps (along with its arch-nemesis). Of course, this necessarily involves a love interest (it was the golden age of comics, after all!). All crammed into an average length movie, when the story could easily have been expanded to an epic-length film. The result is what we’ve frequently seen with origin stories for comic book film adaptations: stories that move too quickly, at the expense of character development. My primary complaint with Green Lantern was that it fell into this trap. Worse, it exacerbated the problem by cutting entirely too quickly between sub-plots, leaving the audience thinking that “there really should have been more to that…oh, wait, we’re back to this guy now…”

In short, Green Lantern suffered from a minor case of story arc whiplash.

Of course, there are the requisite corny one-liners that are inherent in comic book film adaptation, as mentioned in the negative review referenced above. Still, many viewers (and likely devoted Green Lantern fans) might find this nostalgic to the comic book’s pages, so this is a complaint based entirely on perspective.

Oh, and there’s that brief second in which we see a Lantern’s ring generate what appears to be replica of Captain America’s shield (Cap is a Marvel character), which leaves one frozen in disbelief. One cannot, as we know, cross the streams.

What’s interesting is what is symbolized in the myth of Green Lantern, and that is the evil power of fear (symbolized by the color yellow) that is overcome by the triumphant power of will (you guessed it, the color green). While portraying the basic meta-message that courage must win against fear for good to triumph, this also smacks interestingly (at least as the movie spins the tale) of American work ethic, a self-made, “pull yourself up by your own bootstraps” mentality as Hal Jordan leaves the Corps’ good graces to fight for Earth himself, as the Guardians decide that this one planet does not merit the Corps’ attention during a crisis. Perhaps I’m reading too much into this telling of Green Lantern’s story, but it seems that the undertones are a bit didactic at times. Then again, I imagine many would argue that this is what makes a good superhero tale.

The story, however poorly cut at times, is complete, however. The visual effects are beautifully rendered, and the climactic action sequences paced just right: not so huge as to cause you sensory overload (as in Transformers), but still big enough to provide the requisite spectacle due a classic superhero. Green Lantern is not the best superhero adaptation I’ve seen from Hollywood this season (that title still rests with Thor), but its certainly a close second.  Even if you’re only a DC hobbyist, as I am, instead of a devoted fan, you’ll enjoy this movie.

And I even bet you fight the urge to applaud when Jordan recites the oath of the Green Lantern Corps: “…Let all who worship evil’s might, beware my power, Green Lantern’s light!” You may or may not be successful in fighting that urge.

Image taken from the “Downloads” page of the official movie website

A Review of “Thor”

I’m a comic book, super-hero geek.

Try to hide your surprise at this revelation.

When I saw the trailer for Thor, my initial reaction was that it looked really sharp. The plot? I figured it could go in either a really good, or a really bad, direction. My weekend was made very happy by the fact that the former was true.

From an acting perspective, the major actors all turned in excellent performances. Chris Hemsworth captured the character of the cocky immortal who needs to learn his lesson well, and I was impressed with his physical mastery of the character and the fact that he brought a good range to the performance. I have no recollection of Hemsworth from Star Trek or his other work, so this was essentially his debut performance for me. I was impressed.

I found myself equally impressed with Natalie Portman’s performance. While she perhaps didn’t bring as much range to her performance as Hemsworth, she breathed life into her scenes with fantastic facial expressions, which are a tell-tale sign of good acting. This was a pleasant surprise for me, because casting Portman opposite any actor playing Thor seemed a remarkably odd choice at first blush. The screenwriters, of course, took some liberties with Portman’s character, Jane Foster, but this should ultimately be expected with film adaptations, and will be a problem only for the most devout of comic book purists. Even then, the chemistry between the two actors will likely salvage any contrarian opinion.

From a plot perspective, the story stays true to Marvel’s immortal character who is modeled after the thunder god of Norse mythology. His reckless love of warfare finds him unfit to inherit his father’s Asgardian throne, and places him in the position to uncover his brother, Loki’s, nefarious plots, while he grows as a person (helped along, of course, by Jane Foster). Character development runs light in Thor, but the viewer doesn’t miss it so much because this is epic, sweeping story telling, of the sort that is all about plot and little about characterization. In short, this film isn’t meant to develop deep characters, it is meant to introduce the audience to an epic hero.

And, in that, it is successful. The lead-in to the upcoming Avengers film is quite blatant, and certainly left me wanting more. Long-term comics fans will like to know that the movie also briefly introduces Hawkeye…just enough to get you interested, of course (and the child in the row in front of me asking his father, “When’s Hawkeye coming back?” made the moment for me, in any case). I found interesting that the end credits close with the proclamation that “Thor will Return in the Avengers,” sort of reminiscent of the old James Bond films.

The epic, sweeping storytelling is, of course, a visual feast. Nothing pleases a comic book fan more than when the super-hero on the screen looks like the super-hero on the page, and, in that regard, Hemsworth could not have been cast, or costumed, better. My only hesitation is that Mjolnir is designed perhaps a bit too much like the image from the page, because it felt like a prop at times, almost breaking the illusion. This especially occurred when others attempted in vain to lift the hammer, and I found myself thinking, “it looks like cardboard.” The only other significant visual discrepancy I found was the semi-Celtic design left in the ground when Asgardians arrive in our realm. The design has no explanation, other than to look interesting. I suppose that, if that was its only purpose, it succeeded.

These minor issues notwithstanding, the combat sequences were well choreographed but not overbearing, and the balance between live action and CG was superb and without distinction as you watch the film. In fact, I would say the action sequences featuring Thor in battle are visually perfect, complete with the spinning hammer and slinging, hammer-propelled flight. In this, you won’t be disappointed.

The finishing touch on this particular super-hero film is that parents will not feel uncomfortable taking their children for any reason. There is, in my mind, absolutely no objectionable content here for parents to concern themselves about, and that is important for a film about a mainstream super-hero such as this.  Important, and a delicate balance to strike if the film is to do the character justice.

And it does.

Thor opened this weekend. If you grew up loving Marvel comics, as I did, or if you have just recently become enamored with their films or publications, you’ll want to see this movie. Certainly, it is one of Marvel’s best film adaptations to date.

Photo Attribution: popculturegeek