Green Lantern: The Movie

[CeeKay]

Phew! Good thing this one is turning out to suck - I would have felt way too spoiled if we had 3 awesome super hero movies before Summer even began. 

we got Thor, but Super 8 isn't a super hero movie 

[th'FOOL]

Phew! Good thing this one is turning out to suck - I would have felt way too spoiled if we had 3 awesome super hero movies before Summer even began. 

we got Thor, but Super 8 isn't a super hero movie 

X-Men First Class, fool!

[Shinjin]

This turn of events makes me sad.  The recent promos looked promising.  Green Lantern is one of the comics that I feverishly collected as a teen and was hoping for a satisfying theater experience with this movie.  I'll probably still rent it, eventually...

[kronovan]

Phew! Good thing this one is turning out to suck - I would have felt way too spoiled if we had 3 awesome super hero movies before Summer even began. 

we got Thor, but Super 8 isn't a super hero movie 

X-Men First Class, fool!

Bingo!

[hepcat]

The amount of bad reviews that border on vitriol is pretty fascinating.  Most of the reviews I've read state that they're upset with the movie because it showed sparks of promise...but then veered off into stupidity every time one of those moments were shown.

I hope they movie makes money because I'm a DC fanboy and I'd love to see someone with talent take on the writing and/or directing if there's a sequel.  Thankfully, the Batman franchise alone guarantees other film endeavors in the DC universe...and holds out promise that they'll be done right.  

I may see this at a matinee on saturday, but if I do it will be in 2D (many reviews mention that the 3D scenes are way too dark and that it's not done very well overall) and it will be under the assumption that I'm going for the popcorn.

I kinda enjoyed Jonah Hex (I think, been trying to rewatch all the movies in my collection so things are getting mixed up), so IN!

Lose my number for Origins.

[rittchard]

Arg. Well, I'm seeing it anyways cause I like GL and Ryan Reynolds both... plus, if he flops that hurts the proposed Deadpool movie!

Ditto!

As long as Ryan Reynolds takes his shirt off, I'm in!

I'm actually even more curious now to watch it than before.  Of the 4 superhero movies, I liked the GL previews the most, even though I'm not really a DC fanboy.  Now it looks like it's going to be the worst reviewed by far, so I'm wondering if I'm just completely out of touch or what.  Of course I even enjoyed Priest so you know I'm not that picky.

[Harkonis]

there's other clues that you aren't picky 

[Fireball1244]

Arg. Well, I'm seeing it anyways cause I like GL and Ryan Reynolds both... plus, if he flops that hurts the proposed Deadpool movie!

Ditto!

As long as Ryan Reynolds takes his shirt off, I'm in!

+1

The fact that it's Green Lantern, the best superhero ever, is a major bonus, but Ryan Reynolds ensures that it'll be watchable no matter what.

[DarkEL]

Just got back from seeing it and the group i went with all enjoyed the film. Certainly not the best super hero movie of all time, but I'd put it on par with Thor and the (over-hyped) X-men first class that also came out this year.

I would agree that there was potential unfulfilled in this movie ( I would have loved a longer movie with more time on Oa and more of the other lanterns).  But it's still an enjoyable film carried mostly by Ryan Reynolds.

I'm hoping for a sequel that could show more of what this film tried to do.

[DarkEL]

And as a side comment.... Good lord do I hate the stereotypical comic book nerds that show up at these midnight showings and demonstrate their lack of social skills, common courtesy,and occasionally basic hygiene.

[Ironrod]

Yeahhh, I don't even see this one making my netflix list.

Green, we’re told at some point in “Green Lantern,’’ is the color of will. Based on the movie surrounding that line, it’s also the color of won’t. Won’t make sense. Won’t satisfy a soul. Possibly won’t make a dime. Green also happens to be the color associated with toxicity. It’s the color of weeds, certain scatological mishaps, antifreeze, and slime. Green is the color of the soup Linda Blair blasts in “The Exorcist.’’ If you were a club kid, it’s also the color of late nights and very early mornings in the 1990s. This is the green of “Green Lantern’’ — the neon green of glow-stick goo.

That is to say not all green is created equal — this is not the green of nature or big money. Most scenes purporting to be set on a distant planet seem like screensavers at war with one another. People claim to have waited their entire life for a movie that turns the DC comic book into a movie that re-creates how Hal Jordan the test pilot (and later a trucker) turned into an interstellar super trooper with a cosmic ring whose power is limited only by his imagination. The film’s is remarkably stunted.

Four credited screenwriters have cobbled decades of the Green Lantern into a story so basic that the can it’s been served from should just say “Superhero Action Film.’’

Not being a fan of superhero action films in general, I think I'll heed the various bad reviews and take a pass.

[hepcat]

Just got back from seeing it and the group i went with all enjoyed the film. Certainly not the best super hero movie of all time, but I'd put it on par with Thor and the (over-hyped) X-men first class that also came out this year.

I would agree that there was potential unfulfilled in this movie ( I would have loved a longer movie with more time on Oa and more of the other lanterns).  But it's still an enjoyable film carried mostly by Ryan Reynolds.

I'm hoping for a sequel that could show more of what this film tried to do.

I think it's safe to say I won't be taking to heart any movie reviews you (or Ceekay) post in the future.  

Edit:  ...I just...I just can't let it go.  I tried...lord knows I tried..  

Jonah Hex wasn't that bad?  Really, Ceekay....REALLY???  

...Jonah Hex???  Portable gatling gun and all?  

[CeeKay]

well after seeing that in the trailer it was hard to have expectations set any lower, so I just put my brain in front of the PC to play some Farmville and enjoyed the celluloid cheese.

[hepcat]

You can't lessen the stigma of initially praising Jonah Hex by now telling everyone you were aware it was awful. That cat's already out of the bag.  You may as well be extolling the virtues of Paul Blart: Mall Cop on the front page of GT.   It's going to take years and years of hard work on your part to regain any semblance of respectability you might once have had after this debacle. 

Now go...I...I can't even look you in the eyes right now. 

[CeeKay]

ummm... Paul Blart was actuall-  nevermind.

[Bullwinkle]

Don't forget how much he loved Vampires Suck.

[Scraper]

My favorite part about Jonah Hex was that apparently the US only had One (1), that's right 1, ship in their entire Navy protecting Washington DC. I was actually enjoying the first half of the movie, in a campy kind of way, and then the last half just took a gigantic nose dive that went nowhere and made no sense at all.

Plus if you're going to have Megan Fox in a movie, at least show more scenes of her wearing daisy dukes while bending over Cameros.

[Scraper]

Don't forget how much he loved Vampires Suck.

Ug that movie was even worse than Johan Hex. I honestly couldn't tell you the difference between Vampires Suck and Twilight. It's like they shot it scene for scene and forgot to add the spoof elements.

[hepcat]

Don't forget how much he loved Vampires Suck.

I refuse to believe that even Ceekay would say this wasn't a joke.  Horse mounted mini-guns and single ship navies are one thing, but we're talking about a film that actually makes you forget how to solve simple math problems within the first 10 minutes of any viewing.

[Fireball1244]

Back when I first started considering majoring in film in college, I wrote a "Green Lantern" screenplay to try my hand at writing a movie. Of course, my career went in a different direction, but I'd like to think that in some parallel universe they made my script into this movie.

[DarkEL]

Just got back from seeing it and the group i went with all enjoyed the film. Certainly not the best super hero movie of all time, but I'd put it on par with Thor and the (over-hyped) X-men first class that also came out this year.

I would agree that there was potential unfulfilled in this movie ( I would have loved a longer movie with more time on Oa and more of the other lanterns).  But it's still an enjoyable film carried mostly by Ryan Reynolds.

I'm hoping for a sequel that could show more of what this film tried to do.

I think it's safe to say I won't be taking to heart any movie reviews you (or Ceekay) post in the future.  

Wait - what's wrong with my movie taste? I hated Jonah Hex, Catwoman and Superman returns like any sane human being. Now granted - I did think that Hancock wasn't as bad as everyone made it out to be (and would also like to see a sequel for that one as well).

My hopes for best super-hero movie this year have always been resting on Captain America (even though i never read a single Captain America comic as a child).

[Azhag]

Certainly didn't blow me away, but I definitely enjoyed it (of course I'm actually a fan of the series). I hope it somehow does well enough to do another movie, as it's pretty well set up for awesomeness. And for a post-production 3D movie, the 3D worked decently too.

[Fireball1244]

Saw it last night. Enjoyed it a great deal. Not sure if non-GL fans will appreciate it. To them, it will likely seem rather like a cookie cutter superhero action film. I thought Blake Lively was rather flat, but the other actors did well. Loved the effects for the Guardians, Kilowog and Tomar-Re (as well as Salakk's cameo).

Spoiler for Hiden:

I thought one of the major problems was that the villain was rather weak. Like Galactus in Rise of the Silver Surfer, an amorphous, "very threatening" cloud provides a poor foil for the hero. They'd have done better going with Atrocitus or a classic GL villain like Evil Star or Legion. Also, he was a bit too easy to defeat. Hector wasn't a good enough substitute, in my opinion.

[Azhag]

Fireball. agree totally with your spoiler comments.

[hepcat]

Saw it at an early bird matinee so I was able to get in and out for 5.50 (and the requisite popcorn, of course).  If I'd paid more than that, I probably would've been annoyed.

I felt Reynolds just wasn't a good Green Lantern.  I'm sure my bias against the guy as an actor plays a huge role in my opinion, but imho he's just playing the same character in every movie..."Ryan Reynolds: Smartass".  I feel they should've done what Marvel did and went with an unknown who brings no baggage to the role (a la Thor), or use an established actor with a much greater range who could make the audience (well...me) get past that problem (a la Iron Man).

During the course of the film, I felt no connection whatsoever to Hal.  His backstory felt tacked on and had no weight.  His relationship with Carol was the only human interaction they allowed for, and Blake Lively is an even worse actor than Reynolds (again, my opinion) so that boiled down to watching two folks performing in a high school play.  The only other person he seemed to know was Tom the nerd...and he was only around to say things like, "Whoo hoo!" and "That's cool!".  Oh, and we did learn that his dad died in a crash...and that his father had functioning ovaries as Hal apparently had no mother.  

And as Fireball said...bad enemy choice for the big bad.  However, watching Peter Sarsgaard turn into Harry Knowles and doing an impression of John Malkovich for the side villain role was pretty fun.  But I find it hard to be terrorized by a superpowered baddie who shrieks like a 12 year old girl scout encountering a spider in her tent every 8 minutes, though.  I had to remind myself during a couple of his scenes that I wasn't watching a David Lynch film.  Sarsgaard was just...odd...in this film.

The only thing I really enjoyed about the film was the scenes on Oa.  They really should've focused more on Hal's time there instead of his work with the local high school's drama club.  But even that suffered from sub par CGI more than once.  In particular, the facial expressions of the Guardians made me want to constantly hit an imaginary controller and then yell out, "Doubt...wait...LIE!".

Speaking of the CGI...Hal's CGI costume just did not work for me.  More than once it looked very much like a real head photoshopped onto a cartoon body.  In every GL fight scene, I kept expecting the camera to cut away from Hal, focus on the villain, and then pan back to Hal and it would be Reynold's head on a giant cartoon Foghorn Leghorn or something.   Not good at all.  I know they can do better.  

When Hal ultimately finishes the requisite journey of self discovery that results in a triumphant victory snatched from the jaws of defeat (happens in EVERY superhero film ever made...not to mention almost every action film with a main hero) I just didn't feel any excitement.  Thor, while having an even thinner story in some regards, at least brought me to that point with a story that made the journey feel organic to the character and used people (for the most part) that I grew to actually like.  

I place Superman Returns slightly higher than this on my DC films from the last decade.  While I enjoyed some of the action, how they treated the power of the rings, and the scenes on Oa, it ultimately failed as a suitable introduction to the world of GL for me.  I found the Green Lantern: Emeral Knights animated film released recently to be far more enjoyable.

[Knightshade Dragon]

Saw it last night. Enjoyed it a great deal. Not sure if non-GL fans will appreciate it. To them, it will likely seem rather like a cookie cutter superhero action film. I thought Blake Lively was rather flat, but the other actors did well. Loved the effects for the Guardians, Kilowog and Tomar-Re (as well as Salakk's cameo).

Spoiler for Hiden:

I thought one of the major problems was that the villain was rather weak. Like Galactus in Rise of the Silver Surfer, an amorphous, "very threatening" cloud provides a poor foil for the hero. They'd have done better going with Atrocitus or a classic GL villain like Evil Star or Legion. Also, he was a bit too easy to defeat. Hector wasn't a good enough substitute, in my opinion.

You beat me to it.  This is exactly right.  The baddie had similar problems to the one in Watchmen.  I actually enjoyed the movie in a 'sit back and don't think' kinda way.  While Lively is a terrible actress, she is easy on the eyes.  I'm sure there is a couch that can tell us all about how she got that role. 

[rittchard]

I thought the movie was OK, and also agree with Fireball's comments.  Of course this with the caveat that I'm a Ryan Reynolds fan AND I fell asleep a couple times lol.  I thought the effects in the final battle sequences and gave the payoff I was expecting/hoping for.  For me, not being a hardcore GL fan, the thing I like to see is what kind of creative stuff he comes up with using the ring.  The concept that he's only limited by willpower/imagination has always been cool to me, and I think they did a decent job keeping within that framework and being consistent with their version of GL. 

[farley2k]

I saw this last night and have to climb on the bandwagon with everyone else.  It was just a "b" movie at best.  I am amazed it cost so much to make.  It is also doing fairly poorly at the box office so I wonder if there will be a sequel.

[Bullwinkle]

I saw this last night and have to climb on the bandwagon with everyone else.  It was just a "b" movie at best.  I am amazed it cost so much to make.  It is also doing fairly poorly at the box office so I wonder if there will be a sequel.

Where'd you read that?

According to one of Mo's posts, it's doing better than the other superhero movies that were released so far this year.

[farley2k]

Box office mojo

Green Lantern

Total Lifetime Grosses
Domestic:     $70,961,421       81.3%
+ Foreign:     $16,300,000       18.7%
= Worldwide:     $87,261,421

Production Budget: $200 million   

X-men: First Class

Domestic:     $126,214,928       43.4%
+ Foreign:     $164,592,842       56.6%
= Worldwide:     $290,807,770    

Production Budget: $160 million

Thor

Domestic:     $176,712,064       40.5%
+ Foreign:     $259,561,239       59.5%
= Worldwide:     $436,273,303    

Production Budget: $150 million



So out of the three releases so far it has done by far the worst.  Now it is true the others have been out a bit longer so those numbers will change but if you look at opening weekend receipts as well the picture is bad for Green Lantern.  It just isn't doing that well.  It might break even but it almost certainly won't be the money maker the others are.

[Bullwinkle]

I'm remembering, too, that metallicorphan's post was about how big it's weekend was and what it was projected to earn, and it definitely topped those other ones.  And, yeah, the amount of time those others have been released is unquestionably a factor.

We'll see how well those projected numbers hold up, though.  I do imagine word of mouth is going to hurt GL in the long run.

[CeeKay]

looking at the daily totals is interesting:

Day 7 Thor: $84,752,317
Day 7 X-Men's Creek: $73,894,349
Day 7 Green Lantern: $70,961,421

still last but not as far behind as you'd think.  GL is only out in 13 foreign markets right now, so international may catch up.  heck, even PotC 4 (which I don't think was really loved) did over $600 million worldwide.

[metallicorphan]

 heck, even PotC 4 (which I don't think was really loved) did over $600 million worldwide.

I actually saw this today,note that its a wiki page(so who knows),but it still surprised me...number 9 and number 6 especially..definitely number 6,and it says nearly 970mil for Pirates 4
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_highest-grossing_films

Rank↓    Title↓    Worldwide gross↓    Year↓    
1    Avatar    $2,782,275,172    2009    

2    Titanic    $1,843,201,268    1997    

3    The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King    $1,119,110,941    2003    

4    Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest    $1,066,179,725    2006    

5    Toy Story 3    $1,063,171,911    2010    

6    Alice in Wonderland    $1,024,299,801    2010    

7    The Dark Knight    $1,001,921,825    2008    

8    Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone    $974,733,550    2001    

9    Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides    $967,258,301    2011    

10    Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End    $963,420,425    2007    

[CeeKay]

they're still looking at a sequel despite poor box office.

[Blackjack]

I'd love to be an optimist but when their $200M tentpole comic book film is getting outgrossed by the poorly reviewed Bad Teacher at fewer theaters in week 2, the studio has major concerns. Even my 14 year old nephew said he's skipping GL because he's only hearing bad word-of-mouth on it.

Also, you have to consider that sometimes the marketing budget (it ain't cheap to keep airing Green Lantern trailers in prime time on network TV for example) matches or even exceeds a movie budget. Heck, GL might've cost $400M to make and market at this point. Even if it makes astronomical amounts of money overseas, it's unlikely to recoup its costs the way the domestic B.O. is disintegrating.

None of this means the movie is dreadful necesssarily, or that DC won't try to do it again. Superman Returns didn't stop them from developing a reboot, and Marvel's taken two swings and basically, misses, at The Hulk. imho, I'd rather see a couple strong comic book movies a summer (like Iron Man early and TDK late in Summer 2008) rather than a sheer glut of so-so to OK films bashing each other to death at the box office and perhaps burning out the general audience on the whole idea. Comic book films used to be a special "event"; at the rate things are going, they're in danger of becoming plain old tiresome or worse, a yawn.

My general rule of thumb has become if most moviegoers can't summon up more enthusiasm than "oh it wasn't as bad as everyone said" or "oh my 8 year old kid and I almost liked it," etc. then chances are the film didn't quite achieve what it set out to do. That seems to happen with a lot of movies (comic book or otherwise) these days.

[Blackjack]

So far (it seems like GL has yet to open in many countries) doesn't look like foreign box office is going to "save" Green Lantern the way it did Thor:
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=intl&id=greenlantern.htm

Thor actually got released overseas earlier than in North America and got very wide distribution quickly:
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=intl&id=thor.htm

So I dunno. Maybe WB/DC is waiting until later in the summer to distribute Green Lantern internationally. That seems like its best chance to at least break even on costs.

[hepcat]

   

6    Alice in Wonderland    $1,024,299,801    2010    

i caught this on netflix one night while flipping through movies.  i was surprised at how much I enjoyed it.

[Purge]

Yes, but you were stoned, and you're Not Alice.

[hepcat]

Yes, but you were stoned, and you're Not Alice.

This dress I'm wearing says otherwise, pal.

[Purge]

Yes, but you were stoned, and you're Not Alice.

This dress I'm wearing says otherwise, pal.

It saddens me when you don't pick up on movie references. Also, you really should shave before putting on pantyhose. Believe me, I don't need to be reminded of your mother.