GREEN LANTERN
(PG-13)
MOVIE: ***1/2 (out of 5)
BLU-RAY EXPERIENCE: **** (out of 5)
BY KEVIN CARR
Earlier this year, “Green Lantern” got a bum rap from fanboys and critics. Sure, it’s not the greatest superhero movie to come down the pike, but it’s not as bad as everyone was saying it was. I mean, it’s far and beyond better than truly terrible superhero fare like “Batman and Robin” and “Superman IV: The Quest for Peace.” Seriously, this is one that you need to pull away from the negative hype and take a breather before watching. I found it quite enjoyable.
Based on the rather complex DC Comics hero, “Green Lantern” tells the story of test pilot Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds) who is picked to succeed a dying member of an intergalactic peacekeeping corps. Hal struggles to balance his role as a test pilot and his relationship with the boss’s daughter along with the burden of being a Green Lantern. Meanwhile, an alien artifact has infected another person on Earth, proving to be a danger to the population as it draws a soul-sucking creature from outer space.
Yeah, the story is a little hard to relate to, and if you’ve never read a “Green Lantern” comic book, not knowing anything about the mythology, you might be a little lost. Like “Thor,” this film relies a lot on narration to explain how things work in this universe. Fortunately, the extended cut is on the Blu-ray, which gives a little more cohesive insight into the character of Hal Jordan before launching the story into space.
The transfer isn’t perfect, offering up some contrast issues, especially in the deep space shots. However, for the most part, the digital look of the film is crisp and cool. I’ve been a Green Lantern fan since I was young, and the character has gone through many iterations in the books. This is a simpler and lighter Hal Jordan than where the character went in the comics, but I’m okay with that. It sets a foundation for a possible series and opens it up to a younger audience.
Warner Bros. puts out some great Blu-rays, particularly using their Maximum Movie Mode, which features feature-length embedded features. This is available on the “Green Lantern” Blu-ray, along with several focus points featurettes in the bonus menu. Additional features include deleted scenes, looks into the history of Green Lantern, a peek at the upcoming Green Lantern animation and access to the “Justice League #1” digital comic.
An additional tech feature which is pretty neat is the ability to stream this film to your smart phone using Flixster, a new aspect to the Warner Bros. Blu-rays.