Fake suit. Real abs. Really fake mask.
Oh, I am so very much looking forward to this movie. Like, really really. In case you haven't noticed, I'm a big GL fan, coming in second on my list, just after Barry Allen. Now, I know it'll make a lot of money, and it's heavy use of CGI is a necessary evil, as the effects just aren't doable using practical SFX. My problem is with the story. My fear (pun!) with the film is that it just won't be accessible to non-GL fans. Now, sure, we get the origin story: A young Hal sees his father die in a plane accident, then washes out of the Air Force for assaulting a superior officer so he can (fail to) see his dying mother, and then gets a job at Ferris Air because that's the only place for him to go and still be near planes. Abin Sur crash lands on Earth & orders his ring to find a successor. It locates Hal Jordan & summons him to Abin before he finally perishes, giving Jordan a few words of advice. Obvi. Hal putzes around for a little while, randomly learning how to randomly use the ring. That's all fine and good. But then the twosie hits the fan, and Hal is transported to the GL home-planet of Oa, which is populated by about 3599 different aliens. More if you count the Guardians. This is where I think the movie will lose non-fans. Anybody who knows anything about GL is that aliens play an overwhelmingly hulking role in the mythos and story. Unfortunately, through some horrifying flaw in humanity, people don't know Green Lantern like they do Batman (alternatively: Bat-Man) and, ugh, Superman. Which is why, I'm afraid (zing!) that the film adaptation of Green Lantern will leave most viewers reeling as if they just punched by the 'Wog.
I bet one half of the two people reading this did not get that reference.
The story should follow the origin tale as I have posted above, but, instead of being transported to Oa, Thaal Sinestro should come to visit Hal on Earth, after hearing of his friend's death. From there, Sinestro teaches Jordan the basics of ringslinging and helps him repel an attack on Earth by Aliens that Abin Sur was trying to stop (or something like that). The aliens can be helped by Hector Hammond, who has been corrupted/advanced by coming in contact with a meteorite that was stuck in Abin Sur's ship. Once the hero saves the day, and only then, should Hal be brought to Oa and introduced to the Corps fully, thus leaving it open for the inevitable sequel, and satiating the Fanboys/Fangirls/Nerds out there.
I imagine this has something to do with Twilight.
Now perhaps I'm just bitter that there have been liberties taken in the CGI designs of some of my favorite GLC members. Maybe it's that I still don't like the uniforms that they wound up using for the movie. But I definitely don't like that they're using Parallax, the embodiment of fear, as the main villain of the movie. There should be a slow build to that. I'm sure Green Lantern will be a trilogy, so they should plant the seeds of Parallax in the first, expand on it in the second, and then have a big drawn out battle in the third. While the Green Lantern stories are near infinite, this first movie seems to have virtually depleted two of the best villains in one fell swoop. Obviously, Sinestro will be the Big Bad in one of the sequels, but who else are they going to use? Manhunters? Not a bad choice. Cyborg-Superman? Highly unlikely. Black Hand? Doubt it. Goldface? That'd be hilarious...terrible, but hilarious. Other Corps of the Light Spectrum? That would take some build-up. Oh, I know who they should use!
Sportsmaster! Your time has arrived!
Movie: 4 out of 5 Stars
Abs: A solid 6 out of 6-pack
Greenness: Soooooo green!
Anyway, to sum it up, I'm totally stoked for this movie, but I'm a little worried that it won't be accessible to non-GL fans. But, hey, screw them. Everybody should be reading Green Lantern!
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