Martin Campbell’s Green Lantern is DC’s big hope at finally being invited to the adult’s table alongside Marvel, so a lot is riding on this particular green superhero. Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds) is a test pilot who fantasizes about The Last Starfighter and wishes a colored alien would come to take him away. His prayers are answered… kind of… and he finds himself in possession of a very special secret decoder ring and a destiny to help defend the universe. Along for the ride are his highly unbelievable pilot buddy Carol Ferris (Blake Lively), his slightly more believable bespectacled friend Thomas (Taika Waititi), and evil scientist Hector Hammond (Peter Sarsgaard). Can Jordan become the hero the universe needs?
Trailer:
Kind of a mixed bag isn’t it? Not great, not bad… Iron Man lite perhaps? The trailer is split between a few things that work and a few that don’t.
First, what works… the special effects are solid, CGI suit aside, and show a fairly big scope during the brief bits at the Green Lantern convention. (This may be a good time to mention I’ve never read the comic.) Saarsgaard looks great as the big-brained baddie, and if he can bring his usual talents to the role while wearing that giant prosthetic cap he should be one of the better comic book villains to hit screens next year. Reynolds plays things a bit loose here, but he’s a talented enough actor that I’m hoping he gets to reign it in where it counts.
As for what doesn’t work all that well… that suit is questionable, and while it’s a guarantee that the finished product will look better it still raises the question yet again as to the decision behind going fully CGI with it. The tone is also a bit hard to decipher. It feels goofy, and while no one wants this to be The Dark Lantern I’d wager fewer people were looking for a tonal match to The Fantastic Four. And poor Lively. She’s easy on the eyes, but I’ve yet to see her show any real acting chops. She was one of the few negatives about Ben Affleck’s The Town, and judging by this trailer she may be looking to repeat that accomplishment here.
Green Lantern opens June 17th, 2011. Check out the trailer in HD over at Apple.
