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kingandy1) A couple of minor points of pacing. The pre-credits space sequence didn't feel like it really belonged there (shouldn't the origin story be told from the protagonist's point of view?). The training sequence should have been a montage; as it stands, Hal receives literally two minutes of training.
2) There were a number of plot niggles that could have been fixed with only a few lines of dialogue:
- When Hal quit the corps, they let him keep his ring instead of, I don't know, finding a willing successor to Abin Sur. (Fix: Just one line along the lines of "Well, hold onto the ring for a few days and think it over. If you're still not interested we'll come pick it up.")
- Hal telling Hammond that "You have to be chosen" doesn't work as an explanation for why he can't blast Hal. It implies that the ring won't work at all for someone who isn't a duly selected member of the Corps, which in turn suggests Hal was, what, remote-controlling the ring? Which he totally does not then do a moment later? It's a bad explanation that does not bear close examination. (A better device would be that the ring is programmed to turn on anyone who tries to use lethal force. An even better device would be to explain this ahead of time.)
- Hal flew all the way to Oa to ask the Corps to defend Earth instead of training in the new yellow rings. The problem is that he didn't know anything about the yellow rings. Also he's not exactly the kind of guy who asks for help. (Fix: A brief scene whereby Hal - as the bearer of an active GL ring - is forcibly drawn to Oa for yellow-ring-training. This would both inform Hal of the new ring's existence, and give him a reason to be on Oa at all.)
- Hammond just somehow escapes from the lab after their first big fight, which is never explained. Didn't he explode or something? And then he's back home. Some mention of that might have been good.
3) Why no lines for lady Lanterns? This corps seems to be a total sausage fest. Actually, Carol's basically the only lady in the entire movie (apart from Amanda Waller, who was basically a cameo). Totally fails the Bechdel test.
4) Some of the dailogue did not agree with the visuals ("How dare you enter this chamber?!" "Dude, there's no chamber. This is a patio." Actually, on that note, asking any Green Lantern how they dare something is fairly redundant, as "will dare anything" is basically the sole recruitment criteria).
The only other thing that kind of bugged me about the movie is that when the helicopter is crashing on the party, after Hal runs off to change without compromising his secret identity, there is a clear 20 or 30 seconds where the 'copter ploughs through a crowd of partygoers. Hal literally has to run behind a bush, but somehow doesn't get back in time to just catch the damn thing in a big-ass oven mitt or something. (Oh, also, that part where he uses a Hot-Wheels track instead of something that would actually stop the chopper. That was kind of weird. It did illustrate him having to think about two things at once, but it felt like an odd call in character.)
Things I loved:
Carol recognising Hal ("How did you know?!" "I've known you my entire life! I've seen you naked! You think I won't recognise you because I can't see your cheekbones?")
All the ring effects - good and solid, but not too real, and very imaginative (I especially liked the mid-air water surface to catch Waller, before he washed her out of the movie)
Ryan Reynolds' extended physical examination scene (where he floats in mid-air wearing only jogging shorts)
So it's not that it's a bad movie. It's a weak movie. It's kind of pretty-but-shallow. But it could have been much, much worse.
2) There were a number of plot niggles that could have been fixed with only a few lines of dialogue:
- When Hal quit the corps, they let him keep his ring instead of, I don't know, finding a willing successor to Abin Sur. (Fix: Just one line along the lines of "Well, hold onto the ring for a few days and think it over. If you're still not interested we'll come pick it up.")
- Hal telling Hammond that "You have to be chosen" doesn't work as an explanation for why he can't blast Hal. It implies that the ring won't work at all for someone who isn't a duly selected member of the Corps, which in turn suggests Hal was, what, remote-controlling the ring? Which he totally does not then do a moment later? It's a bad explanation that does not bear close examination. (A better device would be that the ring is programmed to turn on anyone who tries to use lethal force. An even better device would be to explain this ahead of time.)
- Hal flew all the way to Oa to ask the Corps to defend Earth instead of training in the new yellow rings. The problem is that he didn't know anything about the yellow rings. Also he's not exactly the kind of guy who asks for help. (Fix: A brief scene whereby Hal - as the bearer of an active GL ring - is forcibly drawn to Oa for yellow-ring-training. This would both inform Hal of the new ring's existence, and give him a reason to be on Oa at all.)
- Hammond just somehow escapes from the lab after their first big fight, which is never explained. Didn't he explode or something? And then he's back home. Some mention of that might have been good.
3) Why no lines for lady Lanterns? This corps seems to be a total sausage fest. Actually, Carol's basically the only lady in the entire movie (apart from Amanda Waller, who was basically a cameo). Totally fails the Bechdel test.
4) Some of the dailogue did not agree with the visuals ("How dare you enter this chamber?!" "Dude, there's no chamber. This is a patio." Actually, on that note, asking any Green Lantern how they dare something is fairly redundant, as "will dare anything" is basically the sole recruitment criteria).
The only other thing that kind of bugged me about the movie is that when the helicopter is crashing on the party, after Hal runs off to change without compromising his secret identity, there is a clear 20 or 30 seconds where the 'copter ploughs through a crowd of partygoers. Hal literally has to run behind a bush, but somehow doesn't get back in time to just catch the damn thing in a big-ass oven mitt or something. (Oh, also, that part where he uses a Hot-Wheels track instead of something that would actually stop the chopper. That was kind of weird. It did illustrate him having to think about two things at once, but it felt like an odd call in character.)
Things I loved:
Carol recognising Hal ("How did you know?!" "I've known you my entire life! I've seen you naked! You think I won't recognise you because I can't see your cheekbones?")
All the ring effects - good and solid, but not too real, and very imaginative (I especially liked the mid-air water surface to catch Waller, before he washed her out of the movie)
Ryan Reynolds' extended physical examination scene (where he floats in mid-air wearing only jogging shorts)
So it's not that it's a bad movie. It's a weak movie. It's kind of pretty-but-shallow. But it could have been much, much worse.
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Date: 2011-06-27 07:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-27 07:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-27 08:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-27 08:02 pm (UTC)I admit to being a bit unbothered about this. And mostly wondering if CCH Pounder was busy, because come on...
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Date: 2011-06-27 08:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-27 08:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-07-04 05:17 pm (UTC)