Movies.ie

• Critic rating
• Currently 2/5 Stars.

Movies.ie Critic Review

With the universe under severe threat from a brand new enemy called Parallex, the centuries-old peacekeepers the Green Lantern Corps decide the man to save the day is headstrong test pilot Hal Jordan (Reynolds) – the first human the protectors of peace and justice have enlisted to their force. Is Hal the missing piece of the puzzle, or just a smartass human who would rather sit around all afternoon looking at naked pics of his beloved childhood sweetheart (Lively) on the net…?

THE VERDICT: Man, the initial trailers for DC Comic’s attempt to get a slice of the big comic-book blockbuster action were pretty much laughed off the internet. And if the subsequent trailers were a little less laughable, at least those early warning shots didn’t lie – this is a mess. A big, green, gooey mess. Only Mark Strong comes out smelling anything like roses. Clearly, when it comes to comicbook blockbusters, it’s not easy being green. Just ask Edward Norton. Or Eric Bana. Or Ryan Reynolds.

Review by Paul Byrne 

• Avg User rating
• Currently 2/5 Stars.

User Reviews

• • Currently 2/5 Stars.

  Massman

  

  ...wow, worst superhero movie of the year!

• • Currently 3/5 Stars.

  adoreabubbles

  

  I had seen so many trailers for this movie before I seen it I wasnt all that much looking forward to it! but I was plesently surprised! I enjoyed it. Stay till after the credits!

• • Currently 5/5 Stars.

  gunner

  

  "The best movie ever !" a direct quote from my 7 year old nephew so this is his review and for me why cinema is so great

• • Currently 2/5 Stars.

  iBOC

  

  so many good things about this movie....and so many bad things. Some of the visualizations of the Green Lantern universe were done very nicely, but unfortunately some scenes looked incredibly cheap. Ryan Reynolds does a decent enough job portraying Hal Jordan which came as a pleasant surprise, but by far the weakest link in this movie is Blake Lively....seriously why she was cast in this movie is a mystery. She was a wrong choice on so many fronts, here character (and more importantly her acting) was just empty and unconvincing....I guess she treats it more like a hobby than a job. Pity really.

• • Currently 3/5 Stars.

  SINEAD

  

  Visually this movie is stunning, for the first 40minutes or so. There is a great science fiction feel to it, but as soon as the story lands back on earth it all goes a bit downhill from there and it turns into your typical boring superhero movie. Should have stayed in space, would have been far more interesting up there and Blake Lively wouldn't have bored us all to death.

• • Currently 3/5 Stars.

  mcclofsky

  

  better than the critics are saying but does have some flaws , the second act is far too long

• • Currently 3/5 Stars.

  Jenfiction

  

  Pretty disappointing but entertaining if you want just a typical super hero movie. There's absolutely nothing new to see here but the 3D space scene and the start is incredible looking if you're a fan of 3D. The character development of the cast is dreadful, you don't really care what happens to them. If it's just a bit of mindless action you're after, then Green Lantern is grand.

• • Currently 3/5 Stars.

  Badger

  

  it was ok. it was too silo'd & ignored the wider DC universe. great action scenes, but no connections with the characters

• • Currently 2/5 Stars.

  ssconnolly

  

  I’ll start this review by attempting to explain the story so stay with me here. Before we even get any information on our soon-to-be superhero we are led into the world of the Green Lantern comic books. The universe is divided into 3,600 sectors, each one protected by a guardian with a ring which gets it’s power from a lantern which get its power from Green Lantern HQ planet Oa. They use the green power of will to keep the universe safe, but face a very powerful new threat to their safety. Yellow is the colour of fear, and of the films main villain Parallax (who looks like a pile of evil vomit) who floats through the universe absorbing anything which gets in its way and wouldn’t you know it, it’s heading straight for Earth. This coincides with the ring of a dying Lantern choosing our hero, Hal Jordan as the first human to ever harness the power of the Green Lantern ring which transforms will into reality. Jordan, a highly skilled but cocky test pilot, is met with little faith by the other Lantern’s due to his reckless attitude. Meanwhile Parallax constantly grows stronger and stronger, and even finds himself earning a sidekick of sorts back on Earth in the form of the underachieving, jealous scientist Hector Hammond who comes into contact with the yellow power of fear. Jordan has to learn to use his new powers and control his fear to stop Parallax and show the Green Lantern Corps that humanity may be just what they need to stop the seemingly unstoppable villain and save not only their world, but our world. Green Lantern is one of the lesser known superheroes currently starring in their very own big-screen adaptation and so I was surprised by how much the studios have invested in this project. An initial budget of $200 million, and rumours of the same amount being spent on marketing, it’s a massive investment which they are unlikely to make back. I mean to say the film has underperformed at the box office is quite an understatement. Watching the film though it’s very easy to see where the money was spent and why it won’t do well in the box office. Despite having huge potential Green Lantern is a complete mess. I went in expecting an exciting action film with a simple plot but this isn't a 'leave your brain at the door' action film and instead requires you to follow an overly-complicated plot after which you reward for following it all is one impressive action sequence. Right from the opening moments the film simple asks too much of us as an audience. We haven’t even seen Reynolds and they’re barking on about intergalactic peacekeepers, the yellow power of fear and all other kinds of absurd things. It’s too difficult to believe, and the film kind of just gets worse from there, constantly expecting you to take all the preposterous and silly things happening completely seriously. As a result of this it became hard to enjoy, understand and follow the film and after the first hour I found myself watching the clock, wondering when they would stop throwing this nonsense at us and finally get into some action. For this you must wait until the last 20 minutes and the films climactic battle, which was pretty exciting but over in the blink of an eye. It was a disappointingly underwhelming finale and I felt more than a little bit cheated after I had tried so hard to follow the ridiculously complex storyline. In other words, it’s all set up and no reward. The film drags on way too much and doesn't have enough action to make this time engaging. The cast of the film were for me by far the most impressive aspect of the film, despite the fact only two of its stars really impressed. Ryan Reynolds is perfectly cast as Hal Jordan, showing he can carry a massive film like this without breaking a sweat. He has the comedic timing, the charisma and the acting chops to make a successful superhero franchise, but sadly Green Lantern was the superhero he was hired to play. There are plenty of other great actors in the film but director Martin Campbell never evens begins to get the most out of them. Peter Sarsgaard plays Hector Hammond and despite starting strongly his performance and his character got gradually worse and eventually just became a very laugh-inducing and entirely unintimidating bad guy, who randomly shows up in a wheelchair before the big showdown. Tim Robbins, Mark Strong, Michael Clarke Duncan and Geoffrey Rush also feature but none really make a huge impact. Blake Lively has been on the end of a fair bit of criticism for her part in this film as childhood friend and love interest Carol Ferris. In fact leaving the screening I heard a woman say “How can a pilot be that young, size zero and have hair like that”, which I think pretty much sums up the problem everybody has had with her in this movie but I think it’s unfair to hold her extremely good looks against her. I mean people believe that Renee Zellweger can have two men fighting over her (in not only Bridget Jones but Appaloosa too) but we can’t believe there can be an incredibly attractive fighter pilot? Come on cinemagoers worldwide, cop on. Besides at the end of the day her performance is actually very good. She strikes up some great chemistry with Ryan Reynolds, and their romance story was one of the only interesting things happening in this messy film. She’s funny, charming and holds her own alongside her far more experienced co-stars and I for one was hugely impressed and more than a little surprised. So all in all Green Lantern is a film which had the potential to be awesome but instead went the other way and became a dull, complicated and unspectacular film. After resurrecting the James Bond franchise so well, Martin Campbell seemed like a strong choice for director but he got this all wrong and if this film is to have any chance of surviving a sequel they really need someone with the vision and talent to bring this superhero to the big screen. It was expected to be the surprise hit of the summer, a film which would come out of nowhere and blow us all away. Sadly it wasn’t to be and I would be giving the film 1 star if not for Reynolds, Lively and some a fairly exciting but short-lived final battle. A film which should be seen as a cautionary tale for anyone attempting to make a superhero movie in the future, The Green Lantern is an overly complicated, messy and ultimately unrewarding film which possibly spoils what could’ve become a hugely popular franchise.

• • Currently 2/5 Stars.

  NavanDC

  

  I knew nothing about the Green Lantern before I seen this film, and after checking out the comic books history I was amazed by the comic books depth and sprawling storyline. So how was this film ever allowed to made in this manner, its all over the shop!!! However I adore the Green Lantern as a story and hopefully someone will see the potential for a long running series of films and reboot this superhero before a sequel is made also the cinema was full of muppets palying with theirphone and couldnt keep quiet....also I was at Tommy Tiernan on saturday night and found the same idiotic behaviour from 40 something couples, damned people!!!

• • Currently 3/5 Stars.

  masonica

  

  Tonally all wrong, pacing spotty and direction very average. Yet despite all this you can see that the core concept could've made for a great film. Instead we get a film that has some enjoyable moments but ultimately Green Lantern is a massive missed opportunity. Not a total waste of time and I think some younger folk could find it quite enjoyable.

• • Currently 3/5 Stars.

  darthrodney

  

  I was hesitant about Green Lantern from the day I heard it was going into production, the trailer didn't help matters. I went into the movie with low expectations ... But was pleasantly surprised! The premise is more "out there" than some superhero flicks but works pretty well, this is more a superhero film for kids than adults which makes sense really when you think about it. Reynolds is good as the lead, some nice supporting actors in the other roles ... Sadly JarJar Binks is more realistic than Blake Lively in her role. The SFX are really good, the CGI characters look great and the 3D is actually OK and adds to the flick. POST CREDIT SCENE, like the Marvel movies there is a post credit scene after the credits begin so stick around ;)

• • Currently 1/5 Stars.

  Beth

  

  Ryan Reynolds was great as usual but overall the film was really bad,I thought Blake Lively was particularly disappointing.

• • Currently 2/5 Stars.

  phoebe

  

  Crap acting combined with a bland story made this almost unwatchable at times. Have no idea what they were thinking casting Blake Lively she really cant act and was totally unbelievable in her role.

• • Currently 3/5 Stars.

  enigmab17

  

  I should say that before I went in I wasn't expecting much. The trailers released were't exactly giving me goosebumps. Ryan Reynolds was this films main saving grace. He did a great job and I thought held up the film quite well. I didn't think they went far enough in the "Constructs" and what he created, I was really hoping to see some more impressive stuff than a spring and an aa gun....e.g. in the cartoon he creates a sword the length of a ship to defeat a fleet of other ships...easier said than done but I think it could have been done. My main gripe with this is that the end battle took all of 2 seconds. The story seemed to be very slow up until one point when paralax invaded earth and was over in a matter of seconds...just far too quick no build up or anything just done. Having said that it was entertaining, I liked Reynolds portrayal of the lantern, although I felt they could have shown more of the green lantern core. Anyway all in all a sold 3 stars definitley, worth a watch but I wouldn't miss a day of work for it.

Page 1 of 3  1 2 3 »