Blu-ray Review: GREEN LANTERN Extended Edition

GREEN LANTERN Extended Edition (Blu-ray/ DVD Combo)

review by David Blackwell

DETAILS: 114 (theatrical)/ 123 minutes (extended cut), Maximum Movie Mode, various featurettes, deleted scenes, Justice League #1 digital comic, digital copy

VIDEO: 2.40:1 (Anamorphic Widescreen)-

1080p High Definition on blu-ray

AUDIO: English 5.1 DTS-HD MA (Blu-ray), English 5.1 Dolby Digital, French 5.1, Spanish 5.1, Portuguese (theatrical blu-ray), Thai (theatrical blu-ray)

Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
The following subs also appear on the Blu-ray-
Portuguese, Thai, Chinese, Korean, Thai, Indonesian

STUDIO: Warner Bros. Pictures/ DC Entertainment/ De Line Pictures

Theatrical RELEASE DATE: 6-17-2011

Blu-ray/ DVD RELEASE DATE: 10-14-2011

STARRING Ryan Reynolds (Hal Jordan), Blake Lively (Carol Ferris), Peter Sarsgaard (Hector Hammond), Mark Strong (Sinestro), Temuera Morrison (Abin Sur), Tim Robbins

SCREENPLAY by Marc Berlanti, Michael Green, Marc Guggenheim, and Michael Goldberg

based on thc characters and stories created for the DC comics series

DIRECTED by Martin Campbell

ANALYSIS:

Hal Jordan is a high flying air pilot screw-up. He is able to face fear and his life changes when the Green Lantern ring of the dying Abin Sur picks Hal Jordan to be a Green Lantern. He is thrust into the universe of the Green Lanterns who train on the planet of Oa created by the immortal Guardians. Sinestro belive Jordan isn't worthy of the ring and neither does Hal. He has to rise to the mantle of being the Green Lantern if he wants to svae those he loves and the world as the being known as Parallax is free and feeding on fear as it destroys races and worlds.

GREEN LANTERN does some thinsg right with fantastic visuals and building teh green Lantern mythos. Character development takes a back seat to the special effects and action as the Green Lanterns aren't that developed- most are just there as you see Sinestro bark orders and want a yellow ring created (those who read the comics will want to stay around into the credits for an extra scene with Sinestro). Ryan Reynolds is at ease as Hal Jordan while Blake Lively is just window dressingas the love interest with not much to do except be worried and bitchy about Hal. Mark Strong is imposing as Sinestro, but I hope they build Sinestro's back story if a sequel is made. Peter Sarsgaard is OK as Hector who doesn't impress me in this role as he has with other reviewers. Tim Robbins is coasting as he cashes his paycheck.

GREEN LANTERN feels like an empty summer movie with lots of detail and not a dveeloped enough script. I want to see a great follow up, but I wonder if GREEN LANTERN will make enough money to cover the $150 million plus budget in addition to $100 million in marketing costs. I have mixed feelings about this sci-fi comic book adaptation which didn't give itself enough room to breathe and build on the wonderful universe they showcase in the movie. It focuses too much on Hal's insecurities to overcome fear while I wanted to see more about why Sinestro wanted to embrace the power of fear. Also don't get me started on not enough time for the green lanterns Kilowog and Tomar-Re. I hope a sequel could build on the universe introduced in this movie and explore the various characters of the Green Lantern Corps in addition to introducing one or two humans who would also become Green Lantern (Guy Gardener, Kyle Rayner). This film just touches the surface and makes me wnat to read the comic books.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

GREEN LANTERN'S LIGHT is the Maximum Mode Mode as comics writer Geoff Johns takes viewers behind-the-scenes with cast and crew in this second window viewing mode.

FOCUS POINTS (featurettes on the making of the film):

THE ART OF GREEN LANTERN- exploring the pre-production art of OA and the aliens who live there

WEAPONS HOT: THE U.V.A.C DOG FIGHT- behind the scenes of the dog fight between Hal and the drone fighters

REINVENTING THE SUPERHERO COSTUME- creating a virtual costume through digital effects involving motion capture suits

RING SLINGING 101- see how Tomar-Re, Kilowag, and Sinerstro put Hal through Green Lantern boot camp.

WE ARE THE CORPS- animating the various members of the Green Lantern Corps (focusing on 25 of them)

ACTING UNDER 10 POUNDS OF SILCONE- the prosthetic effects used to help create the look of Sinestro and Hector's expanding head

GUARDIANS REVEALED- designing the Guardians of the Universe (who created Oa and the Green Lantern Corps)

WHEN PARALLAX ATTACKS- creating Parallax through visual effects and featuring a look at pre-production artwork

THE UNIVERSE ACCORDING TO GREEN LANTERN- the evolution and rebirth of the Green Lantern storylines in the comic books over the decades with interviews with various writers and artists from the comic book over the years, executives, and filmmakers.

RYAN REYNOLDS BECOMES THE GREEN LANTERN- All the hard work Ryan went through to be Green Lantern from getting a face cast, wearing a grey tracking suit with tracking dots, and wire work.

preview of the GREEN LANTERN animated series that has a few scenes from the series.

The DVD has the theatrical cut and you can download a digital copy of the movie for free until the end of March.

FINAL ANALYSIS: The extended edition doesn't correct any of GREEN LANTERN's flaws in the second half of the film and the prologue doesn't add to the film (the flashbacks cover it well in the theatrical cut). The Blu-ray has a nice assortment of extras that look at the comic and the makking of the film. I hope a sequel is an improvement if it gets made.

this review is (c)10-28-2011 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission. send all comments to feedback@enterline-media.com