Never heard of the Green Lantern? You should have, he's probably older than you...
As summer blockbuster season continues, in between the comic publishing house Marvel’s cinematic onslaught (Thor, X-Men: First Class and Captain America) rival publisher DC comics, famous for superheroes such as Superman and Batman, try to make a movie star out of one of their lesser known heroes, the Green Lantern. Starring Ryan Reynolds as the eponymous hero the Green Lantern tells the story of a brave human chosen by alien gods to be part of an intergalactic peace corps, also known as the Green Lanterns. Each sector of the galaxy has one such hero, fuelled by collective will power to battle the forces of evil. With a magic ring. That's powered by a lantern.
It sounds kind of stupid when you read it doesn't it? But don't judge before you’ve seen the movie. The thing that's important to remember about the Green Lantern is that his first appearance in a comic came way back in 1940, in All-American Comics #16. The Green Lantern along with Superman, Batman and Captain America come from what is known as the golden age of comics, a period of time running from the late 1930s through to the early 1950s. These are the progenitors of superheroes as we know them today. The heroes that arose from the silver age, such as Spider-Man and the X-Men are altogether more modern. The trouble with golden age heroes comes with their origins, powers and the general idea behind them - they're so old that everything about then seems a little corny, a little unbelievable. It's not surprising that what amused children 70 or 80 years ago is outdated now, but in a nutshell, that's what most people seem to struggle with when it comes to the Green Lantern.
But if you can get past the hokey powers and general ridiculous premise that of intergalactic space policemen, then there's a whole heap of fun to be had from the film. It's fun, it's a romp, it's one of the better 3D films I've seen and looks absolutely stunning throughout - in fact it's everything that a summer blockbuster should be. Ryan Reynolds wouldn't have been my choice to play Hal Jordan but he puts in a good performance, he's a likeable everyman and is therefore easy to relate to. Blake Lively plays Carol Ferris the love interest and Peter Sarsgaard is Hector Hammond. There's a nice little cameo role for Tim Robbins too.
The first instalment of any superhero franchise is always a little slow due to lengthy origin stories and the seemingly never ending wait until you see the costume and the action. Green Lantern is no exception to this rule, but if I had to compare it to the crop of superhero films that we've seen so far this summer I'd say it's easily better than Thor and a hell of a lot more fun than X-Men: First Class. If you’re looking for a proper ‘popcorn movie’, or a ‘leave your brain at home’ kind of film, then look no further.
Green Lantern is out now.
Warren Beckett works full time as a powerful wizard, but moonlights as an online journalist. He likes talking in the third person. For frequent updates on how his hair looks follow his Twitter @WarrenBeckett