rainwaterspark | Retrospective - Green Lantern (2011) (Reply)

Green Lantern (2011). Also known as the movie that was meant to start the DC cinematic universe, but failed to do so due to poor box office returns, it's joined the ranks of the superhero movies that no one talks about because they were so bad.

Personally, I actually didn't think Green Lantern was too horrible. I mean, I'm a big fan of the Green Lantern mythos in the comics, so I'm mourning inwardly for the Green Lantern movie that could have been. Still, I thought that while it wasn't a great movie, it's also far from the worst thing I've ever seen. It was better than Iron Man 2, in my opinion.

Mainly, I think that DC just got the approach wrong to their (attempted) shared cinematic universe: they tried too hard to adopt a Marvel-like approach, and they played it way too safe.

1. They tried too hard to follow Marvel

When people start to complain about DC's Man of Steel/Batman v Superman approach being "too grimdark" and "gritty" (which isn't even, in my opinion, an accurate description), I like to point at Green Lantern. Green Lantern was lighthearted, and it was (or tried to be) funny, not unlike the MCU approach.

The problem is that DC isn't quite able to out-Marvel Marvel, or even equally-Marvel Marvel. Green Lantern does have some classic moments (I will forever love Carol Ferris instantly recognizing Hal through his mask), but it's not quite funny enough—it doesn't match Joss Whedon's witty one-liners, or the atmosphere of Guardians of the Galaxy (I mean, personally I didn't find GotG that funny, but people and the box office tell me it was funny).

I think the bigger problem, though, is that Green Lantern, in trying to keep light and entertaining, ended up not having enough to make up for its subpar execution.

2. They played it too safe

Honest Trailers has one of the best summaries of the film: it "turns one of the most original comic books into one of the least original comic book movies."

The part that really gets me is that this movie lacked ambition. It's about a space cop! ...Who barely spends any time in space. It's about a guy who can create anything he can imagine! ...Except the only interesting green construct CGI scene that was in the movie was when Hal made a Nascar to save the Ferris helicopter. It's a superhero movie! ...About a guy who spends half of the movie trying to avoid being a superhero.

Unfortunately, it wasn't able to put a fresh spin on its (by this point) derivative superhero movie elements. Once again, it's about a young straight white guy, with a tragically dead father, who has to learn the meaning of responsibility. The whole thing about overcoming fear could've been cool...except that Batman Begins already tackled that plot, and did it way better. In trying to play it safe, Green Lantern ended up being overly dull and clichéd.

In light of Green Lantern, it's not that surprising that Man of Steel ended up being very different and the DCCU is starting to take on a tone and shape very different from the MCU. Here's to hoping that 2020's Green Lantern Corps finally does capitalize on the unique premise behind Green Lantern and that it will be the Green Lantern movie we've all been waiting for. (Also, hopefully it won't be about Hal, who is honestly the most generic Green Lantern at this point. I'd kill to see Kyle Rayner and/or Simon Baz on screen, but at this point, who knows?)