Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION The Anywhere Machine Green Lantern Movie

There are levels of obscurity. Certainly and Thor and GL are familiar to anyone who's ever spent 15 minutes or more in a comic shop-- short of waiting for someone else-- and therefore "well-known" among that population.

Where everyone knows Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, people under 30 didn't see comics at the candy store, newsstand, or drugstore the way I did, so any superhero that didn't have a TV show or movie could reasonably be called "obscure" to the median age non-comics-reading populace of today. And apparently animation just isn't big enough to break into the mainsteam's consciousness. Not that GL had as many appearances as even Aquaman, but those few appearances would explain the kids who knew of him back then.

Anyway, by that definition of obscurity, until this year (or last year when Ryan Reynolds was announced as GL), Flash was never a household name like the top 3, but was less obscure than GL.

Though his show being more than a two decades ago (and not in constant reruns since, as Supes and Bats' shows have done), he was dropping back to a tie with GL. Then again, given the Flash TV show only lasted one season, obviously not many people were watching it, so it may not have significantly boosted him out of GL's level of name recognition even when it was on.

Green Lantern was named in Sunshine Superman, but that was over 45 years ago, and just being in the comics was still reason enough most boys would have heard of him. Which is I suppose how he got mentioned in a song in the first place. He had a big spike in popularity in the mid-60's, I figure it was the space-based adventures hitting the national nerve. Space was big then. And so were comics.

(Sorry for the impromptu dissertation there.)

Usually my problem is there aren't enough movies I like in the theatres. This summer there is simply too many to see, so I have to make choices. Alot of people around my age are probably waiting for the last Harry Potter movie.

Whether it's a blockbuster or not does not diminish my enjoyment of the movie. I saw it and had a great time.

Its a shame that all some people seem to only be concerned with is how much it made at the box office, rather than just going and having a good time. The internet is definitely a two edged sword. Dispite good reviews from just average normal people, the "in the know" crowd seem to revel in delivering bad reviews and poor mouthing something.

I not only plan to see it again, but I'll most definitely be buying the DVD, deluxe pack if available.

I saw the movie this evening. I've never been a GL comics reader, so I didn't have a sentimental investment in the movie. That said, I liked it well enough, but I didn't think the leap from Hal being a rookie GL to destroying a being that the most experienced GLs couldn't defeat was not believable in its development.

that sounds like a Hollywood movie though.

I think it worked on some levels. Hal admitted he was afraid and was able to overcome it. Other Lanterns don't admit fear, and Parallax exploited it. Yep, it's reading between the lines a bit, but I think it's there. It was there in the comics too when Hal overcame Parallax, IIRC.

Green Lantern is probably my favorite character next to WILDFIRE and all of this is giving me the same knot in my tummy as when my fav sports team loses in an embarrassing way. I had such high hopes and I'm sure that when I see the movie I'll enjoy it, but it really sucks that it's seen as such a flop. It feels like those of us who are into comics should feel ashamed again to be into them. I'm sure it's an overreaction, but it would've been nice to see it succeed...

As I said earlier, most of the negative reviews I've seen were obviously written by people totally unfamiliar with GL. The reviewer on NPR derided the Green Lantern Corps as a "wacky concept". One week later, the same reviewer was praising Cars 2 to the skies. 'Cause, you know, talking cars is so much less wacky a concept than an interstellar police force. :rolleyes:

I caught the parallel between Hal's brave/reckless pushing of his plane beyond its boundaries at the beginning of the movie, and his brave/selfless strategy to destroy Parallax. I also followed his growing acknowledgement of both his fear and his courage.

I think a weakness of the film was that we don't get a sense of the power of the GL Corps. They were tough-acting in Hal's training, but in real battle they were always shown as failures. Hal's conversation with the Guardians, which could have had some emotional power, was too quick and shallow. It made neither the Guardians nor Hal look particularly wise.

I think those who have read GL comics know a rich backstory that just doesn't come across in the movie itself.

And the " but Green Lantern is black" chorus continues over the web in the comments sections of reviews and articles.

I don't mind the confused ones asking a question, but the arrogant ones stating it as fact are getting tiresome.

If it had been John, and *not* based on Johns' GL, I'd at least have considered going to see it.

I can definitely empathize.

Two words: Spider-Man Musical.

Yes. Yes, it is.

Thor & XM:FC both did respectably - commercially AND critically - and Green Haltern isn't even the last Big Comics Movie of the summer, since Cap's still to open in a month's time. It's an utter disaster for Geoff Johns' "DC Entertainment" - doubly so since next year's Dark Knight Rises and Man of Steel fall under Chris Nolan's aegis, not Johns' - but not for comics & comics-based movies as a whole.

I haven't been paying attention to reviews, and saw the movie today. I had a fully open mind, and I had a GREAT time! Thumbs up!

This will certainly be a renter for me, as most films are (I find movie theatres too distracting and pricey).

Fans of the film will be glad to note that I've seen 2 'net articles this morning stating that despite a softer than hoped for box office for GL, sequel plans are proceeding. The GL film is expected to turn a profit when all is said and done.

Same here! I've missed at least three movies I wanted to see, so far!

Still, Captain America and Cowboys & Aliens are the only two left that I can't miss...

My wife and son tell me its transformers or my wedding tackle. Guess we're seein' transformers.

Sam has no desire to see captain america.

Just saw it & I loved it! Especially the scenes on Oa.

I saw it last night and was pretty disappointed. I don't think I had unrealistic expectations and I have no problem with films taking liberty with comic book canon, (I actually like how they translated a lot of stuff in a way that made sense within the film) I just didn't think it was a good movie.

While I thought Hal and Carol were done pretty well for the most part, my problem was the writing and editing. I have no problem with a film trying to juggle multiple characters and story threads, but to me it was trying to "explain things" as opposed to bringing drama. Hal and Carol's scenes seemed so on the nose in terms of what their function in the plot that it robbed the actors of most of their chemistry. (of which they did seem to have some at points)

I also didn't think the special effects were ... all that special. The CGI characters all had that weird lip movement that just seemed fake to me. And their vision of Parallax just seemed like a big mess with a big head.

It's probably a good film for kids, what with all the fancy construsts, (and matching toys) but some of the shots were a bit cringe-worthy and cheesy to me as opposed to exciting.

I think I'll have to pin my GL hops on the animatd series - that seems pretty cool...