Green Lantern of 2011 with Ryan Reynolds is actually a big film – here is why

If you are among a group of people who talk about the worst superhero films, one of the best choices will most likely be Green lantern From 2011. With Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively, and directed by Martin Campbell (Casino Royale), the project was a big bet for Warner Bros., having a declared budget of $ 200,000,000. However, as fate would have, the film was released and … was a death. Hard.

Green lantern was a critical failure (RT score: 25%) and a financial failure, only earns $ 2,37,2072. Thus, a film that was envisaged as the beginning of an ambitious new franchise for DC crashed and burned. And my boy had him crash. In floping, most films disappear in the dark, Green lantern Only has grown in infamy over the years, with the public, and even his own star, Ryan Reynolds, by making fun.

The film was the target of the joke in films like dead Pool,, Deadpool 2,, Teen Titans is! in the cinemaAnd even – believe it or not – Sonic the Hedgehog 3. But what do you know? The hatred directed towards the film is unjustified. Someone has to say. Green lantern It’s not just good … It’s pretty great.

… What? Here is why Green lanternIt’s great

To date, I don’t understand why Green lantern is hated as much as it is because there is a lot to take advantage of it. First of all, we have the casting. Ryan Reynolds was an inspired choice for Hal Jordan. I remember reading on her hiring before kicking production and I was ecstatic. Everything on Reynolds’s face shouts the classic Hal Jordan.

Then came the rest of the distribution. Blake Lively was an incredible choice for Carol Ferris, Angela Bassett was a fun choice for Amanda Waller, and the only thing on which almost every fan can get along: Mark Strong like Sinestro was right, * Kiss of the chief *. Then there is history.

Green Lantern’s mythology of comics is complicated. It is a large canvas to play. And, although the prospect of having so many history elements to choose for an adaptation on the big screen is, on paper, quite exciting, it can also be difficult to decide which aspects to use. The film had the difficult work of condensing all this construction in the world in a coherent film of 2 hours, and it succeeded.

In a short time, we understand what the Green Lantern body body is, how the powers of a green lantern work, and above all, we can immerse ourselves in Hal Jordan as a fairly in -depth character, which was an important feat to accomplish, given the way in which the hero is obscure for general cinema lights.

Even comedy is sometimes good, recalling this particular exchange which could, frankly, become one of the funniest lines of the superhero genre:

Bob: “Watch your back.”

HAL: “It’s impossible, Bob.”

One could naturally say that the kind of humor is more in line with Deadpool, but it corresponded to the scene and played in the arrogant attitude of Hal Jordan.

Visuals

Another thing that I cannot wrap my mind is disdain for special effects and production design. The visuals of the film are striking. They capture the majestic nature of the world of green lanterns and successfully translate it into a real aesthetic, making OA and its inhabitants feel something that would really exist, somewhere in space.

Then there is the question of Hal Jordan’s superhero failures. Ryan Reynolds (finally, Wade Wilson) made fun of the costume in 2016 dead Pool With the line:

“And please, don’t make super combined green … or animated!”

Do not let the Merc for a mouth you deceive, however. The costume is an incredible translation of the green lanterns uniform in the comics. The idea that it is based on human muscles, with the light flowing through muscle fibers, is inspired. The concept also allowed the film to brilliantly translate the sustained nature of the comic strip of the costume of the costume without making it silly.

The colors are brilliant, the mask has the impression of having been taken in phew of a Neal Adams drawing, and it is like a costume that we would encourage in 2025. Yes, the effects seem somewhat outdated from time to time, but that does not remove the choice of striking design, or how beautiful the costume is throughout the film overall.

In fact, I will go so far as to say that the Green Lantern costume is as good as the other superheroes of his time, like Captain America in 2011 The first AvengerSuperman in 2013 Steel man and Spider-Man in 2012 The Amazing Spider-Man.

Now I’m not saying Green lantern is a perfect film. This is not the case. There are defects, some significant, and it is also important to report them. For example, comedy sometimes falls flat; The special effects are not always the best; The tropes of superheroes are strewn throughout history, and the representation of the parallax – one of the most important bad guys of Green Lantern – falls flat.

However, these details do not justify how the autonomous adventure of Pariah Hal Jordan has become among the circles of superheroes. Green lantern is a good film that does justice to its source material. Fortunately, I am not alone in this feeling. It turns out that the beloved actor Ryan Reynolds would be somewhat agreed with me.

In 2021, Reynolds made a Green lantern Watchalong, tweeting his reactions to different parts of the film. When the film ended, the Deadpool and Wolverine Star had this to say:

“Maybe it’s the gin of aviation, but [‘Green Lantern’] was nothing to fear. Hundreds of incredible crews and actors have done incredible work – and even if it is not perfect, it is not a tragedy. Next time, I will not wait a decade to watch. “”

Now, finally, after more than a decade, Green Lantern has the opportunity to shine again with HBO Lanterns – Part of the new DC films universe by James Gunn.

However, as exciting as the prospect of a new interpretation of the Emerald Knights, it is important to pay tribute to the first time that Hal Jordan had the chance to make his brand on the big screen, because it was a good.