Movie Review: Green Lantern

I have always been a fan of super hero comic books as soon as I knew how to read them. I vividly remember my Dad bringing them home from Clark Field Air Base, Pampanga when he still served in the Philippine Air Force. Those were the days I was introduced to heroes like Superman, Batman and all the rest of the popular ones who wear their undergarments over tight pants with matching capes and masks. I used to think those were ridiculous costumes.

Since I was then too young to appreciate them, the comic books became my big brother’s property. Mischievous toddler that I was, I found that the only way I could enjoy those comics was to add some artwork of my own by drawing permanent colored pens on every page. Expectedly, that made my brother very furious at the time.

Through the years, the comic books were eventually destroyed. Some pages became the favorite snacks of our resident rodents while several floods took care of the rest. It was only during my teenage years when I realized their value and importance. That was the time I started collecting copies of my own. Unfortunately, I needed to save money from my meager allowance to buy them.

Around the time I began enjoying reading comics, I discovered my talent in sketching and art. I guess my drawing practices during my toddler years paid off after all. Among the super heroes I liked to draw were Batman and Green Lantern because they are two of the few comic book superheroes who are humans.

It’s great that technology in motion pictures progressed over the years such that cinematography and special effects became so amazingly realistic and fascinating especially when used in films adapted from comic books.

I’m so thankful that a friend from Warner Bros. Philippines invited me to watch the premier showing of Green Lantern yesterday with my wife. Prior to the screening, I had the chance to meet some DC / Green Lantern aficionados with their matching green lantern shirts and glowing rings. With them, I was able to rehash my comic day memories and as we swapped Green lantern stories, I double checked with the “experts” some details I might have missed.

For guys like me who have some comic books background, the movie is one great film to see. The character that Ryan Reynolds portrayed in the film as a cocky, easy-go-lucky, and immature guy fits the personality of Hal Jordan and how he was described in DC comics. The voices of Geoffrey Rush and Michael Clark Duncan were also a perfect match for popular Green Lantern characters Tomar-Re and Kilowog respectively.

The special effects and CGIs were also fantastic. But since the story revolved around the beginnings of Green Lantern, it dwelled more on the story and dialogues and less on the action and fight scenes which I would have liked to see the most. I was expecting more of the stuff of what the power ring can do. Still, all these cool stuff were amplified by the 3D effects which added dimension to the scenes.

DC comics “hardcore” experts, who criticized some details of the film, were also generally satisfied about the production’s turn out. I was able to have a chance to meet some of them in their full cosplay Green lantern outfits. We even had our photos taken with “Sinestro” because he really looked the part.

You know, when you think about it, if the powers of a Green Lantern come from imagination and will, then all of us can be superheroes. Just a thought.