In 2011, Green Lantern was intended to be the movie to kick off a DC Cinematic Universe. Unfortunately, Green Lantern was far from the movie that would rival Marvel's Iron Man; it was critically panned and was a box office dud. So DC has to scrap that universe and start anew once more.
This led to the inception of Zack Snyder's Man Of Steel which began the DC Extended Universe that is going to this day. So what went wrong with the Green Lantern movie? What was so bad about the film that even the star of the movie continues to mock it in other films? And what are some of the good aspects that get overshadowed by the bad?
10 Wrong: Hal's Family Was Pointless
Hal Jordan has siblings in the film that have their own families. Even though they scold him for his dangerous job and seem to show concern, they don't add anything to the film. They show up in one scene then are never brought up again.
The only family member that serves any purpose is Hal Jordan's nephew. His connection to his nephew is genuinely sweet and seeing an uncle/nephew relationship is refreshing. However, even the nephew never returns after being introduced.
9 Right: Anything Green Lantern-Related
Speaking of the constructs: When Hal Jordan finally starts performing as a Green Lantern, it's pretty cool. The constructs from Hal, Kilowog, and Tomar-Re are easily some of the better action sequences in the film; even if the CGI is not the best in the world. Even the totally not sponsored by Hot Wheels track Hal builds is neat to see.
And the other lanterns like Tomar-Re and Kilowog were well done with pitch-perfect casting choices. At the time, one could not get a better Kilowog than the late, great Michael Clarke Duncan. They should have been in the movie much more often.
8 Wrong: CGI Lantern Suit
This is one of the biggest flaws viewers had with Green Lantern: The all-CGI suit that he wore. Now, the idea of an all CGI suit is not inherently bad, as plenty of movies use that— the MCU does it constantly. What kills the Green Lantern suit is that even the light that emanates from the suit is artificial.
Artificial lighting has to be done 100% correctly or it destroys the final product. Since there is no light being shined onto Ryan Reynolds' practical face, it ruins the illusion. This is best shown in the few scenes where the suit is not glowing, as in those moments it actually looks decent.
7 Right: Ryan Reynolds
Even though Ryan himself mocks the film in his Deadpool movies, Ryan did genuinely try as Hal Jordan. From beginning to end, he nails the cocky, arrogant hotshot attitude that Hal is known for. At the same time, Hal has depth to his character.
Despite the less than stellar writing, Ryan Reynolds is the one thing that makes Hal Jordan work. Ryan also looks perfect as Hal Jordan: whenever he's Hal or Green Lantern, he looks straight out of the comics.
6 Wrong: Never A Space Cop
When one thinks of a Green Lantern story, nobody really thinks of a story of Hal moping on Earth. After failing his training on Oa, Hal pretty much spends the rest of the runtime on Earth. This would be fine since it is his origin story but many fans agree the best parts of the movie are in space or on Oa.
This is why Hector Hammond, who was an okay villain on his own, was probably not the best choice for the first baddie. The plot should have focused more on Hal learning the ropes via different cases across different planets. A cop movie mixed with a hint of Star Wars.
5 Right: Mark Strong's Sinestro
If there is one thing that everybody praises, sometimes even more than Ryan Reynolds, it's Mark Strong as Sinestro. Strong looked, sounded, acted, and portrayed Sinestro perfectly. Fans loved his Sinestro so much that despite the movie being a disappointment, they were hyped to see a sequel with him as the villain.
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The scene in which he demoralizes and trains Hal Jordan is easily one of the best scenes. It hints at their future rivalry without being too obvious. Unfortunately, it is unlikely that Mark Strong will return to this role since he has become Doctor Sivana in the Shazam franchise.
4 Wrong: Bland Music
The soundtrack is half the movie and with a superhero epic, it needs memorable tracks. With Green Lantern, even the main theme is just generic which is unforgivable. Not only is Green Lantern a superhero movie but it's a space opera, and these two things should lead to iconic music.
Instead, every bit of music sounds like either generic action movie music, generic superhero music, or generic sci-fi music.
3 Right: The Oath
Every comic book movie, even the worst ones, have that one moment that makes fans happy. Avengers: Endgame had the portals scene for example. In the final battle against Parallax, there is a somewhat iconic moment straight out of the comics.
As Parallax taunts him, Hal Jordan slowly speaks the Green Lantern Oath to help fill him with more will. It builds up the hype so when Hal Jordan finally yells out the words: "Beware my power, Green Lantern's light!" Green Lantern fans clap with joy. It is worth seeing the movie for that one iconic line.
2 Wrong: Rushed Villains
Hector Hammond was decent, but it could have been much worse. Peter Sarsgaard effectively portrayed a creepy loner with psychic abilities. Plus, the filmmakers effectively made Hector's giant head design seem scary. Unfortunately, the character is killed off in the third act thus making the build-up seem worthless.
Then there's Parallax. This was a slap in the face to Green Lantern comics fans. Going in a unique direction is one thing but nothing about this character resembled Parallax. Many compare this Parallax to the live-action Galactus from the second Fantastic Four movie. From cliché monologues and terrible design, everything about Parallax was just wrong.
1 Right: The Extended Cut
It's not as drastic as the Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice Ultimate Cut, but it does fix something. The biggest issue with the story was that Hal himself feels underdeveloped. There is a reason for this: In the theatrical version, Hal's connection to his father is explained in a five-second flashback.
In the extended cut, it is much longer. It's actually a ten to fifteen-minute long prologue dedicated to the relationship between Hal and his father. It sets up Hector Hammond, establishes Carol Ferris, and even makes the death of Hal's father emotional. This prologue follows Hal's story throughout the film thus developing the characters.