Green Lantern

I said I wouldn't go to movies at midnight anymore. I added it to my Murtaugh List. But that's exactly what I did.

I could've waited to see Green Lantern in brightest day. Instead, I saw it in blackest night. This is what happens when we make promises to our young friends.

And that's why it happened. Yes, I wanted to see this movie. I've been a fan of the Green Lantern since I was a kid. I think it would be pretty awesome to be the guy who has a super-powered ring that makes anything you can imagine into reality. But I could've easily waited to see it Saturday afternoon. But my inner comic book geek wouldn't let me wait. So a few weeks ago I mentioned to Bryce that I would take him to the midnight show if his mom would let him.

You know, it would be great if I could get by on 3 hours of sleep on a regular basis. Imagine all I could do with 21 hours every day. I could read more. I could write more. I could finally learn to play the piano.

But this shouldn't be about my inability to function on minimal sleep. This is about a movie that I saw in the middle of the night.

Ryan Reynolds stars as Hal Jordan, the first human being chosen to be a Green Lantern. In case you weren't aware, there are 3600 Green Lanterns all across the universe. Before Jordan was picked, it was thought that humans weren't capable of wielding the ring, described as the most powerful weapon in existence. It's described that way because it's only limited by the bearer's mind. And that's your basic story.

Hal Jordan is this cocky test pilot who is chosen by a dying Green Lantern's ring to be his replacement in the Green Lantern Corps. It's a sink or swim situation for him as earth quickly becomes the target of a galactic threat known as Parallax, the embodiment of fear in the universe. His fellow Lanterns don't have a lot of faith that an earthman can successfully protect his assigned sector, but Jordan rises to the challenge and saves the world.

Ryan Reynolds was perfect casting for Hal Jordan. The guy nailed cocky and sarcastic a long time ago. As far as the other characters that were translated from the comics, they were mostly good. Sinestro, another Lantern who will eventually become Jordan's arch-nemesis, was done very well by Mark Strong. I thought that some of the other aliens looked a little awkward in the CGI, but that's probably just the way I think about CGI. As for Carol Ferris, Hal's boss/love interest and another future enemy (Star Sapphire), well, I just wasn't sure about her. There were moments when I thought that Blake Lively was doing all right. But there were more moments when she seemed very cold and rigid. Overall, I think she did do a better job as Carol than Kate Bosworth did as Lois Lane in Superman Returns.

It was a pretty decent movie. Nothing deep, and it certainly won't touch The Dark Knight in the world of super-hero movies. But it was a fun movie. It was your typical summer, popcorn blockbuster. They kept things light and interesting enough to get me to like it. I think it's worth seeing. Especially if you're a little bit of a geek like me.