Green Lantern.

[beccaelizabeth]

I bought the Green Lantern film, because it was very cheap and sitting there on the way out of the supermarket.
I do not know why they do an origin story AND a big portentous voiceover introduction. I mean, the only reason to do an origin story is to introduce the audience to the concepts at the same speed as the hero. Though both hero and audience apparently needed things explained a whole bunch of times.

I kept getting the feeling that whatever audience they were aiming at they missed it while grabbing for another bit. Too much explaining for an audience that actually wants an action movie, too much sitting around angsting for people that are there cause the cover had all those cool aliens, and waaaaaaaay too little cool aliens doing actual interesting things if that's the image you're using to sell it.

Also I don't think that the story of a guy who has it all and just keeps walking away from it is really the compelling story that needs to be told and retold. He's kind of a dick. And then he's kind of a dick with superpowers. But we're supposed to like him because this time he nearly dies for a better reason. So then he's just the guy who has it all plus superpowers. *shrugs* And? I still don't actually like him.

Plus I spent most of the film alternating between wishing it was about one of the guys who have actually been Green Lantern in my reading lifetime... okay, Hal was in JLE, which I read, but John has been the man for quite some time now... aaaand plotting a whole different story in my head, where it's about an agoraphobic woman going shopping, which believe you me involves overcoming great fear, and then it turns into a GL story because that's one of the random dangers of the streets in the DCU, and then a GL gets knocked out and she uses their ring, and she can't do all the things or even keep track of it all, so she makes more rings and gives them to everyone in the street. And between them they do the oath. The smart kid with the glasses doing 'In brightest day' and the little old lady with the curtain twitching neighbourhood watch doing 'no evil shall escape my our sight'. And then they only have a few minutes power each, because the battery had to divide up between everyone, but they use it to do lots of thin or weak looking things that it doesn't even worry about but the plan comes together and they totally cats cradle the bad guy when you put them all together.
And then when they're done, when the temporary rings have vanished and it's just down to the borrowed one, the GL is all hey, mine, give. And she's all, it's important to you, isn't it? That you're the only one. That it chose you. And he's all, yeah, me and the also rans. Green Lanterns for the whole sector. You didn't get chosen. And she shrugs and flips it back to him. Nope, I chose.
... I was writing that in my head before it got to the bit with Hector and the ring. And then Hal is all 'you have to be chosen' and I just sighed. What the hell is so good about being chosen?
I liked the bit in Captain America much better. What makes you so special? Nothing.
(er, except he got chosen too. somehow there's a difference?)

So, you know, kind of not the target audience for this film, on a basic values level.

and I kept pausing it to go eat and get more ice cream and stuff.

But when Hal is doing the oath for real?
Oh, that still works.
As does the Corps turning up.

The GL Corps is cool.
But you kind of have to leave open the idea that you, yes you, sitting right there, could be joining it right now.
Not having to fit into a Hal Jordan shape before they'd even consider you.