Is it Bad?: Green Lantern (2011)

 A Film that has been lambasted by Critics, Audiences and its Star.

The latter has not mixed words about this Film, although he has softened a bit on it in the last few years.

Let's check out the Film that is...

Pro: The Film begins by establishing the Characters, even if it is in melodramatic fashion.  Weirdly, this is the 2nd edition of 'Is it Bad?' to feature John Tenney in the Opening Scene.

He was a partner in BHC3 and the ill-fated Mr. Jordan here.

To note, I did watch the Extended Cut.  To be fair, this has been on the market for a Decade now, so...

Con: The Extended Cut restores the good Intro...but leaves in the repeat of said Scene via Flashbacks (which is how they only appeared in the Theatrical Cut).  It is a bit redundant.

Pro: When Hal gets the ring, the sense of wonder is really there.

When he ends up on Oa and meets the Corps, it feels like some good tease of world-building.

Con: Parallax looks neat, but is ultimately a big, angry cloud-squid-ink thing.  He/it was supposed to be more of a 3rd Act Reveal in earlier drafts, which is a better idea.

It does at least have more personality than the Galactus cloud from Fantastic Four 2.

Pro: Taika Waititi is in this?!?  Yes, he's playing 'Tom Kalmaku,' who's technically supposed to be Inuit.

Casting this way is probably better, as you avoid the unfortunate nickname the Character had for the first Decade or so of his existence.

Con: He's not in this enough though.

Pro: Hal's big hero debut is a good one.  He shows up and saves the day with his ring.

I kind of wish the crowd was more concerned/interested in the green stranger, but he does show up during a hectic situation.

IRL Pro: This is the Film where Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively met.  Even if it isn't Ryan's favorite Film of his, it should be his kids.

They literally wouldn't exist without it!

Pro and Con: The Suit.

I still kind of like it in 2024, but I can absolutely see why people don't.  The extra effects can be a bit much at times.

As a whole though, I'm happy that it is not just a plain green unitard with some glowing on it.

Let's see how people can make it look now.

Pro: Hector Hammond is ultimately not the final boss, but he's a good villain.

The body horror they get out of his transformation and how Skarsgard plays it is quite good.  Plus, the fact that they went to him here and not right to Sinestro is a plus.

I'm torn on his origin being tied to Parallax, but...it's not bad.

Con: He's ultimately just a lackey.  A good one, but still.

What is Good?

The Plot honestly has more depth than it gets credit for.  Hal has a whole Arc, as does everyone here.

The Special Effects hold up pretty well.  The CGI isn't always obvious to the eye and some shots on their own just look gorgeous.

It manages to tell a whole Story and set up future Films (that won't happen) at the same time.

While he's clearly a better fit for a Barry Allen/Wally West, Reynolds is pretty damn good here.

Him and Blake Lively have good chemistry, which real life sure has born out.

A nice use of A-List talent for voices, like Geoffrey Rush and Michael Clark Duncan.

What is Bad?

Parallax is a neat villain in concept, but not so much in execution.

Some of the Sequel Bait setup is a bit silly.  They make the Ring...and then don't use it, just so that Sinestro can grab it for Green Lantern 2.

There are certainly moments where the sheer amount of CGI is just too much.

So...

Is it Bad?

NO.

The Film has many faults- I'll grant you that.  For me, the good generally outweighs the bad and- if things had gone differently- I'm curious to see how this would have worked as the kickstart of the DCEU.

The Film can be an easy one to attack.
For me, the far worse Ryan Reynolds Film here is RIPD.