Capsule/Summary ***

Martin Campbell's cinematic adaptation of the Green Lantern comic book is something of a missed opportunity.  Despite plenty of fun comic-book-style action, creative art direction, and good casting, the film overreaches by trying to incorporate too many of the major characters and plot elements from the five decades of Green Lantern comic books stories.  This bogs down the movie with constant exposition and ultimately results in many of these elements being given short shrift.  The film is presented on Blu-ray disc with video that occasionally stumbles over the dark cinematography, resulting in crushed blacks and a few instances of noise in shadowy areas of the image.  The lossless DTS-HD MA sound is near reference quality surround sound demo material.  Extras are satisfying in both quantity and depth, with a particular emphasis on the massive amount of design and effects work that went into producing the film.

Green Lantern

The Film ***

In Green Lantern, Ryan Reynolds plays Hal Jordan, a daredevil test pilot who is haunted by his past inclusive of a father who died in a jet explosion.  His life takes a literally cosmic turn when Abin Sur (Morrison), the member of an intergalactic police force known as the Green Lantern Corps crash lands on Earth, and Hal is chosen to wear a ring of power and assume the deceased Abin Sur's duties as a Green Lantern.  Hal is understandably taken aback and, even after a bit of training from some fellow Green Lanterns on how the power of will is harnessed by the rings and the lanterns used to charge them, unsure if he is ready for the responsibilities of defending an entire sector of the universe.  His opportunity for self-doubt is brief, however, as he finds himself contending with a friend named Hector Hammond (Sarsgaard) whose exposure to a malevolent alien force called Parallax while performing an autopsy on Abin Sur has given him phenomenal mental powers and a predilection for threatening those close to him including Hal's on-again off-again romantic interest, Carol Ferris (Lively). The threat escalates when Parallax, whose power increases as he devours the fear of his victims, mows through squadrons of Green Lanterns and turns his attention to Earth.  If Earth is to survive, Hal must conquer the fears rooted in his childhood trauma in order to summon the will necessary to fight the planet devouring monster.

In seemingly trying to touch on most of the key characters and plot developments in fifty years of Hal Jordan Green Lantern comics, the filmmakers bite off way more than can comfortably be chewed in a movie clocking in at less than two hours.  Martin Campbell's mastery of the cinematic grammar of action sequences is on full display, and the production crew does an admirable job of technically solving how some of the more bizarre and abstract elements of the comics can be realized cinematically, but despite the dog fights, space battles, and elaborately designed creatures and worlds, the film seems to be constantly bogged down by exposition.  The film throws so many unique characters, worlds, and rules at the viewer, that it feels like a never ending series of introductions.  With little screen time available to develop the central character relationships, many of the key dramatic turns fall flat and feel "unearned".

If one can get past the shallow character and plot developments, the film is not without its charms for viewers seeking escapist comic book sci-fi action.  The basic idea of a ring that can turn the wearer into a superhero is pre-teen wish fulfillment 101, and the central theme of conquering one's fears through willpower is a unique if not particularly deep approach to superhero storytelling.  The special effects are successful at creating their own reality, although the constant moving between real Earth-bound locations and blue screen CG alien worlds can at times make the viewer keenly aware of the "uncanny valley" between them. 

Note: The film on Blu-ray is viewable either in its original theatrical cut or in an Extended Cut that runs nine minutes longer.  The extra material all occurs early in the film and includes a prologue that expands considerably on a flashback to Hal's childhood.  Another scene between Hal and his nephew is also extended in a semi-successful attempt to provide some additional character development for Hal. 

The Video ***½

The video comes courtesy of an AVC encoded 1080p presentation letterboxed to the film's original 2.4:1 theatrical aspect ratio.  This is one of the most darkly lit films I have reviewed on Blu-ray, and while, for the most part, the video presentation provides a serviceable rendering of the difficult material, I did notice a handful of issues with crushed blacks and noise in the darkest areas of the screen.   The presentation is otherwise very strong with no other significant film or digital video artifacts and excellent detail.

The Audio *****

Audio comes courtesy of lossless DTS HD-MA 5.1 track that renders the very active 5.1 surround track with outstanding fidelity.  The various action set-pieces are predictably the highlights of the mix, but the full surround field is used effectively even during some quieter moments.  Alternate language Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks are provided for the Theatrical Version only in French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Thai.  An alternative English Dolby Digital 5.1 Descriptive Video Service track is also included. 

The Extras ****

Packaging

The disc is enclosed in a standard sized Blu-ray case with spindles on both sides of the inner case allowing it to hold both the Blu-ray and SD DVD discs with die cut holes to reduce plastic use.  There are three paper inserts in the hard case.  

• The first contains information and the access code for an Ultraviolet Digital Copy of the theatrical version of the film.  This allows users with a Flixster account to access a streaming version of the film on computers and certain tablets and mobile devices.  It also allows viewers with Flixster Collections software to download a copy to their computer's hard drive.  For reasons I do not quite understand, the downloaded digital copy (a 1.84 GB 640 x 360 encv encoded mpeg-4 file with 2.0 stereo audio in this case) appeared to be slightly windowboxed as well as letterboxed within a 16:9 frame.  No other devices or software are compatible with the DRM of the downloadable version yet, but more are expected to become supported by the end of 2011.  As an unexpected bonus, I discovered that the download code also unlocked an Ultraviolet Digital Copy of Green Lantern: Emerald Knights, a recent animated direct to video title.
• The second insert offers Playstation 3 owners with the Batman: Arkham City game a download code for an Add-On "Sinestro Corps" Skin for the Batman character in the game.
• The third insert is Warner's standard BD-Live Information Sheet

The hard case is in turn surrounded by a cardboard slipcover that reproduces the same art with additional text touting the DVD and Ultraviolet digital copy.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dmiller68 

I enjoyed this movie in 3D. While there where no major in your face factor I thought it was well done. No ghosts or other 3D artifacts that I saw.

 

My big negative was the fact it wasn't a normal digital copy but the stupid Ultra-Violet!!

Well, at least an SD DVD is a normal digital copy of a sort. 

BTW, per the flixster help menus, current devices that support UV copy streaming via flixster are:

iOS: iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPod Touch 3rd and 4th generation, or iPad 1 or 2.

Android OS: HTC EVO 4G, HTC Thunderbolt, Motorola Droid X, Nexus One, Nexus S, Samsung Galaxy S, and Samsung Infuse

There may be more compatible Android devices, but those are the ones that have been tested.