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
Directed By: Martin Campbell
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Peter Sarsgaard, Mark Strong, Angela Bassett, Tim Robbins, Geoffrey Rush, Michael Clarke Duncan, Temuera Morrison
Studio: Warner Bros.
Year: 2011
Rated: PG-13
Aspect Ratio: 2.4:1
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Chinese, Korean, Spanish, Portuguese, Indonesian, Thai
Release Date: October 14, 2011
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 ****
All of the extras are presented in AVC encoded 1080p video with Dolby Digital 2.0 sound unless otherwise indicated below:
Maximum Movie Mode: Green Lantern's Light offers a separate video stream through the film's entire running length that includes picture in picture views of behind the scenes footage, talking head interviews, storyboards, animatics, digital effects progressions, and character bios. The viewer is also given the opportunity to select branching features at numerous points throughout the film including all of the "focus point" featurettes described below and still galleres that offer a mix of production photos and art. The still galleries are identified as as follows:
Overall, this feature had a lot of interesting information and good participation from most of the film's key creative contributors. A number of the segments are effectively hosted by DC Entertainment Chief Creative Officer and Green Lantern Comic Book Writer Geoff Johns. In addition to John's, on-camera comments are offered by Art Department Researcher Ozzy Iguanzo, Ryan Reynolds ("Hal Jordan/Green Lantern"), Production Designer Grant Major, Temuera Morrison ("Abin Sur"), Director Martin Campbell, Blake Lively ("Carol Ferris"), Prop Master Drew Petrotta, Visual Effects Supervisor Jim Berney, Peter Sarsgaard ("Hector Hammond"), Special Effects Make-up Department Head Joel Harlow, Visual Effects Producer Alex Bicknell, Costume Designer Ngila Dickson, Mark Strong ("Sinestro"), Special Effects Make-up Supervisor David DuPuis, Special Effects Make-up Supervisor Richie Alonzo, Special Effects Make-up Artist Steve Buscaino, and Director of Photography Dione Beebe.
Focus Points (46:55 w/"Play All") are featurettes viewable directly from the disc's special feature menu or via branching at context-specific points of the film when watching in Maximum Movie Mode:
The Universe According to Green Lantern (20:12) presents a history of the Hal Jordan Green Lantern character starting from the re-boot of the Green Lantern character/concept in 1959 where Jordan was first introduced. It moves froward roughly chronologically covering the socially relevant stories pairing him with Green Arrow in the 1970s, his waning popularity and reinvention as a villain who is killed off in the 1990s, the rebirth storyline in the mid 00s, the evolution of the Sinestro character through the history of Green Lantern comics, the various Corps members, the color and emotion connections in the mythology, and the unique appeal of the Green Lantern universe. On camera commenta are provided by Green Lantern Comic Writer 1976-1980 Dennis O'Neil, DC Comics Co-Publisher Dan Didio, DC Comics Executive Editor Eddie Berganza, "Zero Hour" Writer/Artist Dan Jurgens, "Green Lantern Corps" Writer Peter Tomasi, Johns, DC Comocs Creative Executive Adam Schlagman, Green Lantern Artist Ethan Van Sciver, Green Lantern Corps Artist Patrick Gleason, and Green Lantern Artist Doug Mahnke.
Ryan Reynolds Becomes Green Lantern (8:48) focuses on the film's leading man and main character. All the interview participants have nice things to say about both. It includes some behind the scenes information about how the character was realized via a blend of Reynolds' performance with special effects. It also includes footage of Reynolds performing a number of physical stunts . Interview participants include Reynolds, Johns, Lively, De Line, Campbell, Harlow, and Stunt Coordinator Gary Powell.
Deleted Scenes (7:16)
These scenes appear to have been cut for pacing reasons and are presented at varying degrees of completion in terms of production sound and special effects. The Sinestro-Hal scene would have helped to ease the transition into a scene where Hal is abruptly shown confronting the Guardians, but the others were probably easy decisions to cut.
Justice League #1 Digital Comic (9:13) provides the first issue of the re-booted Justice League comic book series via a series of scrolling still screens. The premise of the series has most of the DC Universe characters operating in a world unfamiliar with them or superheroes in general, and these pages focus on Batman and Green Lantern getting to know each other while pursuing villains and in turn being hounded by the police.
Preview of Green Lantern: The Animated Series (6:32) includes five sequences from the forthcoming CG animated series. It looks fun, but somewhat inexpressively animated.
BD-Live Accesses the WB Portal. Other than the ability to host a screening, the only Green Lantern-related feature is an online version of the We Are the Corps focus point featurette.
An SD-DVD Copy of the theatrical version of the film is included on a separate disc. It is a bare bones encoding of the film with Dolby Digital 5.1 sound and alternate language audio and subtitles in French and Spanish. The video is riddled with digital compression artifacts.
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 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.
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
Directed By: Martin Campbell
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Peter Sarsgaard, Mark Strong, Angela Bassett, Tim Robbins, Geoffrey Rush, Michael Clarke Duncan, Temuera Morrison
Studio: Warner Bros.
Year: 2011
Rated: PG-13
Aspect Ratio: 2.4:1
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Chinese, Korean, Spanish, Portuguese, Indonesian, Thai
Release Date: October 14, 2011
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 ****
All of the extras are presented in AVC encoded 1080p video with Dolby Digital 2.0 sound unless otherwise indicated below:
Maximum Movie Mode: Green Lantern's Light offers a separate video stream through the film's entire running length that includes picture in picture views of behind the scenes footage, talking head interviews, storyboards, animatics, digital effects progressions, and character bios. The viewer is also given the opportunity to select branching features at numerous points throughout the film including all of the "focus point" featurettes described below and still galleres that offer a mix of production photos and art. The still galleries are identified as as follows:
Hal's Flashback
The Office Scene
Crash Site
Secret Base
Hector Examining Abin Sur
Ring Activation
The Lantern
Bar Scene
Discovering the Rings Power
The Ferris Party
Hector Snaps
Hector Versus Hal
The Kiss
Overall, this feature had a lot of interesting information and good participation from most of the film's key creative contributors. A number of the segments are effectively hosted by DC Entertainment Chief Creative Officer and Green Lantern Comic Book Writer Geoff Johns. In addition to John's, on-camera comments are offered by Art Department Researcher Ozzy Iguanzo, Ryan Reynolds ("Hal Jordan/Green Lantern"), Production Designer Grant Major, Temuera Morrison ("Abin Sur"), Director Martin Campbell, Blake Lively ("Carol Ferris"), Prop Master Drew Petrotta, Visual Effects Supervisor Jim Berney, Peter Sarsgaard ("Hector Hammond"), Special Effects Make-up Department Head Joel Harlow, Visual Effects Producer Alex Bicknell, Costume Designer Ngila Dickson, Mark Strong ("Sinestro"), Special Effects Make-up Supervisor David DuPuis, Special Effects Make-up Supervisor Richie Alonzo, Special Effects Make-up Artist Steve Buscaino, and Director of Photography Dione Beebe.
Focus Points (46:55 w/"Play All") are featurettes viewable directly from the disc's special feature menu or via branching at context-specific points of the film when watching in Maximum Movie Mode:
The Art of Green Lantern (6:03) focuses on the overall look and design of the film, including a lot of production and concept art. Topics cover overall design approach and discussion of specific creatures, locations, and props. On-camera comments are provided by Reynolds , Johns, Major, Creature Designer Neville Page, Illustrator Justin Sweet, Illustrator Fabian Lacey, and Dickson.
Weapons Hot: The U.C.A.V. Dogfight (4:04) focuses on the scene early in the film where Hal Jordan abd Carol Ferris engage in a dogfight with a pair of automated fighter jets. It offers a behind the scenes look at the design, pre-visualization, and practical shooting processes that went into making the scene. On-camera comments are offered by Reynolds, Campbell, Visual Effects Supervisor Kent Houston, Previsualization Artist Kyle Robinson, Lively, and Technical Consultant General Rick Searfoss.
Reinventing the Superhero Costume (7:46) Covers the design philosophy behind the Green Lantern costume inclusive of several drawings illustrating abandoned concepts. It also discusses the decision to make the costume computer generated, the CG motion capture effects work necessary to realize it, and the Sinestro costume. On-camera comments are provided by Johns, Dickson, Bicknell, Campbell, Digital Effects Supervisor David Smith, Berney, Animation Supervisor David Schaub, and Strong
Ring Slinging 101 (5:20) Focuses on the CG-intensive training platform sequence in the film with some discussion of other sequences with digital effects to create the elaborate Green Lantern ring "constructs". On-camera comments are provided by Strong, Producer Donald De Lone, Campbell, Berney, Schaub, Bicknell, and Reynolds.
We Are the Corps (5:38) Highlights the diverse alien membership of the Green Lantern Corps and how they were adapted to the film medium from the comics. On-camera comments re provided by Johns, Berney, Smith, Campbell, De Line, Schaub, Bicknell, Screenwriter Greg Berlanti, Page, and Geoffery Rush ("Tomar-Re")
Acting Under 10 Pounds of Silicon (7:10) examines the efforts necessary to represent on-screen the characters requiring elaborate make-up appliances: Abin-Sur, Sinestro, and Hector Hammond. Comments are provided by Harlow, DuPuis, Sarsgaard, Alonzo, Morrison, Buscaino, and Strong.
Guardians Revealed (6:10) Looks at the how the diminutive immortal characters from the comics were realized cinematically with an emphasis on their design and animation. On-camera comments are provided by Johns, Campbell, De Line, Berney
When Parallax Attacks (4:42) highlights how the "big bad" was realized on film including extensive discussion of design concepts and animation. On-camera comments are provided by Campbell, De Line, Johns, Major, Sweet, Berney, and Bickner
The Universe According to Green Lantern (20:12) presents a history of the Hal Jordan Green Lantern character starting from the re-boot of the Green Lantern character/concept in 1959 where Jordan was first introduced. It moves froward roughly chronologically covering the socially relevant stories pairing him with Green Arrow in the 1970s, his waning popularity and reinvention as a villain who is killed off in the 1990s, the rebirth storyline in the mid 00s, the evolution of the Sinestro character through the history of Green Lantern comics, the various Corps members, the color and emotion connections in the mythology, and the unique appeal of the Green Lantern universe. On camera commenta are provided by Green Lantern Comic Writer 1976-1980 Dennis O'Neil, DC Comics Co-Publisher Dan Didio, DC Comics Executive Editor Eddie Berganza, "Zero Hour" Writer/Artist Dan Jurgens, "Green Lantern Corps" Writer Peter Tomasi, Johns, DC Comocs Creative Executive Adam Schlagman, Green Lantern Artist Ethan Van Sciver, Green Lantern Corps Artist Patrick Gleason, and Green Lantern Artist Doug Mahnke.
Ryan Reynolds Becomes Green Lantern (8:48) focuses on the film's leading man and main character. All the interview participants have nice things to say about both. It includes some behind the scenes information about how the character was realized via a blend of Reynolds' performance with special effects. It also includes footage of Reynolds performing a number of physical stunts . Interview participants include Reynolds, Johns, Lively, De Line, Campbell, Harlow, and Stunt Coordinator Gary Powell.
Deleted Scenes (7:16)
Identified via a title card as "Hamster Scene" - Hector experiences some initial changes after being exposed to Parallax
Sinestro discusses the defeat and death of several Green Lantern Corps members with Hal, and Hal appeals for help in defending Earth
As prelude to his battle with Parallax, Hal encourages Carol to take shelter
Hal's nephew Jason is endangered by the advancing Parallax before Hal intervenes.
These scenes appear to have been cut for pacing reasons and are presented at varying degrees of completion in terms of production sound and special effects. The Sinestro-Hal scene would have helped to ease the transition into a scene where Hal is abruptly shown confronting the Guardians, but the others were probably easy decisions to cut.
Justice League #1 Digital Comic (9:13) provides the first issue of the re-booted Justice League comic book series via a series of scrolling still screens. The premise of the series has most of the DC Universe characters operating in a world unfamiliar with them or superheroes in general, and these pages focus on Batman and Green Lantern getting to know each other while pursuing villains and in turn being hounded by the police.
Preview of Green Lantern: The Animated Series (6:32) includes five sequences from the forthcoming CG animated series. It looks fun, but somewhat inexpressively animated.
BD-Live Accesses the WB Portal. Other than the ability to host a screening, the only Green Lantern-related feature is an online version of the We Are the Corps focus point featurette.
An SD-DVD Copy of the theatrical version of the film is included on a separate disc. It is a bare bones encoding of the film with Dolby Digital 5.1 sound and alternate language audio and subtitles in French and Spanish. The video is riddled with digital compression artifacts.
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.
