I really hope you are aware that there is a movie based on Hal Jordan and the Green Lanterns. If anything, Warner Bros. has gone above and beyond in advertising this movie. Reviews are out but the movie is worth seeing. It does a good job of making the movie accessible to non-comic book readers. Those of us that are familiar with the characters are the ones that might have some issues with the movie.

If you plan on seeing the movie and aren't completely up to speed on the characters or maybe you're going to see the movie with friends don't know what a Green Lantern is, check out our detailed Beginner's Guide to find out everything you need to know about the characters before seeing the movie. As I mentioned, the movie is pretty accessible to new viewers but why not get a better understanding in order to get the optimal experience?

Hal Jordan

The star of the movie, the greatest Green Lantern. At least he will be some day. Hal is the most prominent and known Green Lantern even though he is far from the only one. Check out this Beginner's Guide to see what the full story is on the first Earth-based Green Lantern.

Sinestro

Before Hal Jordan, Sinestro was said to be the best Green Lantern. Originally first seen as only a villain, his updated origin showcased his time as a member of the Green Lantern Corps, including time spent training Hal. If you want to know what the other differences in his origin, check out this comparison on why he was the best and worst Green Lantern.

Abin Sur

Abin Sur is the dying purple alien seen in the trailers. There actually is more to his story than just being the alien-dude that give Hal Jordan his power ring. It could be argued (at least by me) that Abin was actually the most important Green Lantern.

Green Lantern Corps

What is this Corps about? Why are they all dressed in green? What are the joining requirements? Are there any benefits besides getting a fancy ring? Find out (almost) everything there is to know about these intergalactic police officers.

Green Power Ring

You can't have a Green Lantern movie without the power ring. How does it work? Who gets to wear it? Is it one size fits all or can it be resized? Find out everything you'd want to know about this fancy piece of jewelry.

Carol Ferris

You can't have a superhero movie without a love interest, right? The hero always has to have someone he's fighting for. That's probably why he's going to such extremes. Carol is a character that has gone through some crazy changes. You won't see her full story told on the big screen but you should check this out to see possible upcoming storylines in the sequels.

Hector Hammond

What about the villains? Hector Hammond is a guy with a big head. That doesn't mean he thinks highly of himself. We know that characters are often tweaked for the big screen. Hector had a different past but still got a big head. Read up on who he is and get some insight on the inspiration for his movie debut.

Parallax

What? Two villains in one movie? One is never enough, right? It was pretty crazy that they would even consider bringing in a character with such an incredibly complex backstory. I have to admit, even though the movie does a pretty good job in filling you in on what he is about, it would be beneficial to read up on what he's about in the comic books.

Kilowog

Kilowog is the Green Lantern you don't want to mess with. The Green Lanterns are a powerful bunch so imagine who is the one able to provide the training they need. Not only is he big in stature, but he has what it takes to properly use his ring to its fullest extent. He may not have the most screen time in the movie but he is an essential character when it comes to the Green Lantern Corps.

Tomar Re

There is so much going on in this movie. For those who don't know a thing about the Green Lanterns, Tomar Re is the answer to your prayers. He's the one that has all the answers. It was an odd choice for his inclusion in the movie. Why? Read up on him and you'll see what happens to him in the comics.

Guardians of the Universe and the Manhunters

Who are the blue guys in this movie? They sure aren't Smurfs (that's another movie). These are the guys that started the whole Lantern Corps. Check out this article explaining their story along with the Manhunters seen in the Green Lantern video game.

There might be some mixed reviews for the movie but it's definitely something you should see for yourself. Be sure to read up on all the characters involved to get a better idea of what's going on. If you're worried about any spoilers dealing with the characters, you could always check these out after you see the movie to do a comparison between the film and comics.

Only thing you need to know
 
It stinks!!               Jay Sherman FTW

Deadpool movie now

@CraftyArrow: 3 is better than a 1 or a 2. A lot depends on how much you're invested in the characters. It wasn't horrible. Better than other movies like...Wolverine Origins. Some cool effects.

i called it a year a go that i thought the gl movie would suck...and i just remembered that i only told my mates in scotland...sorry.

I will be seeing this tomorrow but the reviews already make me feel disappointed... i just dont understand why they can't make a good live action movie like they do with the animated movies...Green Lantern First Flight was great lol

green lantern movie is the new daredevil movie.

@darkcloakx said:

green lantern movie is the new daredevil movie.

Bingo!@G-Man said:

@CraftyArrow: 3 is better than a 1 or a 2. A lot depends on how much you're invested in the characters. It wasn't horrible. Better than other movies like...Wolverine Origins. Some cool effects.

I would rather watch X-Men Origins: Wolverine again that to watch tis movie again.

I just watched Green Lantern: Emerald Knights. I gotta say this animated movie is way better than the live-action one. 

It stinks!!  

Green Lantern was a good movie! Albeit a disappointing one that fell short of it's potential. They fit in a LOT of stuff, and i give it a lot of credit for it's faithfulness and it's attempt to really tell a great story. The good parts were great! But the bad parts were very weak. 
 
Don't give up on it yet! The sequel will kick ass!

If you have to do THIS MUCH research before watching a movie than it's probably not worth seeing especially if you're trying to make it marketable to the cash cow of people who don't know anything about  the green lanterns. I haven't seen it yet (The Comic vine review made sure I won't ever see it) but the core problem seem that they tried to put too much story into one film. You have the entire corps making an appearance and their greatest threat PARALLAX, essentially you have three entire films crushed into one. 
What a movie like this should do is want you craving more not stuff your throat full of information that you don't understand until you choke . This movie isn't TRANSFORMERS it won't be making any money off cars and their lame toys. If they were trying to sell the idea of guy with a magical alien ring they should of marketed like everyone else "Hey this movie is awesome you should find out why" not  "HEY WATCH THIS MOVIE IT'S AWESOME BECAUSE OF THIS AND THAT, DON'T FORGET TO DO YOUR HOMEWORK OR YOU WON'T UNDERSTAND WHY IT ROCKS NOOB". 

I thought it was good. It set out to do what it should have. It was competent even if it did seem a tad high on the CGI and I was at times being nitpicky about details.  No, it was definitely no Dark Knight, but then again these days what movie can measure up tot hat critical and financial success?

It was a good movie, the one thing i can take away from it is; i now understand why Hal is regarded as the greatest Green Lantern. Story wise, it was  better than First Class. On an overall scale of 10, i give it a 7( which is a 3.5 on a scale of five). One question though, why does every super hero movie have to be like Dark Knight, when the characters are not the same? I think these so called critics need to "take out the plank in their eyes" to have a broader view as opposed to a narrow view before making any judgement.  

It was a good movie, the one thing i can take away from it is; i now understand why Hal is regarded as the greatest Green Lantern. Story wise, it was  better than First Class. On an overall scale of 10, i give it a 7( which is a 3.5 on a scale of five). One question though, why does every super hero movie have to be like Dark Knight, when the characters are not the same? I think these so called critics need to "take out the plank in their eyes" to have a broader view as opposed to a narrow view before making any judgement.  

Got this from GaryBainbridge

 GL wasnt horrible! It just wasnt THE DARK KNIGHT or IRON MAN either. 
 I feel like This should have been the second movie (more or less), and the second should have been the first (they make it pretty clear what the second will be about). 
 

I enjoyed this movie more then Thor and X-Men:First Class and that's all the matters.

Eff the critics. I liked it. It was good. Not great, not bad. It was good.

People are jaded. GL was just as good as Thor, if not better. It was no First Class but I found it more watchable than Iron Man 2 or Incredible Hulk. 4/5 in my book. Especially with that after credits scene. I'm definitely waiting for the sequel.

This movie IS BAD not even in a comic book sense it dose nothing to make you invest or grow the chracters excpet maybe Hal. Its entertaining sure but its as hollow as a green construct. Mark Strong is good in it hope he sticks around but he has nothing to do in this movie except give speeches.

This movie IS BAD not even in a comic book sense it dose nothing to make you invest or grow the chracters excpet maybe Hal. Its entertaining sure but its as hollow as a green construct. Mark Strong is good in it hope he sticks around but he has nothing to do in this movie except give speeches.

@CraftyArrow: 3 is better than a 1 or a 2. A lot depends on how much you're invested in the characters. It wasn't horrible. Better than other movies like...Wolverine Origins. Some cool effects.

Just went and saw Green Lantern.  Had to take my nephew.  I was pissed I could not talk him into X-Men, but he's 10.  I sat there thinking this movie is going to suck.  I don't usually listen to critics, but EVERYONE said this movie was just bad.  EVERYONE.  Most posts on here the first day said the same thing.  To my surprise I was wrong.  The movie was really good.  I don't like to compare comic book movies to Batman BGNS and DK because those are in their own class.  This movie stands up to Thor which I really liked, and I thought it was actually better.   They handled the constructs better then expect.  Hector Hammond (even with the changes made) was the best actor in the movie.  The Parallax change worked.  The surprise other villain who was not named but we know who he is because he's been in the books lately was a nice surprise.  Sinestro was played the way you would think he should be played.  It was just good.  A few cheesy parts, and even Ryan did a much better Hal then you would think.  He starts off just Ryan, but at the end he's Hal.  Nice job.  Great intro movie.  I can only see this as a great set up for a sequel.  That's the feeling I had.  Sort of like when I saw X-Men.  It set it up for a nice sequel with out actully setting it up. 

I just came back from seeing the movie a second time and i think it was great. I would give it a 4 out of  5. I saw it with a friend who isn't to familiar with comic books and he gave it a 4.5 out of  5, honestly Tony, it was a better movie than First Class. 

I thought it was a good movie, just not great. That said, I knew little about Green Lantern, with my only exposure to it being through the DCAU, with John Stewart being GL. I knew of the Guardians and I knew of Sinestro and Kilowog, and I knew Hal Jordan was the first GL (Save for Alan Scott), but that was about it. So it was a good jumping in point, and needless to say I've already got some of the GL trade paperbacks, so I'm now reading up on Green Lantern, having a larger interest in him.

$52 million dollar movie was worth seeing i enjoyed every detail in the movie all the characters made their voices heard to me. I PRAY TO GOD FOR SEQUEL

The designs of the movie are what is making me doubt if I'll get to see this in theaters or on DVD...
It's just so...messy...oversaturated in details.. Be it the general look, aliens, costumes, etc.. I guess they're fine if you're a fan of light shows...

Still have no desire to see this movie.  When you have to preface a review of it with, "It wasn't as a bad as (insert horrible Marvel/DC movie name) it generally doesn't inspire a rush to see it.

Useful information =)

i just got back from seeing it tonight and i enjoyed the hell out of it. yeah i might be a bit biased because i dig the shit out of the lanterns but the movie was fun, i wish they would have done more on Oa with the training scene because i was totally geeking out to that part and they needed more goddamn killiwog!!

i was hoping the parallax fight would have lasted a bit longer and i wanted more constructs.

Hector was really not a needed in this movie, and i have seen worse villians designs than i saw of parallax,

i took the movie for what it was, fun.

 i wish they would have done more on Oa with the training scene because i was totally geeking out to that part and they needed more goddamn killiwog!!

i was hoping the parallax fight would have lasted a bit longer and i wanted more constructs.

Everyone in the audience was laughing when he was shouting to his lantern: "To infinity and beyond!", and then "By the power of greyskull!!". they had to stop there, because all other superhero transformation sentences were used up by peter parker in Sam Raimi's first spiderman movie.