Spoiled: Green Lantern (movie) 
 
Green Lantern covers the story of cocky fighter jet pilot Hal Jordan and his courageous rise to power and responsibility when he is inducted into one of the most elite clubs in the universe, the Green Lantern Corps. It just happens that Hal is brought into the fold at the same time that the greatest foe of the Green Lantern Corps and the Guardians of the Universe, Parallax, is freed from his prison and begins to devastate the galaxy. When scientist Hector Hammond comes into contact with a vile of Parallax's yellow fear goo, the battle is brought home to the planet Earth, and what was once the general problem of the entire universe, this Parallax being, becomes a personal problem for Hal Jordan. 
 
The general themes of Green Lantern mythology and story development were all present in this film, which is a major plus. While Hal Jordan sometimes feels a little too scared and filled with self-doubt to properly represent the Hal of the comics, this injection of a more Kyle Rayner Green Lantern (the only GL who was not chosen because of his courage, but who proved himself over time) we get a Green Lantern that people can relate to. Hal Jordan is afraid, but it is through letting that fear in and defeating it that true courage comes about. This is one of the quintessential themes that Geoff Johns brought about through his development of Kyle Rayner in the comics and through his idea of teaching the Lanterns how to overcome the yellow flaw. All of the main protagonists are properly represented. Hal Jordan and Carol Ferris are both courageous and strong-willed, and it is clear that they adore one another but that their relationship will be difficult. Sinestro is a fantastic leader, true to his friend Abin Sur, but in the end supportive of Hal Jordan because of his great courage. Kilowog is exactly the Kilowog from the comic books. Tomar Re had the comforting voice of Geoffrey Rush, a personal favorite of my girlfriend and I. (Amy did lean over to me at one point and suggest that David Bowie would have been a better voice actor choice, and I thoroughly agreed.) 
 
One of the big downsides is that there were just too many characters to properly develop. Sinestro was clearly an important leader in the Green Lantern Corps, but we really didn't see him all that much. His immediate distaste for Hal Jordan which turned into admiration upon defeating Parallax was rushed and a little bit forced. Kilowog had barely any screen time. There were also too many stories to fit into the amount of time allotted. As a result, the story of Hector Hammond, along with the acting talent of Peter Sarsgaard, was completely wasted. If given more time, the juxtapositions of the father/child relationships of Hammond, Ferris and Jordan could have been really interesting. Instead, Hector Hammond just seemed goofy. Parallax was somewhat interesting, but he was also goofy looking, and fairly easily defeated. Speaking of goofy, most of the dialogue was devoted to cute jokes and goofy situations. There really wasn't a moment of serious in this film, and there's something incredibly serious about the destruction of the universe via the forces of fear. While Carol Ferris was written pretty well, I really think that Blake Lively fell short on delivering her strength and boldness. She nailed the look, and her character was written so well, but I just didn't believe her. She wasn't acting very well. 
 
A lot of reviewers were annoyed with the blatant build-up for the Green Lantern sequel. I couldn't disagree with them more. You cannot tell Hal Jordan's story without showing him go up against Sinestro in a protagonist/antagonist battle with a whole lot on the line. Sure, we saw them battle, but the Guardians built Sinestro a yellow power ring and after the credits he broke it free and we watched as it took him over. In a sequel, the creative team will not have to juggle so many origin elements and can really delve into the relationship between fear and will. I can imagine that a lot of the interesting elements from the Sinestro Corps War story-line can be incorporated. (I'm crossing my fingers that we see Hal and Sinestro duking it out in Coast City, only to see the inhabitants holding green lights up to the window to show their own personal courage, an action that will give Coast City the nickname "The City Without Fear.") Since superhero movies always have two villains now, I can see them easily breaking into the Star Sapphire as the secondary villain. (They teased at it by giving her the pilot call name Sapphire.) I would love to see Blake Lively in a Star Sapphire uniform, and I would love to see a movie deal with how desire can corrupt even the strongest will, weakening Hal Jordan in his time of greatest need, but also how love can reinforce a strong will. 
 
Green Lantern was not as bad as most reviewers said it is. But it's not the movie that we should have been given. Don't count the Green Lantern franchise down, however. There's still room for a good sequel. And if that doesn't happen, they'll just reboot it.