caesarsghost

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a perspective on the Green Lantern film


Doing what I do, just browsing the forums, I could not help but notice that many of the Green Lantern forums seem to focus on Ryan Reynolds, whether or not he was the right choice for Hal Jordan.  
 
I do not take issue with the topic being present- it makes sense. Big budget comic book movie with a character that has been around (in his present incarnation) since the 1950s, Viners are bound to have various opinions on the casting choice of the title character.  
 
Everyone is entitled to their opinion right? Well, conditionally. It depends on what informs the opinion. It seems that many have jumped on the "Ryan Reynolds is going to be terrible" bandwagon because a couple of more well-informed Viners have surmised such.  
 
Is my point clear? I have read some blogs from Viners that have expressed skepticism about Reynold's future performance, and these are fine. They back up their opinions with examples from comics, Reynold's past performances etc... The only thing that bugs me is the 'yeah, he will suck' thoughts without giving the topic proper consideration. I mean, we all love comic books, right? We care about the movies that come from these comic franchises, we want them to do well, it only makes sense that such a person would want to give every aspect of the question proper time and thought.  
 
In that spirit- here is where I land on the whole Ryan Reynolds as Hal Jordan debate.  
 
He will be wonderful! This was a near-perfect casting choice.  
 
Now it is time to back up that opinion with some evidence.  
 
He is confident- this is possibly the single most important aspect to Hal Jordan. Confidence is nearly synonymous with willpower in this case- Hal jumps into any situation- outnumbered, outgunned, outclassed, with the confidence that he is going to come out on top. He flies into these situations without a moment's hesitation because he has confidence in himself and confidence in the corps/ knows that he is doing the right thing. Comic book evidence? He is a test pilot for crying out loud ("she can do just a hair under mach three..," he puts his life on the line constantly because he is confident, self-assured), Revenge of the Green Lanterns: Hal and Guy attack the MANHUNTER HOMEWORLD on a rescue mission (the odds were three billion to one and he still had the time for witty banter with Arisia). The Flash: Rebirth- Barry says that Hal 'laughed like a maniac' whenever the League was outnumbered. What better statement of confidence could there be? Reynolds should portray this perfectly- just look at what he did with Deadpool in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Think of the elevator scene before the battle- the guy just exudes confidence, sarcasm, cockiness. Perfect for Hal.  
 
He is funny- Ladies and gentlemen, Hal Jordan is funny. Perhaps his post-Parallax self is a little less funny than his pre-Parallax days, but the Hal that will be in the film is pre-Parallax and thus the funnier one (and I actually dont get this argument that post-Parallax Hal is somehow stiff and joyless, but that is another blog). Do we need some evidence? Look at Wanted: Hal Jordan. When he kisses the Zamaron queen- 'c'mere, gorgeous.' Look at Secret Origin-  'dont tell me that Salaak didn't teach you about contained pocket dimensions as storage units for power batteries' '...I keep mine in my locker...'  We all know that Reynolds is hilarious (much of his past film roles have been comedic) and thus he is perfectly suited to play this rather large portion of Hal Jordan's character- there can really be no such thing as too funny with Hal! Hal is hilarious, he has shown it time and again- this is actually part and parcel with his confident/cocky nature, he makes jokes when things look their bleakest. These are the two largest parts of Hal Jordan's character- we have seen it in the comics, we have seen it in Reynolds past films- this is a match.  
 
But will he be too funny- hopefully we already dismissed this idea in the previous paragraph, but the prevalence of this thought on the boards means that it bears some repeating. People seem to think that Reynolds will play him too light, too funny and without the gravitas that Hal has been known to have (his father did die in a plane crash right before his eyes after all). 1st- even though this terrible thing happened to him, he has kept his sense of humor. We have seen it, proved it, moving on. He does have 'serious' moments (Secret Origin where he makes the construct of his father, or sits in his plane, or Sinestro Corps war when he fights with Kyllax, though after he defeats Sinestro he says 'you are under arrest' with a smile'). What makes people think that Reynolds cannot do these more serious moments? He has shown that he can handle drama quite well (Smokin' Aces definitely, The Amityville Horror and even The Proposal had some noteworthy moments of dramatic acting), and I believe that he will bring this same talent to Green Lantern. He is such a talented guy he can pull of the confident, funny yet determined Hal Jordan that we know and love.  
 
Hopefully we have seen that Reynolds should be a great Green Lantern, and even if that point is still debatable (and I am open to thoughtful discussion) hopefully we have at least seen a better way to approach the question than just 'yeah, he will suck'.
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