Better, but still not impressed.
I’m glad the newly released Green Lantern footage from this year’s WonderCon focuses heavily on the sci-fi elements, but I’m still underwhelmed.
Want me to buy a ticket? Less Ryan Reynolds goofing around, please.
The first Green Lantern trailer so badly eroded my confidence in the film, I’m still not sure about seeing this one in the theater. And I’m a superhero fanatic.
I love the casting – Mark Strong as Sinestro, Geoffrey Rush as the voice of Tomar Re – when it comes to the supporting players.
Oa looks fantastic. The aliens certainly look cool.
CG Sinestro, however, looks goofy. As does GL’s mask.
And the oath?
Yeah, about that.
While it’s true you can’t have a GL movie without the oath, I cringe every time I hear it. It looks like Hal’s going to say the whole thing at least twice onscreen, the last, given the reading, being at the climax of the film I’m guessing.
Hopefully, that’s the extent of it.
Sorry to all the hardcore GL fans out there, but the oath is just one of a great many silly aspects of the Silver Age Green Lantern mythos. On the written page, you can get away it. But spoken aloud?
Don’t get me wrong. I’m incredibly relieved that in the film universe, Hal Jordan’s first recitation of the oath appears to be the result of a Battery-induced mind whammy.
Smart move. Audiences wouldn’t buy Ryan Reynolds saying those ridiculous sounding lines with a straight face otherwise. (The sort-of-funny-in-theory Pledge Of Allegiance riff also helps.)
Comic book fans, myself included, have had decades to get used to the oath. We’re no longer impartial. We’re inured to the silliness.
Hearing a grown man speak the words aloud? Silly.
Like hearing Topher Grace’s voice coming out of Venom’s mouth in Spidey 3.
Like carefully worded thought bubble soliloquies, or supervillain names that end with “o.”
(Mag-neat-o!)
(Sinister! With an "o!")
Also, superhero names ending in “man.” Or “lad.”
Used sparingly, and in the proper context, the oath can still be used effectively for dramatic purposes.
Take the final issue of Kingdom Come. Captain Marvel saying, “Shazam” (even more ridiculousness, in concentrated form) over and over and over again, raining thunder bolts down on Superman’s head, grinning like a madman, dodging the lightning with the speed of Mercury.
Powerful stuff. When it’s done right.
If I had my way, I’d save the oath until the end of the movie, ideally after the audience has had time to fully acclimate to the universe, fully bought in to the reality of alien do-gooders in green suits and matching masks patrolling the galaxy, and finally, and most crucially, having developed some measure of emotional attachment to the characters.
Maybe, an abbreviated version of the oath in the first act. Save the “Let those who worship evil’s might” jazz for later.
Take a cue from the Bond reboot. When Daniel Craig’s 007 finally delivers the character’s signature line at the end of 2006′ s Casino Royale, there’s nothing silly about it.
The line – “Bond. James Bond.” – pre-Daniel Craig, was a joke. Casino Royale managed to make it cool again.
Tags: Green Lantern Trailer 2, Green Lantern WonderCon Footage
You might also like
 |
|
 |
 |
