6.1 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.8 |
A test pilot is granted a mystical green ring that bestows him with otherworldly powers, as well as membership into an intergalactic squadron tasked with keeping peace within the universe.
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Mark Strong, Geoffrey Rush, Blake Lively, Clancy BrownAction | 100% |
Adventure | 86% |
Fantasy | 66% |
Sci-Fi | 66% |
Comic book | 60% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 MVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1
Thai: Dolby Digital 5.1
2D Extended Cut: English audio only
English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Indonesian, Korean, Mandarin (Simplified), Mandarin (Traditional), Thai
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Three-disc set (2 BDs, 1 DVD)
UV digital copy
DVD copy
Bonus View (PiP)
BD-Live
Blu-ray 3D
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
As if being a box office disappointment and a critical flop weren't bad enough -- Or should that be a box office flop and a critical disappointment? It's strange labeling a $200 million worldwide take a flop or a disappointment, and yet it was both -- Green Lantern left film fans and comic geeks cold. And, for once, a comicbook adaptation alienated moviegoers of all stripes for the same reasons, regardless of how familiar they were with DC Comics' space-faring saga. Where to begin? Director Martin Campbell's interstellar superhero actioner is too slow, too uneventful, too melodramatic, too anticlimactic, and offers too little too late. More? Its casting is riddled with odd choices and poor picks, its superpower showcases and superpowered showdowns are dull and CG-driven, its attachment to Earth infuriating, its performances clunky and inconsistent, its tone too disjointed, its hero too shallow, its fourth tier human villains too cheesy, its planet-chomping alien menace too cartoonish, and its true Big Bad relegated to the bench until an end-credits sequence calls him in for a sequel that might not ever come to fruition. Long story short? Green Lantern has high aspirations but never quite gets off the ground.
Stay on target... stay on target...
Another day, another poorly implemented 3D conversion. When will studios realize that dark, dreary imagery doesn't translate to 3D very well? When will they start converting only those films that dramatically benefit from the process? Green Lantern 3D boasts the same highs and tumbles with the same lows as its 2D counterpart. But with the added veil of 3D glasses, a diminished degree of depth and dimensionality, and some of the flattest 3D imagery to hobble onto Blu-ray this year, it's much more uneven and, in my humble opinion, disappointing. Surprisingly, sequences involving the most visual effects are the most two-dimensional, while the film's practical photography exhibits the most measurable pop. Very little ever jets off the screen, even when giant fists fly, vivid energy blasts erupt, planes hurtle toward the viewer, villains toss helpless heroes across city blocks, alien ships crash to Earth, or when Campbell's cameras explore Oa. No, the best 3D bits involve closeups of Sinestro, passing shots of Hal Jordan, the well-lit Abin Sur autopsy set and other "real" elements. Kilowog looms but doesn't tower, Tomar-Re stands out but doesn't leap off the screen, the Guardians scowl but retreat into the shadows, and Parallax fills the screen to such an extent that dimension is moot. (There are some nice shots toward the end of the film as Hal and Parallax battle it out near the sun, but the bulbous beastie doesn't leave much of an impression elsewhere.) It doesn't help that the detail-stamping shadows, heavy contrast leveling and (inherent) DNR that plagued the 2D presentation are only exacerbated here. Pardon the potential overstatement, but a handful of shots in Green Lantern 3D are downright unwatchable.
Even when simpler 3D shots succeed, the resulting 3D effect doesn't stack up as well as it could. I constantly found myself wondering why Green Lantern was converted in the first place, much less released, as is, for 3D home viewing. Surging green light should open up the image; instead, it flattens it more. Sprawling planets should stretch into the distance; instead, both Oa and Earth settle for far less. Hal Jordan should shoot out of the screen; instead, he shoots up, across, down, at an angle... everywhere but out. Even when he launches himself at the viewer, it rarely seems as if he's capable of breaking through the divide. Explosions should balloon and glowing creations of will should blossom; instead, they hang in mid-air without pushing forward all that much. Jordan's brief training and first major battle with Hector features some of the more convincing 3D found on the disc, but for all the brick-wall playfulness, swashbuckling fun and flame-thrower flash and sizzle, these scenes still don't hold a candle, 3D or otherwise, to the best 3D sequences I've had the pleasure of viewing. It's strange. The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast, two hand-drawn catalog films fresh from the Disney Vault, offer infinitely more 3D punch and pizazz than Green Lantern 3D. Who would have thought? And yet here we are. Is Green Lantern 3D a complete failure? Not quite. There's very little ghosting or crosstalk, no major artifacting or aliasing, and just enough decent-looking shots and scenes to render Warner's 3D transfer a so-so bonus feature; one worth the four-dollar difference in price. More often than not, though, the 3D presentation crashes and burns, particularly in comparison to other recent 3D releases. My advice? Save your hard-earned 3D dollars for more deserving 3D releases.
Ah, this is more like it. While Green Lantern's visuals are trapped in a maddening free fall, Warner's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track kicks on the afterburner and roars overhead. Dialogue is clean, well-grounded and intelligible throughout (minus a few lines dwarfed by mid-battle chaos) and sound effects, be they down-to-Earth or powered-by-will, remain crystal clear from start to finish. Explosions, minigun fire, Kilowog punches, jet engines, toppling buildings and burning stars take full advantage of the LFE channel, and dynamics lend power and presence to an already engrossing soundscape. The rear speakers are responsible for plenty of sonic flash and flair as well. Alien warriors rocket past, energy blasts streak across space, Parallax billows and fills the soundfield, and every intergalactic hotspot and Earthbound locale is nice and immersive. (Even though Lantern's distant planets seem to be slightly more enveloping than our own. I suppose Campbell has more to play with when he's off-world, brief as those opportunities may be.) If the film's transfer came to life with the same vividness and tenacity as Warner's lossless mix, this would be an entirely different review. Ah well, one-half of an outstanding AV presentation is better than nothing I suppose.
If Green Lantern worked for you and a purchase is in order, its standard 2D Blu-ray release may be more to your liking. Unless you're an unremitting 3D diehard, Lantern's 3D image is too flat and two-dimensional to bring much to the 3D table. Even Thor 3D fares better, and the God of Thunder's 3D presentation is merely average. That said, Green Lantern's 3D release is a whopping four dollars more than its 2D counterpart, and it offers the same extended and theatrical cuts (even though the theatrical cut is the only one to appear in 3D), the same decent (but problematic) 2D transfer, the same excellent DTS-HD Master Audio track, and the same generous suite of bonus materials. For four dollars more, fans can nab three versions of the film rather than two, making the 3D release, mediocre 3D presentation and all, the wise consumer's choice.
Extended and Theatrical versions
2011
2011
G1
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
2011
with Justice League Movie Money
2011
Extended and Theatrical versions
2011
2011
2013
1978
1980
2007
2006 Original Release
2006
DC Universe Animated Original Movie #11
2011
Icons
2011
2009
2017
Cinematic Universe Edition
2019
Cinematic Universe Edition
2012
DC Universe Animated Original Movie #2
2008
2015
2018
2013
2014
2019
Cinematic Universe Edition
2015
2005
Cinematic Universe Edition
2018