Review: "GREEN LANTERN"

Back in the day (meaning a day in which I hadn't even been born yet), movies and the people who made them possessed a lot more ingenuity and creativity than the more cynical youngsters of today would give them credit for. Yes, filmmakers like Spielberg and Lucas couldn't rely on CGI at the time, but they and their special effects teams managed to compensate with clever camerawork, practical effects, model work, and the then-prevalent, painstaking usage of rotoscoping.

And yet (for the most part), the sci-fi and fantasy movies of years past (be they campy guilty pleasures or Oscar-worthy classics) still had a human touch that made them warm, naturalistic, and genuine. Who knew that audiences would be freaked out by what was really just a mechanical shark, or bedazzled by space aliens and dark lords that were actually men wearing rubbery suits and holding plastic guns and lightsabers?

Then came the advent of computer-generated imagery, which-- while making incredible leaps and bounds seemingly by the day-- has unfortunately been used as a crutch by studios and directors in lieu of character development and decent storytelling. Certainly, some films require special effects in certain doses when the limits of practical effects call for it, but when you overload your entire picture with shiny digital excess, accusations of laziness and favoring style over substance become more and more justified (just ask Michael Bay or Roland Emmerich).

Now in the ADHD generation of the 21st century, CGI overkill and drowning out a competent narrative (and the current fad of 3D filmmaking) has plagued movies with loads of potential, and sadly, director Martin Campbell's DC Comics adaptation Green Lantern has fallen victim as well.

For several millennia, a universe-wide organization known as the Green Lantern Corps has been protecting the cosmos from interstellar threats big and small. Headquartered on the faraway planet Oa, the Lanterns serve using power rings that can spontaneously create solid constructs limited by only the wearer's imagination. But they've apparently met their match in the form of the monstrous, fear-embracing entity known as Parallax (voice of Clancy Brown), which has been killing countless life forms and worlds and growing more powerful because of it.

Encountering and becoming gravely wounded by Parallax is the Green Lantern called Abin Sur (Temuera Morrison), who after crash-landing on Earth instructs his ring to seek out a worthy replacement. That replacement turns out to be test pilot Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds), a gifted but brash and irresponsible hotshot who works for Ferris Aircraft, owned by Carl Ferris (Jay O. Sanders) and managed by Carl's daughter Carol (Blake Lively), who was once an item with Hal.

Discovering the dying Abin Sur, Hal takes the ring, and is eventually whisked away to Oa, where he's introduced to the Corps and their ways by bird-beaked Tomar-Re (voiced by Geoffrey Rush), and trained by porcine Kilowog (voice of Michael Clarke Duncan) and Corps leader Thaal Sinestro (Mark Strong). Despite the doubts of both Sinestro and Hal himself, the new recruit will need all the help he can get.

It turns out that the U.S. Government has discovered Abin Sur's corpse, and agent Amanda Waller (Angela Bassett) hires meek scientist Hector Hammond (Peter Saarsgard)--the son of Senator Robert Hammond (Tim Robbins)-- to examine the body. But Hector becomes infected by a shard of Parallax that was inside the body, gaining incredible psionic powers. Consumed by power and hatred, Hector plots to exact revenge upon the world. With Hector's power growing and Parallax getting closer and closer to Earth, it'll take all that Hal can muster as the Green Lantern to save the world, and the universe.

It seemed long overdue for a big-screen adaptation of the jade-hued stalwart of the DC Comics universe, especially seeing how the only superheroes from DC making it to the silver screen were either an alien from Krypton or a billionaire playboy dressed like a flying rodent. Even though I've never read any comics featuring the Green Lantern as a child, my exposure to the character via animated television incarnations and a basic understanding of his origins made me excited nonetheless.

And upon looking at the basic ingredients, it seemed like a surefire winner. You had a respected director like Martin Campbell at the helm (The Mask of Zorro, Goldeneye, and the terrific Bond reboot Casino Royale); a talented cast featuring stud-muffin favorite Ryan Reynolds, as well as Peter Saarsgard, Tim Robbins, and Mark Strong; and all the visual effects wizardry that (reportedly) $300 million could buy.

But alas, the allure of Shiny and Loud supplanted the need for a script that makes its characters three-dimensional and its story engaging. It's actually quite remarkable how a screenplay forged by four (yes, FOUR) writers became so thin and underdeveloped, since every three minutes the audience is exposed to endless plot exposition and on-the-nose dialogue.

It also doesn't help that there's little to no joy experienced by the audience in the proceedings. All of the whiz-bang action setpieces feel very by-the-numbers. When we watched Superman take his first flight or Spider-Man go on his first web-swing, the excitement was organic and spine-tingling, but here the sense of fun is barely here, instead feeling robotic and artificial. Fueling the irony further is that despite Hal Jordan's power ring being capable of creating ANYTHING he can think of, the best that that Campbell's effects team can conjure up range from the mundane (swords and machine guns) to the downright cartoonish (fighter jets and... a giant Hot Wheels racing track?).

As the man behind the emerald mask, Ryan Reynolds does the best he can with the material given to him, which is disappointing. Charming, funny, and a naturally gifted actor, Reynolds has always been a favorite of mine, and though his cocky Van Wilder flair shines through every now and then, he becomes stonewalled by the clunky dialogue he's forced to utter.

The rest of the cast doesn't fare any better. Blake Lively (of "Gossip Girl" fame) is insufferably bland as Hal's childhood friend and former flame. The two have absolutely no chemistry together (I've probably seen better sexual tension between bales of hay). The immensely talented Peter Saarsgard becomes more and more unrecognizable under Elephant Man-style make-up, making us wonder who exactly IS this man that's being forced to play a one-dimensional, vengeful nerd with daddy issues (said daddy being Tim Robbins, who completely phones in his performance). The same can be said for Angela Bassett as a shady government spook, and as for the venerable leader of the Green Lantern Corps, there's little that can be said about the usually-imposing Mark Strong, who does little beyond uttering solemn monologues in fuschia make-up.

As for Parallax, I think it's safe to say that he's the LEAST frightening cloud-shaped supervillain I've seen in a film as of late (possibly a tie with the funnel cloud Galactus in the last Fantastic Four movie). All Parallax does is serve as a plot device to tie one disorganized fight scene into another, not mention scare the pants off of us with ominous, on-the-nose threats like "You shall die" or "The Earth will fall". I've heard better trash talk from Zen Buddhist monks.

To be fair, most first entries in superhero franchises usually don't use up all of their potential due to the unavoidable pitfalls of introducing so many key characters and backstories. But Green Lantern rushes so much to reach its conclusion that any connection to the characters is completely squandered. It may not be the worst comic book movie ever made (haven't you seen Howard the Duck yet? Get on it!), but Green Lantern's prospects certainly won't match those of its caped-crusadin' brethren.

Letter Grade: "D+"

Review: "X-MEN: FIRST CLASS"

Like many a nerd-child back in the day, I was understandably excited for the first of George Lucas' prequels to his legendary Star Wars trilogy to arrive in theaters in May of 1999. After all, the aforementioned saga was without a doubt the biggest and most successful film franchise of all time, and fans of all ages were chomping at the bit to see just exactly how young Anakin Skywalker became the fearsome Darth Vader, not to mention witness the earlier days of other beloved characters in the previous films.

But as time (and the subsequent prequels) went by, many fans' anticipation (including yours truly's) evolved into that of confusion, annoyance, and even boredom. Of course, any prequel is difficult to successfully pull off considering that we knew what was ultimately going to to happen to the characters. But any joy, warmth, and emotional authenticity that defined the original trilogy was nonexistent in the noisy, poorly acted, and poorly written CGI-obsessed mess that were the Star Wars prequels.

My faith shattered and heart broken into a million pieces (each one representing the times I've cried inside because of Lucas' fat ass swindling me of my and others' innocence), my opinion towards prequels of any kind descended into that of cynical pessimism, especially in regards to franchises whose original films I enjoyed and even cherished.

Take the X-Men series, for example. Debuting in 2000, director Bryan Singer did a splendid job adapting Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's misfit mutants from Marvel Comics to the big screen, creating a strange, visually trippy, and even endearing story about genetically advanced people striving to co-exist with humans who hated and feared them. Singer followed up three years later with an even better sequel, expanding upon the political and sociological subtexts to add an extra layer of warmth and emotional pull on top of all the whiz-bang action.

But when Singer left the series and 20th Century Fox tapped hack extraordinaire Brett Ratner to helm the hollow and forgettable threequel The Last Stand-- followed in 2009 by an atrocious Gavin Hood-helmed Wolverine prequel-- the prestige of the series faded into cinematic life-support mode.

So when I heard that there was going to be yet another "origins" tale in the works, this time about a young Professor Xavier and Magneto when they were best of pals and not archenemies, I was expecting nothing but a massive disaster. Thankfully, I got my foot planted squarely in my mouth when I watched X-Men: First Class, a fresh, intelligent, and action-packed comic book flick that breathes new superpowered life into a series that was on the brink of certain death.

It's 1962, and mutants-- evolved humans who possess amazing superhuman abilities and/or bizarre appearances-- are slowly but surely becoming prominent in a world that's threatened by possible nuclear war between the United States and Russia. One such mutant is telepath Charles Xavier (James McAvoy), a brilliant young professor of genetics born into a life of wealth and privilege. Having grown up with his foster sister Raven Darkholme (Jennifer Lawrence)-- a blue-skinned shapeshifter who constantly maintains a human disguise out of fear and shame-- Charles has been searching for others like him, hoping to not only protect his own kind, but maintain a peace between mutants and their human counterparts.

Another such mutant is Erik Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender), a powerful manipulator of magnetism and Jewish Holocaust survivor who for years has been hunting Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon), the former Nazi who killed Erik's mother and tortured the boy in Auschwitz to learn more about Erik's abilities. A mutant with the power to absorb and redirect great deals of energy, Shaw and his Hellfire Club-- seductive telepath Emma Frost (January Jones), demonic teleporter Azazel (Jason Flemyng), and wind-controller Riptide (Alex Gonzalez)-- have been secretly manipulating tensions between the U.S. and USSR, hoping to facilitate World War III and let the mutant race reign in the aftermath.

As such, the CIA and field agent Moira MacTaggart (Rose Byrne) recruit Xavier to form a secret mutant division to find and neutralize Shaw. Realizing that they have a common enemy in Shaw, Charles meets and teams up with Erik, and search for various young mutants to join their team: Dr. Hank McCoy/Beast (Nicholas Hoult), a brilliant young scientist with amazing agility and dexerity; Armando Munoz/Darwin (Edi Gathegi), a cab driver who can biologically adapt to any dangerous situation; Angel Salvadore (Zoe Kravitz), an exotic dancer with insectoid wings; Alex Summers/Havok (Lucas Till), a former convict who can expel powerful and destructive beams of energy from his body; and Sean Cassidy/Banshee (Caleb Landry Jones), who possesses the ability to scream at supersonic levels.

As a military standoff and a possible nuclear holocaust looms, Charles and Erik must not only contend with training their young charges to thwart Shaw's megalomaniacal plans, but also with their differing viewpoints on whether mutants should peacefully live alongside humans... or take their place as the next step in evolution.

As X-Men: First Class' production progressed, there were plenty of red flags raised for me: the production schedule was seriously rushed (principal photography started only nine months before the film's release), there were glaring discrepancies and contradictions in regards to the established continuity of the X-Men movie-verse, and, quite simply, there was still the bad taste of The Last Stand and Wolverine still in our mouths. However, when I heard that British director Matthew Vaughn was taking the reins, a flicker of hope sparked within.

After all, this was the same Matthew Vaughn who directed last year's spectacularly gory/hysterical/profane superhero farce Kick-Ass. Considering how much I adored that movie and everything about it, I decided to give First Class a chance. And boy, was I right to do so. Taking the raw source material from the comics, placing the proceedings in the swingin' 60's, and throwing in elements of Connery-era "James Bond" for good measure, Vaughn has reclaimed the heart and soul that Singer (who returns here as a producer) infused into the first two X-films and supercharges this prequel to with them to great effect.

There's the requisite themes of freakish mutants trying to fit into a world that fears them for their powers or appearances, proficiently personified by recent Oscar nominee Jennifer Lawrence and Nicholas Hoult as the blue-hued Mystique and Beast, respectively. There's the obvious analogy of the mutants' plight mirroring that of the Civil Rights movement, and added for good measure is the presence of Bond-style political intrigue, femme fatales, and stylish costumes and set pieces.

But the true nuclei of the film are that of James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender in two powerhouse performances. Ably taking the reins once held by British thespians Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan, the two performers do a terrific job crafting the complex friendship-cum-rivalry between the pacifistic Xavier and vengeful/by-any-means-necessary Magneto. McAvoy puts a refreshing twist on the young Professor, making him a sly ladies' man who's in direct contrast to his future, stuffy, wheelchair-bound self.

As the Holocaust victim hellbent on revenge, Fassbender is a revelation. Having proved his worth to mass audiences with his brief yet crucial performance in 2009's Inglourious Basterds, this film will undoubtedly put Fassbender on the fast track to superstardom. Rather than try to emulate the dandyish camp that McKellan did so well in earlier installments, Fassbender makes his Erik a ruthless, emotionally-scarred antihero, and though we know what happens down the line with his relationship to Xavier, the journey of how they get there is absolutely tragic.

The rest of the cast varies in their impact. Kevin Bacon (who can now add about ten thousand new degrees of separation for himself with the film's ensemble cast) is a convincing baddie who is clearly this film's Ernst Blofeld, and has fun with his material without delving into full-on camp. The budding X-Men get time to show off their unique abilities in a fun second-act training montage, but with the exception of Lawrence and Hoult, they don't get much in the way of characterization (though Caleb Landry Jones' scenes as Banshee are a blast to watch every time he shows up). January Jones (of television's Mad Men) is stunning in her skintight 1960's ice-queen getup, but is completely bland in her personification. But there's also a very brief cameo halfway through from a familiar face that is both profane and delivers the biggest laugh in the whole picture.

Some of the editing and special effects, though impressive overall, do show signs of the rushed production schedule (for some reason, the make-up department was complacent with making Beast look like a navy blue Wolfman knock-off), and even though Vaughn manages to effectively squeeze in a lot within the 2 hour running time, the pacing sometimes screeches to a halt (mostly whenever we see the American and Russian military head honchos commiserating about Cold War hostilities in their respective war rooms).

In fact, the biggest flaw is the fact that the filmmakers could have stretched out Xavier and Magneto's story arc beyond this film and into the inevitable sequels, building up their friendship and the philosophical tension that went along with it, making their schism that much more thematically powerful. Instead, Vaughn seems like he wants to rush to bring us to the status quo presented in Singer's films.

But luckily, those flaws are overshadowed by a dual sense of intelligence and escapist fun, not to mention the fact that Vaughn intentional adds an era-appropriate layer of camp to remind us of the X-Men's colorful comic book roots. While cheesy codenames and brightly-colored costumes can be difficult to swallow in superhero flicks set in the modern day, here it works perfectly. First Class follows in 2009's superior Star Trek prequel/reboot steps by giving us an origins story that pays respect to the source material while stilling staying fresh and interesting.

Though it suffers from on-the-nose dialogue and exposition as well as an overlong and sometimes laborious sense of pacing, X-Men: First Class nonetheless shows us how you REALLY refresh a lagging franchise, and hopefully the inevitable next semester will be even more invigorating and truly X-cellent. George Lucas, you have been served.


Letter Grade: "B+"