April 29, 2024
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It shows how out of it I was in trying to be in it, acknowledging that I was out of it to myself, and then thinking, “Okay, how do I stop being out of it? Well, I get some legitimate illogical narrative ideas” — some novel, you know?
So I decided on three writers that I might be able to option their material and get some producer, or myself as producer, and then get some writer to do a screenplay on it, and maybe make a movie.
And so the three projects were “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep,” “Naked Lunch” and a collection of Bukowski. Which, in 1975, forget it — I mean, that was nuts. Hollywood would not touch any of that, but I was looking for something commercial, and I thought that all of these things were coming.
There would be no Blade Runner if there was no Ray Bradbury. I couldn’t find Philip K. Dick. His agent didn’t even know where he was. And so I gave up.
I was walking down the street and I ran into Bradbury — he directed a play that I was going to do as an actor, so we know each other, but he yelled “hi” — and I’d forgot who he was.
So at my girlfriend Barbara Hershey’s urging — I was with her at that moment — she said, “Talk to him! That guy really wants to talk to you,” and I said “No, fuck him,” and keep walking.
But then I did, and then I realized who it was, and I thought, “Wait, he’s in that realm, maybe he knows Philip K. Dick.” I said, “You know a guy named—” “Yeah, sure — you want his phone number?”
My friend paid my rent for a year while I wrote, because it turned out we couldn’t get a writer. My friends kept on me about, well, if you can’t get a writer, then you write.”
~ Hampton Fancher
“That was the most disappointing thing to me in how this thing was played. Is that I’m on the phone with you now, after all that’s been said, and the fundamental distinction between what James is dealing with in these other cases is not actually brought to the fore. The fundamental difference is that James Franco didn’t seek to use his position to have sex with anyone. There’s not a case of that. He wasn’t using his position or status to try to solicit a sexual favor from anyone. If he had — if that were what the accusation involved — the show would not have gone on. We would have folded up shop and we would have not completed the show. Because then it would have been the same as Harvey Weinstein, or Les Moonves, or any of these cases that are fundamental to this new paradigm. Did you not notice that? Why did you not notice that? Is that not something notable to say, journalistically? Because nobody could find the voice to say it. I’m not just being rhetorical. Why is it that you and the other critics, none of you could find the voice to say, “You know, it’s not this, it’s that”? Because — let me go on and speak further to this. If you go back to the L.A. Times piece, that’s what it lacked. That’s what they were not able to deliver. The one example in the five that involved an issue of a sexual act was between James and a woman he was dating, who he was not working with. There was no professional dynamic in any capacity.
~ David Simon
Thought Green Lantern was solid. Only issue was it felt like the movie was building to another level, setting up an all lanterns versus Parralax battle. Felt it kind of fizzled when it was only Hal versus the baddie.
They could’ve give whatshisface ONE single reason to put on that stupid yellow ring at the end of the film. Just one.
That is another flaw. So if they do a sequel, there’s no story why he took the yellow rImg? Just close on him looking at the ring. The audience isn’t stupid.
Triple, felt the same way. Could you have given the character some motivation to turn traitor?
Oh, and why would you make a ring out of fear if thats what Paralax is powered by. Wouldnt you just be feeding him more fear power?
My major complaint was that the movie looked awful. Everything looked like a Greenscreen except for a handful of scenes (the hangar, the swamp). Even scenes like Carol and Hal sitting atop the air traffic control tower looked fake.
The action was poorly staged. You have a movie with monumental space battles that last 8 seconds and look like CG garbage.
Tim Robbins and Angela Bassett were useless and not needed. Like the Sinestro scene at the end, hector hammond had no motivation for anything.
Wah wah wah wah wah wah wah wah wah wah wah.
The fact that you folks didn’t get Sinestro’s motivations, when they are clear as day, is just another reason why this place is RANGO WEIRD!
Wow, from the trailers I thought it would be decent, I was ignoring the reviews because I knew the general gist of Lantern and figured the critics were just being critics (like Dargis’ self admitted blind hate and disdain for anything not slow-pace for the elderly in their walkers).
But wow, that was just… epicly bad. Bad in the manner of an 1980s sci-fi film. The dialog is completely atrocious. The motivations of the characters and their relationships are nonexistent. the Villain is a more effects heavy version of the Lost Smoke Monster. Everything is ponderously and ineffectively explained by Sinestro. You know you’re in trouble when a film starts with a two minute deadly dull history lesson.
And the Green Lantern is just goofy, and every repetition of the word WILL and YELLOW and FEAR just made it worse. And worse. and worse.
Worst of all, the Ring works by magic (willpower) which is pretty much how every magic system in fantasy works (what you imagine happens, so long as you have the magic wand/staff/ring), but we’re simply told by Ryan, “it’s not magic”
And like the 1980s scifi/comic book movies, there’s a total contempt for science and reality and everything else, Oh it takes Amon Rah a long time for his space ship (why the fuck does he have a spaceship?) to get to Earth. But Hal can travel billions of lightyears across the universe in a couple of minutes because he can access a wormhole? Even with a couple minutes, how much air was in the lantern bubble that first takes him to Lantern Land? And why doesn’t he carry a bubble of air with him the later times he’s in space? Nothing in the movie feels real, nothing in the movie feels plausible. I’d be able to forgive quite a lot in the film if the relationships and characters had felt plausible, but even that doesn’t make sense. Oh, everyone is mad at Hal, because losing the contract means he’s caused half the state to be out of work. Must be from a small northeastern state, or rural midwestern state. Nope, it’s California. Yeah, half of California’s jobs are dependent upon the aerotech. mmhmm.
The effects were really good, and I liked Ryan Reynolds as a hero, but he didn’t have a single good line to develop a character with, other than his natural charisma, everything else seemed just so blah.
I didn’t think the story or plot was ‘too complicated’ The story is Very Similar to The Matrix, and far less complicated than The Matrix, yet they made it so much worse by how they chose to handle and script everything. the repetitions of Yellow and Fear and Green and Will would not be so bad if there were a better presentation and explanation. So when we get to the Matrix Knockoff training scene in Green Lantern we don’t get a spectacular, fascinating, character building, awe inspiring wonderful moment of self-realization, instead we have the mean Sargeant show up to whip the ass of the petulant boy. Instead of foreshadowing that Hal is special, we’re told he’s special, then shown he’s a joke, then told he’s a mistake, then told if he just believes in himself, he can grow up to be president. It’s just bizarre. Sinestro interrupting the training, or Sinestro not handling the training from the get go were dumbass moves.
The film never has a single “moment.”
Parallax = Gah-lac-tus from the godawful FF: Rise of the silver phallic
First, Thor gloms Highlander 2. Now Last Last Starfighter returns.
The Sarsgaard role is basically a rehash Jeffrey Jones’ role from Howard The Duck (evil being takes over scientist’s body). Not a movie I’d want my potential new franchise compared to.
I’ve heard a lot of people comparing this to the Fantastic Four movies. Wrong director, terrible storytelling, mediocre acting, and no sense of ‘epic’ to any of it.
and what a shock. a blanket defense of a comic book movie from io without any explanation. the motives were “clear as day”, eh? Maybe it’s our fault for expecting the movie to be good.
tell us sir, based on what we saw in the movie, what were those motivations?
why you’re at it, how about explaining how the yellow ring was going to stop Paralax?
DP had a top 10 comic book movies list a few days back… Perhaps we now need a top 5 or 10 worst comic book movies thread.
It looks like it will pull in about $24M Friday and should be in the 60s r the weekend. Should be considered a successful launch for Warners.
I’m not Js/IO, but seemed apparent to me…
“tell us sir, based on what we saw in the movie, what were those motivations?”
He’s proved himself to be arrogant and slightly full of it, he was the one who wanted the ring created, and now that it’s there he figures he can handle it better than the schmuck who became Parallax, because that guy didn’t take the safe step of making a ring to channel the unfettered energy.
“And like the 1980s scifi/comic book movies, there’s a total contempt for science and reality and everything else”
As you say, right out of the comic. Would you have preferred they take a moment to deliver some technobabble about how the suit reprocesses space debris into breathable air, or channels green energy into the cells to substitute for oxygen, or any number of other high-concept notions? I’d rather just accept that the magic ring lets him breathe in space.
“why you’re at it, how about explaining how the yellow ring was going to stop Paralax?”
They didn’t know it would. It was a theory, and in fact probably wouldn’t have worked. But it’s akin to the NRA theory that the only way to stop an armed criminal is with a gun of your own, or even the Bush/Cheney notion that terrifying terrorists with torture gets the best results. Fight fire with fire, and all that.
explain to me why grown men are wasting brain cells trying to deeply analyze the motivations in a fucking kiddie comic book movie meant to sell toys, fast food and slurpee cups?
because there are still basic tenants of storytelling and character that can exist in any movie, no matter what age group the movie is intended.
In Thor, which is by no means a great movie, you’re given ample motivation for all the characters. Even if they only happen in the tiniest of moments they still take the time to show them. You know the lesson Thor learns, you see he’s willing to sacrifice himself. You know why Odin banishes Thor, and you know why Loki makes his choices. Because we see them in the movie.
LYT, Sinestro was full of it, an egotistical pompous ass. But he’s still portrayed as a guy who is the best of the best. Sinestro knows the Guardian who tried to contain fear was overtaken by it and turned into a horrid monster. That’s a Guardian. Someone with far more power and wisdom. Why would he be so eager to unleash that on himself?
He wanted the ring forged to battle the greatest evil the universe has ever known. Because he was a proud warrior and wanted to prove himself the best.
Now maybe if after Hal saved the universe all the Green Lanterns were calling him the best ever and suddenly Sinestro felt jealous…. or is Sinestro had tried to stop Parallax without the consent of the Guardians, got all those Lanterns killed and was dressed down for going rogue….
i mean, there’s a dozen different ways and ample opportunities to make Sinestro make that choice, but with what we’re given, he’s a good soldier who wants to be the best and openly welcomes Hal at the end.
There was nothing in the movie that eluded to Sinestro turning to the dark side.
i’m not asking for a complex explanation, but some motivation for a major choice like that would be nice.
By no means a great movie? Good lord, you are so full of smoke, that you must have a steam engine stuck up your ass 😛 !
Thor is a fun movie, but it is far from great.
but io, you have no perspective on this subject at all. your default position on any comic book adaptations is “great” or “greatest”.
for a man with no expectations going into a movie, you’re awful predictable on the comic book films. Who in here didn’t know you were going to call Green Lantern great before you even saw it? You’ll feel the same way about Captain America, The Avengers, Superman: Man of Steel, and Dark Knight Rises.
You will not call any of those films anything other than amazing. Even if the films have any flaws whatsoever, you are going to defend them all as great movies.
What makes taking you seriously difficult is your blanket defenses of films as if they did not possess a single solitary flaw.
Did you really think Green Lantern was great? If so, can you tell me why? I realize that film is subjective, but what about Green Lantern did you think was ‘great’?
Had Barry Bonds not taken any cream or clear or HGH and let his career run its natural course, he would’ve been a sure fire, first ballot HoF inductee. He probably finishes w/600 home runs and would be considered one of the top five players to ever play the game. Without question. He’s probably sitting on close to $100 Million in salary and endorsements at that point. So why does he roid up? According to the authors of the book Game of Shadows and other popular theories, it’s because he was jealous of McGuire and Sosa grabbing all the limelight for blasting home runs when he felt it should’ve still been on him (and Griffey, who never juiced). #2) He wanted to ensure he’d break Willie Mays’ record of 660 HRs, who’s widely considered THE greatest all-around player in the history of the game and is also Bond’s godfather. 3) He wants to prolong his career and propel his team so that he could get a World Series title. 4) He just couldn’t let it go. 5) Fill in the blank.
Sinestro says make the ring when he thinks they’re going to need it to defeat the dark cloud. Once the cloud has been lifted, the purpose is gone. He’s still head of the Lanterns. Maybe he’s jealous of Reynolds?? But that could’ve been shown. Maybe he has greater ambition, like to rule that council but it seems like he’s got their ear anyway but neither is that shown. Even if he was curious for curiosity’s sake, it didn’t come across that way. It was “now I shall wear it and harness its power. Muwhahahahaha!” Why?!?!?!
If there was a potential greater threat that should’ve been shown. If he was concerned that Reynolds was going to turn into an evil MF, that should’ve been shown. If he was just tired in general of will power being the only course of action, then that could’ve been played out. It’s not that I can’t make any guesses, it’s just none are any greater than another so I could just as easily be potentially wrong or right as anyone. And, even in some of these guesses, they’re all still leaps of logic to get to that point. Maybe it would make a nice mystery for why he decided to put it on but it’s overshadowed by not seeing any benefit for doing so in the first place.
Honestly didn’t think it was any better or worse than the average SUPER-bland, personality-free Marvel movie; At the very least I didn’t have to watch Clark Gregg and Sam Jackson wasting my time talking about SHIELD for 1/3 of the runtime. BLAKE was hot, Sarsgaard was annoying and embarrassing, some of the set pieces were fun, it seemed a little crazier and less ponderous than Marvel movies, Reynolds was amusing enough, I forgot everything about it 11 minutes after leaving the parking garage.
Though it’s EXHIBIT A for ALL TIME of the Action Movie Where the Hero Kills The Villain By… Doing Something Where You Have No Idea What the Fuck is Going On, much less the properties of physics that are allowing it to happen. GL leads the evil blob up to the sun, then… then… ??? A big rubber band forms around some jet planes and next thing I know, the Parallax is heading into the sun. I have NO IDEA what happened, IT IS COMPLETELY BOTCHED on every level… even as it was happening my brain was like, “What the FUCK is going on here?” It was like one of those Quantum of Solace action scenes that just end with an abrupt cut of Bond poking a stick into a boat motor and next thing you know there’s like flying cars and boats and explosions and you have NO idea what the fuck he just did.
Other than that, a watchable, pleasantly stupid B-minus.
Anyone calling this movie Fantastic Four level bad is just being lazy. It’s not a good movie, but it’s far from awful. Most of the critiques are valid, but I completely disagree that the effects looked like CG crap. I’m so tired of people throwing around this complaint regardless of merit. The effects actually looked really good. The constructs created by the Lanterns, even Parralex, looked believable and as though they were sharing physical space with the actors on screen.
Putting aside the problems with the script, which obviously was the movie’s main downfall, I do think this is an instance where advertising killed it a little. Normally I’m grateful when a film’s trailer campaign hides most of the movie. In this case, however, they did themselves no favors piecing together the trailers as though this is going to be an epic galactic battle as opposed to an Earth bound lone superhero movie. The sequence on OA was the best in the film…so of course it lasts all of 10 minutes or so.
Not a good movie but certainly much, much more watchable and competently made than either of the FF movies.
Final note: I didn’t mind the bit with Sinestro at the end. I think they did enough to set up the character’s hubris to justify that moment. Maybe an extra line of dialogue would have been better but I don’t think it was that egregious. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if part of the problem here is that the filmmakers/studio are under the impression that Green Lantern and his mythology are more popular than they realize. Maybe they just assumed everyone knows Sinestro is GL’s main bad guy.
“Honestly didn’t think it was any better or worse than the average SUPER-bland, personality-free Marvel movie; At the very least I didn’t have to watch Clark Gregg and Sam Jackson wasting my time talking about SHIELD for 1/3 of the runtime.”
YES YES, A THOUSAND TIMES YES!
The current crop of Marvel movies are so obviously cookie cutter and vanilla. People used to crap all over Fox’s handling of this material but honestly, look at First Class vs any Marvel stuff post the first Iron Man and it’s like night and day. Even guys like Kenneth Branaugh can’t really put a stamp on the material, they’re just responsible for their part in handing off the baton for the relay race to Avengers (with all the shoving of it down our throats the last few summers, I can’t help but root hard against Avengers. I’m kinda sorta hoping for an epic tanking.)
I probably shouldn’t do this, but…
The Sinestro thing is so easily explainable in a number of ways, but my favorite is just don’t think linearly. That moment could be 20-30 minutes into GL 2, where we see Hal getting all the accolades, becoming leader of the corps, and then Sinestro goes rogue.
@LexG Parallax getting sucked into the sun was explained in the OA sequence. Sinestro constructs an emerald star and explains the greater the mass, the higher the gravitational pull. Hal hooks himself up to jets pulling him away from the sun to offset the pull. Parallax can’t do that, and obviously it has a lot of mass at that point.
Those two defenses of the film stated, I graded it a C. There are many problems, but the main one is the story. They put to much of the mythology into the first one, lots of exposition, different color powers, amorphous cloud villain. This movie should open with Hal waking up in bed, then the test flight, an unexplained alien crash landing on earth. Hal gradually figures out on his own with the audience how the ring and the power works. He then stops the alien bounty hunter that caused the first seen Green Lantern to crash land on earth from causing destruction on earth. The reveal of OA and the Green Lantern Corps happens at the very end, nicely setting up the sequel, whetting appetites, and putting Hal and the audience back into learning mode for GL2. GL 2 and 3 could then be about Parallax and Sinestro respectively. 3 concludes with Hal as the leader of Green Lantern Corps, and you bring in Jon Stewart and Guy Gardner in 2 & 3. This approach would have also kept the cost down on 1. Of course, they’re wouldn’t have been as many other GLs to sell action figures of, but this could have been a more sustainable long-term plan.
There is that – sometimes the best business decision is to blow your whole wad at once. General wisdom says that you should take a long-term view, but frankly if I had been the Pet Rock guy, in and out in a year or two, I’d grab that bull by the horns and ride it till it bit the dust. Screw “brand building for future customers”, sometimes there isn’t enough either in the product itself or in the infrastructure to go the distance, so you milk it for as much as you can while there’s still time.
Of course, the hardest part is trying to determine which properties will benefit from which strategy…
oh, so my problem was I didnt realize that Sinestros motivations might be explained in a sequel that may or may not be made.
That makes so much sense.
What would happen to a critic who starts a review by saying “I read quite a bit of Shakespeare when I was younger but I never liked “The Tempest,” so it didn’t surprise me in the least to see that Julie Taymor’s revision of the play sucked ass.”
And yet I’ve seen that in at least three or four reviews of GL–the critic admits to having been an avid comics reader when younger but stayed far away from Green Lantern because it looked stupid–and SURPRISE!, the critic goes on to describe just how much they disliked the movie.
@Anghus I didn’t say you had a problem. Sinestro putting on the yellow ring was what 5 minutes into the credits, it’s a tease, it didn’t need exposition. Of all the problem GL had, that moment is one that deserves a pass. Now, if it had happened connected to the main film, then it’s a WTF moment.