Review Detail

The trailer for the original release of "Green Lantern" left me uneasy, but I watched the movie anyway, determined to keep an open mind and not to nitpick. I left the cinema underwhelmed. "At least," I said to myself, "the studio did not cast Jack Black in the title role, as was proposed at one stage." Seeing it a second time on a plane, then getting the BD disc, though, confirmed my disappointment.

Great visuals, but complete disrespect for the source material, and the audience. You don't have to be a big fan of the character - and I am not - to think the movie was weak and a loss of great potential. Did Abin Sur's ring really choose the whiniest, most irresponsible man on earth to be a member of an intergalactic space force based on conquering fear? Is it really heroic to not even know the name of the woman you slept with, the day after? In the comics, Hal Jordan was reckless but actually quite strait-laced, a military guy with the "right stuff," not an amazingly annoying guy perfectly capable of wrapping a beloved nephew's birthday present in an old newspaper while driving recklessly at a high speed (and still missing the kid's party). Not a person who would drop out of the Green Lantern Corp because it was a bit tough. The characterisation did not even make sense within the movie itself: so, Jordan can do crazy, brilliant flying but suffers from crippling fear? He can execute super-complex manouevres and has the discipline to train as a top-notch top-gun, but can't set an alarm clock? It's like having Bruce Wayne say "so what?" when he sees a crime, or Peter Parker thinking "Uncle Ben was a douche."

The fanfix is amazing, and 100% proof of what wonders can be done with a nip, a tuck, a plan, a sense of story-telling and an understanding of the source material. Really, its hard to describe how much better this is: the original film was bland (except when irritating), and repetitive rather than compelling and bloated. What we have here is a tight story, with a logical progression; a man facing a challenge realistically, and stepping up, rather than whining and wise-cracking; a soldier in an inter-galactic army where friends die, rather than a spoiled, entitled man-child that leaves you rooting for the bad guys.

Repetition is gone and a tighter edit removes the meandering and bloat; the whining is purged, and the character of Jordan is likeable; the resulting movie, while not the greatest super-hero epic ever, compares well with "Aquaman" and similar fare. The edits are seamless, audio is clean and consistent, and a pretty darn good movie is salvaged. The original was perhaps 4/10 (giving credit to the visuals), but this is, for me, a solid 8/10.

I would happily watch it again, and plan to show it to friends as proof of the power of a fanfix.

Thank you editor!!!