R.I.P.D.

ACTION/ADVENTURE, COMEDY

Rest in Peace Department

7.0 out of 10 | Rental

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Rated: PG-13 Violence, sci-fi/fantasy action, some sensuality, and language including sex reference
Release Date: July 17, 2013
Runtime: 1 hour 36 minutes

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Director: Robert Schwentke
Writers: Phil Hay, Matt Manfredi, David Dobkin, Based on the Dark Horse comic by Peter M. Lenkov
Cast: Jeff Bridges, Ryan Reynolds, Kevin Bacon, Mary-Louise Parker, Stephanie Szostak, James Hong, Marisa Miller, Mike O'Malley

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SYNOPSIS: A recently slain cop joins a team of undead police officers working for the Rest in Peace Department and tries to find the man who murdered him.

REVIEW: Director Robert Schwentke, known for RED and The Time Traveler's Wife, takes the helm for a movie that is a combination of the action of RED and the fantasy of The Time Traveler's Wife to create the comic-to-film adaptation of Peter M. Lenkov written Dark Horse comic series. Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi (Clash of the Titans) work with David Dobkins (Jack the Giant Slayer) to see if an afterlife buddy cop movie works on the big screen.

Nick Walker (Ryan Reynolds, Safe House) is a Boston police detective, partnered up six years with Hayes (Kevin Bacon, X-Men: First Class). When Nick is killed during a drug warehouse raid, his soul is sent to a strange bureaucratic purgatory called the R.I.P.D. (the Rest in Peace Department) with the choice laid out for him by a liaison named Proctor (Mary-Louise Parker, RED 2) of going to Hell or serving 100 years as a officer in the bureau bringing Dead-Os to justice and keeping them from overrunning the mortal plane. Nick is partnered up with an old bristled and grizzled lawman named Roy (Jeff Bridges, True Grit). When his first day on the job uncovers strange gold fragments and a suspension for both both Roy and him, they take it upon themselves to investigate and uncover a larger other-worldly conspiracy.

Based on the Dark Horse comic series of the same name written by Peter M. Lenkov, R.I.P.D. returns to a genre similar to Men in Black. Instead of fighting aliens, these men not in black pack iron to combat the dregs spawning from Hell and Earth. The evil and nefarious Dead-Os have a very similar look to Rick Baker's alien makeups from the MIB franchise, just with more teeth, slothing flesh, bursting boils, and craggy skin. While the Dead-Os are interesting, and probably true to the characters drawn in the comics, they do not seem to be anything special.

The special effects are a bit sloppy, too. The blend of SFX and practical sound stage work is not seamless, taking me out of my suspended disbelief of the story several times with blurry edges. When Dead-Os run up the sides of buildings defying the laws of gravity, the effects should be cool but end up being bland. I will say I have a specific issue on this topic and am more apt to complain about it. I usually overlook this problem if the flick uses the FX consistently throughout, but R.I.P.D. doesn't seem to get the job done.

R.I.P.D. is, at its heart, a buddy cop genre movie. Netherworlds aside, Ryan Reynolds and Jeff Bridges have to make sure that they sell the character chemistry in addition to the story. Bridges' Roy is fun to watch, while Reynolds delivers his typical aw-chucks, but action-oriented performance. As partners their differences are polar, but not as enduring as Murphy and Nolte, Smith and Jones, or the recently humorous and successful duo of Bullock and McCarthy. Nick and Roy's avatars, the way they are seen by other mere mortals, are actually more fun to watch. Nick is an old Asian man (James Hong) and Roy is a gorgeous blond model (Marisa Miller). The avatars are so polar opposite that I wish I was able to spend more time with them onscreen.

R.I.P.D. could have been something special. Jonah Hex could have been something special. The best part of that movie was the fight scene in the cemetery. For R.I.P.D., the snark and action could have been surrounded by a more serious tone, and could have resulted in a flick ore worth while.

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Turbo

ANIMATED, FAMILY

He's Fast. They're Furious.

8.5 out of 10 | Movie or DVD

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Rated: PG Some mild action and thematic elements
Release Date: July 17, 2013
Runtime: 1 hour 36 minutes

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Director: David Soren
Writers: Darren Lemke, Robert D. Siegel, David Soren
Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Paul Giamatti, Michael Pena, Samuel L. Jackson, Luis Guzman, Bill Hader, Snoop Dogg, Maya Rudolph, Ben Schwartz, Richard Jenkins, Ken Jeong, Michelle Rodriguez, Mario Andretti, Mike Bell

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SYNOPSIS:  A freak accident might just help an everyday garden snail achieve his biggest dream: winning the Indy 500.

REVIEW: David Soren has had his hands in the creation of Shark Tale, Madagascar videos and television shorts, and Over the Hedge. Now he hits the big time as the director for an animation bout a snail who dreams of speed. Building a shell for the slug is Jack the Giant Slayer scribe Darren Lemke and Big Fan writer Robert D. Siegel, focusing on a little snail that could.

Theo (Ryan Reynolds, The Croods) is a normal garden variety garden snail. He dreams of going fast, following in the footsteps of his idol and legendary Indy car driver Guy Gagne (Bill Hader, The To-Do List). His brother Chet (Paul Giamatti, Rock of Ages) tries to get Theo to stop thinking about speed and to start thinking about what all other snails think about - tending to the garden and harvesting tomatoes. When an accident makes Theo reassess his slow life, he finds himself injected with nitrous oxide which gives him super speed. Both Theo "Turbo" and his brother are found by a taco seller named Tito (Michael Pena, Gangster Squad) who dreams of making his and his brother Angelo's (Luis Guzman, The Last Stand) taco stand successful. When Tito finds out about Turbo's speed, he and the snail decide to enter Turbo in the Indianapolis 500 race to gain exposure and acclaim!

Dreamworks has a knack for creating unique and interesting animated stories. While Disney Pixar seems to have started to rely on sequels like toy story and spin-offs like the upcoming Planes, dreamworld has dazzled with their recent efforts. Turbo is no exception. Taking a story of a snail that wants to race seems absurd, but they make a great story out of it anyway.

Turbo has a silly cast of characters, especially when dealing with snails. Even though turbo has NOS speed, that doesn't stop other 'need for speed' snails from slithering out of the woodwork. Led by Whiplash (Samuel L. Jackson, The Avengers), Turbo encounters Smoove Move (Snoop Dogg, Starsky and Hutch), Burn (Maya Rudolph, The Way Way Back), Skidmark (Ben Schwartz, The Other Guys), and White Shadow (Mike Bell, Kung Fu Panda 2). All of them are decked out in racing strips and tail fins. Joining the snails are a human cast of characters that seem to have move faith in a turbo-charged snail than Theo's own brother. Tito recruits the other owners in the starlight plaza, including auto mechanic Paz (Michelle Rodriguez, Fast and Furious 6), hobby store owner Bobby (Richard Jenkins, Killing Them Softly), and nail stylist Kim Ky (Ken Jeong, Despicable Me 2).

The animation is dazzling, on par or better than the raceway created on Disney's Cars. From the grooves in the track, to the camera work around and under the other Indy cars, to the discarded tire rubber 'pebbles' on turn four, Turbo does not disappoint. No where near photo realistic, Turbo lets the snails and their human counterparts take on their characters with their voices. The snails are cute and loveable, each with an unique look. The streak trail that Turbo leaves behind is a character all its own, allowing Turbo to speak to Tito in pictionary format when the snail needs to get his point across.

When you are a snail that dreams of speed, you are an outcast from the rest of the snail world. When dreams come reality, Turbo still finds himself a loner until he meets other snails that share his racing vision. At the end of the day, though, Turbo must rely on his own heart and spirit - not turbo-charged speed - if he is to get the job done.

Turbo is a fun ride for kids and adults. Silly, well-rendered, and having a great story of heart and of following a dream, this film will get your motor running.

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The Croods

ACTION/ADVENTURE, ANIMATED, FAMILY

Always Follow The Sun

9.0 out of 10 | MOVIE, DVD

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Rated: PG Some scary action.
Release Date: March 22, 2013
Runtime: 1 hour 31 minutes

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Director: Chris Sanders, Kirk De Micco
Writers: Chris Sanders, Kirk De Micco
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Ryan Reynolds, Emma Stone, Catherine Keener, Clark Duke, Cloris Leachman

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SYNOPSIS:  The prehistoric Crood family is forced to leave the safety of their cave when the world starts to shift and crack apart. Meeting up with a young homosapien, they have to fight predators, natural forces, and each other in the search for a safer haven.

REVIEW: Kirk De Micco (Space Chimps) Chris Sanders (How to Train Your Dragon, Lilo and Stitch) create the story, write the screenplay, and direct the new Dreamworks animated film involving the lives of one of the first prehistoric families and their fight for survival in a quickly changing world. 

Grug (Nicolas Cage, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance) keeps his caveman family safe by following the rules set forth on the cave paintings from ancestors past. 'Fear the dark and the unknown, and stay in the cave'. Every few days the family - with wife Ugga (Catherine Keener, A Late Quartet), son Thunk (Clark Duke, A Thousand Words), older daughter Eep (Emma Stone, Gangster Squad), younger daughter Sally, and Gran (Cloris Leachman, Raising Hope) - forage every few days for sustenance, stay in the cave protected by predators, and listen to stories of exploits, fear, and death by Grug. Eep, different from her father, has a curiosity for the outside world beyond the painted car walls. One night, Eep sees the flickering light of the sun and disobeys her father's standing order to stay in the cave by investigating its source. She stumbles upon a creature similar, but different from herself, a young homosapien named Guy (Ryan Reynolds, Safe House) and his furry animal companion named Belt. He urges her to come with him, telling a tale that the landscape he has traveled from has been overcome with earthquakes, lava, explosions, and death. When she can not leave her family behind, Eep soon learns the truth if Guy's words as the family cave and the surrounding valley are destroyed, forcing them to follow Guy to an unknown and new frontier they are reluctant to travel through.

Dreamworks Animation, known for top notch animated entertainment like Monsters vs. Aliens and Rise of the Guardians, returns for a prehistoric family tale for the whole family. In The Croods, curious Eep changes the whole dynamic of the Croods' way of life because of her free spirit and the unexpected meeting of the homosapien Guy. The world and characters that Dreamworks, Sanders, and De Micco create follows in the rich tradition of the studio and its storytelling.

From the onset, after Eep narrates the whys of her family's way of life, the dynamic and pace of the action, humor, heart, and style are fossilized into place. I am just a big kid at heart, by the way, and I laughed throughout the entire film. From Krug telling Ugga to 'release the baby' and watching the little scamp tear off after prey or her own family, to a human's furry utility belt Belt who seems to have more skills than just keeping Guy's pants up, the script is filled with clever verbal quips and visual gags for 'kids' of all ages. Aside from the great humor, The Croods has plenty of action. During the Croods family's first pursuit of food, they prove how closely they work together and how much strength and agility the cave people possess as they wrestle with oversized razor-toothed predators, tusked mammoths, and angry bird mothers, for a drop of scrambled egg. But at its heart, The Croods is a story of family, of growing up, and of surviving - together.

The character voices are perfect for the Croods. Nicolas Cage's Grug is a lumbering Neanderthal and a brute, but still a fierce protector of his brood. He can 'ugh' and 'ooh' with the best caveman, even though he and his may be the last of their kind. Emma Stone, fresh off her recent more adult roles, fits right in as the younger adolescent Eeg - ready to take on the wide unknown world. Clark Duke's Thunk is as funny as he is idiotic, Catherine Keener's Ugga is soft and capable, and Cloris Leachman's Gran is feisty and wise (when she needs to be). The Homosapien Guy, voiced by Ryan Reynolds, is nearly unrecognizable as the young new breed of human trying to survive in the changing, disruptive world.

There are no villains. per say, just the continued threat of predatory animals, the increasing and more violent tectonic shift of the earth's surfaces, the worry of a caveman for his family, and the worry of a father for the safety of his daughter against the unknown quaking world, and the unpredictable quaking of a young girl's heart in love.

The Croods is a great film to be enjoyed by the entire family - young and old. Filled with dangerous action, hilarious situations and gags that would give The Flintstones a run for their money, and a heart bigger than the entire Jurassic era, The Croods is the first great animated film of 2013.

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Safe House

Safety in Numbers?

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Rated: R  Some language and strong violence throughout.
Release Date: February 10, 2012
Runtime: 1 hr 55 mins

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Director: Daniel Espinosa

Writers: David Guggenheim
Cast: Denzel Washington, Ryan Reynolds, Vera Farmiga, Brendan Gleeson, Sam Shepard, Robert Patrick

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SYNOPSIS: Young inexperienced CIA agent Matt in charge of a safe house in Cape Town suddenly plays host to ex-CIA fugitive Tobin Frost. When the safe house is breached in attempt to assassinated Frost, Matt finds himself on the run protecting the man he is supposed to keep under guard.

REVIEW: Easy Money (2010) director Daniel Espinosa and Exit Strategy writer David Guggenheim team up with A-listers Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds for a fast-paced cat-and-mouse, spy versus spy, keep-you-guessing, tale of survival. 

Cape Town, South Africa CIA safe house keeper Matt Weston (Ryan Reynolds, Green Lantern) spends his shifts in a bored state, wondering when he will be reassigned to a real case officer position elsewhere on the globe. Even his CIA Langley contact David Barlow (Brendan Gleeson, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1) can't guarantee Matt any change in his current post. Soon, though, the U.S. Consulate receives a visitor, Tobin Frost (Denzel Washington, Unstoppable) as he turns himself in. Transferred to Matt's safe house, the CIA sends an interrogation team to extract whatever information Frost has gained since turning traitor nine years ago. When a heavily armed team led by a man named Vargus (Fares Fares, Easy Money) breaches the safe house after Frost, Matt makes the decision to move off-site with Frost in an attempt to protect him as an intel asset for the Agency. In Langley, senior analyst Catherine Linklater (Vera Farmiga, Source Code) and Barlow square off against each other to bring Frost in, while deputy director Harlon Whitford (Sam Shepard, The Notebook) orders them to work together to flush out both Weston and Frost before either or both are killed in the field.

Part Man on Fire and The Bourne Identity, Safe House is a white knuckle ride that doesn't let up until the very end. The story begins slowly and innocently enough as we watch Matt mindlessly throws a ball against an empty safe house wall listening to language lessons on his headphones and wishing for more adventure in his CIA career. Across town Tobin Frost meets with an ex-MI6 spook with possible incendiary information on a microchip to be sold to the highest bidder. Once Frost arrives at the safe house a 'walk-in guest', Matt unwittingly gets his wish as all hell breaks loose with automatic weapons fire, flash bangs, double-taps, and a high body count. But while the safe house ends up being anything but safe, the streets and bergs in and around Cape Town are no more safe as Weston and Frost take part in brutal high-speed chases on the run from relentless armed thugs desperate to reacquire Frost. But while Vargus and his men are on the hunt for the mysterious microchip, we soon realize that something more shadowy and covert is afoot.

The action is fast-paced and relentless. But even when the story slows down, Reynolds' Weston and Washington's Frost pace each other like coiled cobras. Every move Frost makes or statement he utters is a calculation he uses to further his own ends. The young Weston, anxious to prove his worth to the Agency he has dedicated his adulthood to, learns quickly that he has to up his own physical and mental game to go toe-to-toe with Frost, as well as unravel the tightening noose created by their pursuers and, possibly, his own Agency. Can Weston be a superior agent to the dangerous Frost? Can he trust the Agency as he continues to try to bring Frost in? Will he start questioning the directives of the Agency as Frosty burrows deeper into his psyche? Guns, chases, fights, conspiracies, and unavoidable and more difficult obstacles - all have a place in Safe House. Simmering and boiling over, the entire film is a lesson in kinetic and forward momentum.

Somewhat safe in their Langley, Virginia bunkered command center, Catherine Linklater, Davis Barlow and Harlan Whitford also master their dance of half-truths, office politics, and real or imagined conspiracies against the Agency and each other. Is there a information leak in the bureaucracy of the business, or are the men pursuing Weston and Frost just that lucky each time they catch up to the pair?

Shot in a grainy, washed-out, contrasted style, Espinosa makes the most out of the Cape Town, South Africa locales. From the center of downtown and a crowded soccer stadium, to a dirt road and isolated villa in the shadow of picturesque mountain ranges, Safe Town is a rock solid story cast against a exotic diverse landscape. The mix of rigged and handheld camera styles finish off a feast for the eyes, jostling around the cityscape during downtown high-speed automotive escapes and settling in close and steady between Frost and Weston as they glare at each other in distaste, adrenaline and testosterone.

Safe House is a high-octane thrill ride, covering all of the bases of the typical actioner. Some parts of the story work on all cylinders, some other could have been done better. As a conspiracy, some points are obvious to the genre initiated. But all in all Safe House will entertain and please, resting on the talents and on-screen presence of Washington and Reynolds, as well as as some great ass-kicking!

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WORTH: Primetime and DVD

The Change-Up

The Old Switch-a-Roo

Director: David Dobkin
Writers: Jon Lucas, Scott Moore
Cast: Jason Bateman, Ryan Reynolds, Olivia Wilde, Leslie Mann, Alan Arkin


SYNOPSIS: A over-worked, career-driven lawyer and married father Dave switches bodies with his wild-living actor-wannabe bachelor best friend Mitch, leading to chaos and disasters in both of their original lives.

REVIEW: David Dobkins, director of Shanghai Knights, Wedding Crashers and Fred Claus, takes a tale of body switching from The Hangover scribes Jon Lucas and Scott Moore. It's the same old classic story of two people (son and father, mother and daughter, friends) - who lead different lives, change bodies, explore the possibilities of the other person's life to ill effect, make personal self-discoveries about their lives, and yearn to be switched back to their old lives before the change is permanent.

A comedy body-switching sub-genre that includes Freak Friday in all of its iterations, Like Father, Like Son, 17 Again and Big, The Change-Up looks to ramp up the raunchiness with their rated-R version of this formulaic comedy main-stay. Stoic, straight man Jason Bateman teams up with the green ring-slinger Ryan Reynolds as polar opposite best friends Dave Lockwood and Mitch Planko. Dave Lookwood is the father of three whose self-imposed drive to further his career demands so much of his attention that he has little time for his wife Jamie (played with grace, humor and heart by Leslie Mann). On the other side of the body-switching coin is Mitch Planko who struggles through life aided by a schedule full of sex, herbs and paper, a GED and a laundry list of poor decision making. After a night of bar drinking, Dave and Mitch pee in a fountain and wish for each other's life, causing a rolling blackout and a seemingly permanent change in their minds and body. Dave, in Mitch's body, must abandon his mindset of always working and never relaxing, while Mitch, in Dave's body, must figure out how to handle the rigid schedules of ballet practices, 3am feedings of twins, and navigate his way through a merger agreement and documents that the real Dave had been preparing for months.

Leslie Mann comes on board as Dave's wife Jamie, a woman who is happy with the lifestyle Dave has provided for her and the kids and just wants Dave to slow down and give her a little attention. Olivia Wilde from Cowboys & Aliens joins the cast as legal eagle Sabrina who catches the eyes of both Dave and Mitch, regardless of what body they inhabit. Alan Arkin cameos as Mitch's father, hoping for a son who wants to turn his live around and finish at least one thing that he starts.

The R-rating offers a couple gross out laughs, a few of topless ladies, and more explicit language. There are some hits, but a lot of missed opportunities. One of the twins, before the 3am changings and feedings, continues to bang his head against the rail of his crib. Its mildly funny the first time, but quickly loses its ability to instill a laugh each time we see it again. The father/son relationship with Mitch and his father could have been developed more to give us some more tenderness. Most of the heart of the film comes from Leslie Mann's Jamie as she continues to stand by her man with the realization that she may become numb to the problems of the marriage. Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman play their duel roles well enough, but I know both have such wider ranges than what appears on screen.

Ultimately, The Change-Up will make you laugh a little, cry a little, and smile a little. In the end, though, The Change-Up could have very easily switches places with some of the other lesser worthy films in the genre. I love every actor and actress cast in the lead roles, but I think that maybe some of them wished they had woken up in the bodies of another film as well.

WORTH: Rental

Green Lantern

A Green Spectacle

Director: Martin Campbell

Writers: Greg Berlanti, Michael Green, Marc Guggebheim, Michael Goldenberg

Stars: Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Peter Sarsgaard, Mark Strong, Angela Bassett, Michael Clarke Duncan, Geoffrey Rush

SYNOPSIS: Earthling test pilot Hal Jordan is selected by a mystical power ring to become a Green Lantern, a member of a intergalactic peacekeeping corp. Faced with a force that may destroy his planet, Jordan must learn to overcome his doubts and fears to wield the power of the ring.

Another member of the Justice league of America has finally come to life before our eyes. Joining Superman and Batman on the big screen, and Wonder Woman and the Flash from their efforts as individual television series, the Green Lantern marks the fifth 'Big Gun' of the DC Comic Universe to get the live action treatment the comic fanboys and fangirls have been waiting for.

Director Martin Campbell, best known for Mel Gibson's Edge of Darkness, Antonio Banderas' The Mask of Zorro and Daniel Craig's Casino Royale, takes a huge leap forward with the CGI-heavy origin of Hal Jordan as the green power ring wearing Emerald Knight. Not the original wearer of the mantle of Earth's Green Lantern (Alan Scott wore the ring and mask in DC's Golden Age) or the only green power ring wearer of the Silver Age or Modern Age (DC boasts John Stewart, Guy Gardner and Kyle Rayner), Hal Jordan still retains the crown as the most popular Lantern. Can Hal Jordan and his origins of wearing the willpower driven power ring as a rookie in the Green Lantern Corps overcome both a former friend and colleague with corrupting mental powers and planet destroying creature of fear called Parallax?

Ryan Reynolds as Hal Jordan / Earth's Green Lantern plays a reckless defense contractor test pilot, wrought with images of his test pilot father who died walking away from a crashed plane. Since then, Hal walks away from anything that looks like commitment as it comes to relationships, afraid to live up to the self-imposed expectations and memory of his father. Reynolds mugs in all the right places with his Hal Jordan and looks great in uniform, but still seems like a man out of place at times. With the Green Lantern Corp power ring, Hal faces a honor and responsibility that he nor the Lantern Sinestro is ill-equipped to fulfill. Mark's Strong's Sinestro is picture perfect, a stoic, tradition filled life-long Green Lantern in charge of his own sector of the universe, blending the mystery and drive of Sherlock Holmes Lord Blackwood into a pointed-eared, red-hued soldier of the Corps.

In Addition, on the CGI world of OA, we are treated to a watered-down version of any planet dreamed up by the Star Wars franchise and Industrial Lights and Magic teams. The Guardians of OA look cool, although their mouths could have lined up better with their individual dialogue. The GL combat training officer Kilowog (voiced by Michael Clarke Duncan) exceeds expectations, primarily shown in a training montage against Jordon. Tomar Rey (voice by Geoffrey Rush) as Jordan's guide for the rookie Jordan, nails the look and demeanor of a well-loved GL character. And we get a taste of the 3,600 Green Lanterns protecting the universe, even if only for such brief glimpses that the diehard Green Lantern comic fans may not be able to come up with the character names quick enough. Blake Lively as Carol Ferris, Jordan's on-again, off-again sweetheart, test pilot wingman, and defense contractor boss lights up her scenes, but isn't developed enough to give us a reason to invest in her with Jordan.

As for the antagonists in Green Lantern, we get a double shot of a earth-bound Hector Hammond (Peter Sarsgaard) and a Oan Guardian turned galactic entity of fear and devourer of worlds (not Galactus, folks!) in the form of Parallax. Sarsgaard's Hammond also has daddy issues, and uses an accident and gain of mental powers in an attempt to win the love of Carol Ferris and the approval of his father. On a cosmic scale, the comics-derived Parallax takes on a new look and origins as the parasitic organic engine of fear looking to get revenge on the Guardians of Oa and the wearer of the power ring who once imprisoned him in the Lost Sectors of space. Parallax ends up looking like the Fantastic Four: RIse of the Silver Surfer's energy-sucking cloud Galactus with a face and a voice.

Biting off a little more then he could chew with a CGI-heavy green screen flick, director Campbell makes the mistake of reaching too far in the scope of creating the the Oan Green Lantern Corp homeworld and the thousands of Green Lantern Corp soldiers and recruits, but falling short on much of the visual details and realism that other sci-fi and fantasy movie franchises like Star Wars and Lord of the Rings dazzled audiences with. Some visual highlights are the concept and design of the power ring and the GL uniforms and some of the willpower created weapons and defenses - always a difficult task, even in the full-color pages of the comics. But the story, even though a team effort by five writers, seems both appropriate and far-fetched. Superman Returns featured better flying, Spider-man 2 brought us better protagonist angst, and Iron Man handled a story with more heart. For future reference, film makers should simply look at any of the Marvel Avenger-related films or the last two Batman films for how to delight audiences with a superior superhero story. For now, Green Lantern will fill the Summer season as a workable DC comics entry to the Justice League canon of films, but will not see the brightest day as soon as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, Transformers: Dark of the Moon and Captain America: The First Avenger make their debut.

NOTE: If you do see this film, watch the credit for a bit for an Easter Egg scene!

WORTH: Matinee or BluRay