Category Archives: Sci-Fi

I really wanted to like this movie. It has all the elements of a great-sounding superhero adventure…a reluctant hero forced to accept towering responsibilities, a complex underlying mythology, and intergalactic metaphysical monsters bent on destruction. But unfortunately, something went wrong with the execution – and next to “Thor” and “X-Men: First Class,” “Green Lantern” ends up looking like a bad TV pilot.

The film opens with a prologue explaining the backstory: the universe is protected by an organization of space-policemen known as the Green Lanterns, who draw their energy from the willpower of sentient beings. Their power rings allow them to create virtually any object they can imagine, which they then use to enforce the will of the Guardians (ancient aliens allegedly responsible for creating the cosmos). Unfortunately, one of the Guardians went rogue and attempted to draw upon the power of fear, which turned him into the soul-sucking monster Parallax. Now, released from an ancient prison, Parallax seeks vengeance upon the Guardians and Lanterns who banished him. (It’s probably worth noting here that the color green represents willpower, and yellow represents fear…no real explanation for this is given, but it’s an important plot point.)

Cut to Earth. Test pilot Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds) is a risk-taking daredevil (a la Tom Cruise in “Top Gun”) working for a defense contractor. After a particularly rash misadventure, he finds himself out of a job. Shortly thereafter, he discovers the body of a dying Green Lantern (the victim of an encounter with Parallax), who entrusts him with the ring of power.

The rest of the film plays out almost exactly how one might expect. Hal travels to Oa, planet of the Green Lanterns, for training…but quits after his first attempts are met with failure. Back on Earth, he tries to abandon his Green Lantern identity, but must ultimately assume responsibility when Parallax attacks Earth. In a year of superhero movies driven more by plot than by effects, “Green Lantern” is a sad regression.

But there’s a lot more to “Green Lantern” than its predictable plot.

The biggest problem with “Green Lantern” is the jarring disconnect between its two worlds. I found myself thinking that “Green Lantern” really should have been two completely separate movies: a story about alien warriors battling an ancient fear-monster, and a story about a reckless daredevil who learns about maturity. When “Green Lantern” doesn’t try to connect the two concepts, it’s not bad at all – some of the early scenes on Earth are genuinely well-done. And to be fair, it’s a good-looking science fiction movie. But when the two worlds collide, the movie takes on an unbelievably hokey feel.

Perhaps a contrasting example is in order. The great strength of “Spider-Man” is that Peter Parker lives in a realistic world and deals with realistic issues (not being able to pay the rent, problems with girls, etc.). Postulating an elaborate alien civilization distracts from the human element, rendering the film choppy and convoluted. At the very least, the film is far too short to adequately develop its storyline: a 3-hour movie would’ve been more appropriate, if most of that extra time was allocated to character growth.

Given the whole fear-versus-will conflict, there are certainly a lot of interesting worldview elements here. Most notably, the film takes a sharply existentialist turn as Parallax approaches Earth: when the Guardians (“gods”) refuse to help Hal save his planet, he promptly chooses to go it alone. In the end, it’s human willpower (literally) that trumps divine planning. At no point are the Guardians portrayed as sympathetic or even involved with their creations…and Hal’s act of defiance is the catalyst of ultimate victory.

Unfortunately, much of the metaphysical complexity in “Green Lantern” is quickly jettisoned. Parallax isn’t so much an embodiment of fear as he is a giant smoky octopus-monster…which makes Hal’s battle much simpler. The simple message “be brave and have willpower!” is substituted in place of real character depth. And for that matter, Parallax is criminally underused: a villain of this size and scope should be reserved for a trilogy-ending final battle, not an inaugural outing.

Now, to be fair, there are some really interesting directions the filmmakers could take this franchise. If green is the color of will and yellow is the color of fear, how about introducing some Red Lanterns that draw their power from anger? Blue Lanterns that draw power from hope? There’s clearly a lot of potential in the “Green Lantern” universe…it’s a shame that this had to be audiences’ first impression.

Objectionable content isn’t any more pronounced than, say, “Spider-Man.” There are a few innuendoes, a few swearwords, and a fair amount of stylized comic-book violence, but nothing that pushes the PG-13 rating. It’s not as squeaky-clean as “Thor,” but it doesn’t have the content issues of “X-Men: First Class.”

Should you see it? Probably not. There are far better films in theaters right now, and unless you absolutely can’t get enough superhero action, “Green Lantern” is one to skip. Save your money and see “Super 8” instead.

VERDICT: 5.5/10
A woefully underdeveloped comic-book adaptation.

Normalized Score: 1.0

Some of the best memories of my childhood involve running around with a digital camera, making lame home movies that we later stitched together in Windows Movie Maker. I also grew up watching some of the best movies to come out of Hollywood – Spielbergian classics along the lines of Indiana Jones, E.T., Jaws, and a multitude of others. Those are the kinds of films that fire up a kid’s imagination, evoking a sense of fantasy and wonder.

“Super 8” is that type of movie, made for a new generation.

The film follows Joe Lamb (Joel Courtney), a young teenager mourning the recent death of his mother in a steel mill accident. His hard-driving best friend, Charles, is planning to enter a film festival with a homemade zombie movie. Toting their old “Super 8” video camera, and accompanied by pretty classmate Alice Dainard (Elle Fanning), Charles and the gang sneak out one night to an old train station. Just as they’re shooting a climactic scene, disaster strikes: an oncoming train derails after a head-on collision with a mysterious truck. The truck’s driver – barely clinging to consciousness – gives them a stern warning: if they speak of what they have seen, they and their parents will die.

Shortly thereafter, the town is swarmed by Air Force personnel under the command of ruthless Colonel Nelec (Noah Emmerich). It soon becomes clear that something inhuman is prowling the town…something that may or may not have escaped from the mysterious train. As the search for the strange creature intensifies, Joe, Charles, Alice, and their companions are thrown headlong into a crisis situation.

If this was the entirety of “Super 8,” there wouldn’t be much to differentiate it from any of the other sci-fi/horror films crowding cinemas. But “Super 8” manages to be an action movie with a heart. The relationship between Joe and his father develops movingly and realistically as the story progresses, as do the bonds of friendship between the kids themselves. Refreshingly, the kids act exactly as one might expect – there’s the bossy kid, the quiet one, the nerd, the pyromaniac, etc. For me, at least, it evoked a sense of real nostalgia…a reminder of a time before Facebook and the Internet age.

In keeping with its origins (as a homage to the likes of “E.T.”), “Super 8” celebrates traditional values. The value of family is celebrated in a realistic way that never feels saccharine. Kids risk their own lives to help one another and do the right thing, even in the face of overwhelming adversity. There’s no “agenda” underlying this film…but rather a celebration of things that are genuinely true and good.

Outstanding production values serve to strengthen an already compelling story. The actors’ performances are remarkably strong, and the few CGI effects never overwhelm the human story. The sound design deserves a special mention here – it’s some of the best I’ve ever heard in any movie. This fills otherwise “mundane” scenes with dramatic intensity, maintaining the film’s breakneck pace.

The biggest objectionable-content concern in “Super 8” is profanity (including an f-word) – much of it used by the kids. This, unfortunately, will likely prevent the film from becoming an instant all-ages success. It’s also worth noting that this is an extremely intense movie – some of the scenes with the monster are jarring, even for relatively hardened moviegoers. (And that’s saying nothing of the explosive, hyper-kinetic train derailment scene.) At the very least, it’s not a film for anyone under 10 or 11.

I’m intentionally leaving vague many of the details regarding this film. This is a movie that has to be seen for oneself to be truly appreciated…and no brief review can do it full justice. Suffice it to say that “Super 8” is a throwback to an earlier, better era of moviemaking. Not everything needs to be “gritty” and “dark” to be outstanding…and even though there are a few content concerns, most viewers will find it an exhilarating and uplifting summer adventure. As I was leaving the theater, I heard a little boy shout excitedly to his friend, “This movie ROCKS, dude!”

Yup, pretty much.

VERDICT: 9/10
A future classic of the sci-fi adventure genre, and one of the best movies I’ve seen in theaters this year. Highly recommended.

Normalized Score: 7.9