Green Lantern Take 2

All the Lantern Corps heavy hitters fighting. Think of how epic this could be!

Hey everybody, you're in The Line of Fire! As I said in my last post, Man of Steel has opened up the door for an expanded DC Cinematic Universe. My last post talked exclusively about Batman, but let's focus on another key member of the Justice League, Green Lantern. GL, much like Batman and Superman, has been handled poorly in the past. Unless somebody out there found or invented the flashy thing from Men in Black, I'm pretty sure everybody remembers the cheesy and goofy big screen debut of Green Lantern back in 2011. I don't know about everyone else, but I personally don't want to see that kind of crap ever again. It's not like everything was working against them either. They had the guy who directed The Mask of Zorro, Casino Royal and Goleneye in the directors chair. They had an all-star cast with Mark Strong, Ryan Reynolds, Michael Clarke Duncan and even Geoffrey Rush. So what were the problems? Well, the script was stupid. Plain and simple. If your story sucks, your movie probably will suck too. So what does it take to make a good Green Lantern movie? Well, it takes these things:

1. A Good Villain

Sinestro done the right way.

Parallax is a complicated villain for a first outing. I know that the studio wanted yellow energy to be introduced so that Sinestro could try to harness it, but what they ended up with was the DCCU equivalent of the Galactus cloud from Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. There are so many better options for a villain. Why not the Manhunters? Why not have Hal Jordan save the Earth from the Manhunters trying to break their treaty with the Guardians? Why not the Red Lantern Corps?

Those guys would look awesome on screen

Have the Guardians explain that just like Hal's willpower drew the ring to him, another human's rage can draw the red light to him? Better yet, why not go with Sinestro? He has a widows peak and a mustache. His name sounds like the word sinister. We all know he's not gonna be a good guy for very long. Explain that to defeat Parallax, Sinestro forged a yellow power ring, but his power drove him crazy and he killed Abin Sur. Green Lantern has no shortage of villains. Don't go with the giant space bug.











2. More Lanterns

Green Lantern John Stewart

This movie promised us that various Lanterns from the comics would be present in the film. Aside from a few cameos from Tomar-Re and Kilowog as well as a particularly useless Sinestro, there was nothing but a sweeping shot showing us a bunch of people on a planet wearing green. There are so many great characters to explore. Show more of Kilowog. Show us Abin Sur's son. Introduce us to the other human lanterns as well. Introduce us to the brash and hotheaded Guy Gardner.

Guy Gardner Green Lantern

Show us the tough, disciplined Marine in John Stewart (pictured above). Show the artistic brilliance and creativity of Kyle Rayner.

Kyle Rayner Green Lantern

 Show us the other lantern corps too. I want to see the anger and rage of the Reds. I want to see the Yellows using fear as a weapon. Show the hopeful Blues and loving Star Sapphires. Show the avarice and greed of the Oranges. Don't stop with Hal. There is so much more to explore.








3. Treat Green Lantern like a Space Opera

Look at all those alien races. That's just in the Green Lantern Corps. 

If Man of Steel is the sci-fi action movie in the DCCU, then Green Lantern should be the sci-fi adventure. Give it the Star Trek treatment. Showcase sprawling alien worlds. Have battles in the depths of space. Show the Corps saving alien races as well as the humans. Green Lantern is very much DC's space opera. Make the next one more of an adventure through space that shows off all the planets in the DC universe. Forget Hal's love life. We don't need to spend half the movie on it.

4. Take the Story Seriously

Not cool Warner Bros. Not cool

This is supposed to be an epic story about a cosmic police force fighting to protect the innocent of the galaxy. This isn't a comedy or a parody. It's ok to have comic relief, but don't try to make the movie funny. No Hot Wheels track product placement. When you don't take the story seriously, it hurts the movie. The goal shouldn't be to make a funny summer blockbuster that will get kids to buy toys. The goal should be to make an epic sci-fi adventure and on top of that, a good movie that will connect back to the Justice League.

If those four things will be put into the next attempt at a Green Lantern movie, I guarantee it will be a better film. Until next time, keep your heads down because you're in The Line of Fire!