Trailer Tuesday: Green Lantern
The trailer for highly anticipated DC Comics adaptation Green Lantern has been online since November last year. I didn't really comment on it at the time because, well, I found it so-so - making the film look like a functional, generic superhero film as opposed to groundbreaking must-see!
However, vastly more exciting footage was screened this weekend at San Francisco's WonderCon, and it's gone a long well to boost my excitement about the project. This is because the below 4 minutes of footage place emphasis on Green Lantern's chief differentiating feature as a superhero property: its heavy extraterrestrial influence! In other words, the action is not merely confined to Earth.
Just to recap for those who don't know, in Green Lantern cocky test pilot Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds) becomes the first human selected to join the Green Lantern Corps - an intergalactic police force that assigns members to protect different sectors of the universe (Earth is in Sector 2814). To complete his or her duty each Lantern is gifted with a green power ring, and a portable emerald lantern to recharge it. By directing their will and imagination through the ring, Green Lanterns can literally make anything a reality to help them in their fight against evil.
Hal's fellow Green Lanterns include Sinestro (Mark Strong), Kilowog and Tomar-Re (voiced by Geoffrey Rush), with Hal - distrusted for being a "weak" and "destructive" human - replacing well-respected Abin Sur (Temuera Morrison). Hal is recruited into the Corps at the same time the universe is facing its greatest threat: Parallax. Meanwhile back on Earth, scientist Hector Hammond (Peter Sarsgaard) falls under the influence of Parallax, posing a danger to everyone Hal loves, including childhood sweetheart Carol Ferris (Blake Lively). Tim Robbins and Angela Bassett round out the cast as powerful government officials.
I've written extensively about the Green Lantern film here, but the most important thing to remember is that this ambitious, CGI-saturated comic adaptation has a lot riding on it for Warner Bros and DC. If this film - and the upcoming Superman re-imagining - is a success then an all-star Justice League movie is a very real possibility. If Green Lantern bombs then it's unlikely we'll ever see DC's answer to Marvel's The Avengers on the big screen. Here's holding thumbs that Green Lantern is a goodie... The new footage certainly fills me with a sense of hope - and wonder.
Green Lantern will release in 2D and 3D in North America on 17 June. The film opens in South Africa on 24 June.
Comments
Can't wait to see this. I see it will feature in 3D. Is it proper 3D or converted? Hopefully proper, and 2hrs or so.
1st movie of superhero titles needs introduction that could take a lot of time, which leaves less time for awesomeness if it's only a 90min movie. Here's hoping :)