Green Lantern With a Gatling Gun


Updated: Sure enough, I haul off the movie and shortly thereafter a new trailer is released for it; check it out at the end of the post. The new trailer looks more promising than the first and the entire movie appears to have a great sci-fi, Star Wars feel to it. I'm slightly more optimistic about it seeing this trailer because it looks to bring the movie together better. Still though, that gatling gun.

I have a feeling Green Lantern will suck. There. I said it. The trailer did nothing to get my enthusiasm increased for the movie. The above still certainly isn't helping either. A Green Lantern gatling gun? Really? One of the most powerful artifacts in the cosmos and the best weapon Ryan Reynolds can create is a gatling gun. That, to me, speaks volumes about where the movie Green Lantern is headed.


Everyone saw the trailer that hit the internets a few months ago (December I think it was). There was requisite rejoicing, mainly at the fact that a character as esteemed as Green Lantern was finally getting his movie due. We all crowded around our computer screens (or mobile devices for those on the move types) and watched two minutes of extremely bad CGI and Reynolds coming off as too smarmy for Hal Jordan. I think we gave the film some benefit of the doubt though. It was only December and the movie wasn't due in theaters for another six months or so. Surely they'll have things fixed by then we thought.

Then I saw these stills. The latter two don't really bother me. Hal is possibly on Oa getting marching orders and learning about his newfound powers no doubt. We even see a cadre of the other Green Lanterns, most likely saving the other colors for the sequel (although Blake Lively has hinted at Star Sapphire making an appearance here).

But that gatling gun! THAT worries me because it makes me think the movie as a whole will be somewhat boring and unimaginative. And you're working with a character here who can be a boon for the imagination! You're telling me that in the intergalactic war to save humanity Green Lantern travels to distant planet X and unloads on the enemies with a gatling gun. Too much to ask for even a Green Lantern laser?

I don't want to turn this into a Marvel vs. DC thing. They're two different publishers with different legacies. Hell, DC is even "better" than Marvel when it comes to content if you look at the recent Eisner Award nominations. The thing is that Marvel "gets" making their movies. They tap into what makes them entertaining: the comic aspect. Iron Man? Great origin story. The Incredible Hulk? Solid but not spectacular telling of the Green Goliath vs. Abomination. Granted, possibly the best Marvel movie wasn't made by Marvel Studios per se (Spider-man 2) but it's still a Marvel property. Not every Marvel film has been a hit (Elektra, Daredevil, Fantastic Four), but they've still been successful enough at the box office and appealing to fans in their own ways.

My point is that the stills above coupled with the trailer give me little confidence. I really, really hope that I'm proven wrong and that this film is actually decent. Jonah Hex was a bomb. The Dark Knight Rises will be epic. Watchmen never should've happened. Catwoman was a Rasberry Award winner. Man of Steel is a question mark as no one really knows what to make just yet. DC has a spotty track record when it comes to adapting their characters to the big screen with the exception of Batman, who has been more or less reliable (four -soon to be five- great movies vs. two not-so-good movies).

I worry that every movie DC puts out from here on will try to be The Dark Knight formula with the particular hero in the lead role. Every property won't work that way because of the dynamics of the character. Green Lantern is due in theaters June 17 and so far the trailer has explosions, action, smartasses and high flying adventures, which I'm fine with. It just concerns me when the Green Lantern has to result to primitive Earth weapons to fight an intergalactic war.


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