THE RING COULD CHOOSE YOU...

Today is the day the highly anticipated Green Lantern movie begins screening in Philippine theaters! Although I'm not a hardcore Green Lantern fan, seeing the trailer made me decide that this is one movie I'm not going to miss. The special effects look great, and I've always found Ryan Reynolds cool, beginning when I first "really" noticed him as George Lutz in the Amityville Horror remake in 2005 (I didn't like that movie much though). 

Trailer 2



Before I go on, Fully Booked has an awesome Green Lantern promo going:

Pretty cool, huh? All you have to do is buy ANY DC Comics Graphic novel, and you're entitled to a raffle stub for a chance to win an awesome Green Lantern t-shirt or poster! Here are the complete mechanics:

Basically, the movie centers on Hal Jordan, who is the second Green Lantern. Alan Scott was first. Before Ryan Reynolds was CHOSEN, there were a couple of Hal Jordan wannabes up for the role, and one of these was Justin Timberlake. I never thought he would be a good actor until I saw The Social Network where he plays bad boy Napster mastermind Sean Parker. Some people joked that maybe he was good because he was actually playing himself though I suspended all judgement since I don't know the guy personally.

Jared Leto was also a contender and so was Brian Austin Green (you probably remember him from Beverly Hills 90210). Green is actually a genuine Green Lantern fan.

This is what Hal Jordan actually looks like in comics:     

Art from the cover to Green Lantern: Rebirth hardcover collection, by Ethan Van Sciver. (2007) from Wikipedia.com

I think Ryan Reynolds is a pretty close match though so is Brian Austin Green in terms of looks (a mask does wonders). However, Green's geeky voice as David Silver in Beverly Hills 90210 is sending alarm signals to my brain. Hopefully, they made the right choice as some hardcore fans out there will be shaking their fists at the injustice of it all. (This is how I felt when they cast Charlize Theron as Aeon Flux. I think she's awesome but for me she just wasn't Aeon Flux material. I was rooting for Famke Janssen! Arg.)

Something else worth knowing is that Geoff Johns, the writer behind several Green Lantern graphic novels (he's done The Flash too) like Green Lantern: Blackest Night and Green Lantern Corps: Recharge is credited as a creative consultant for the Green Lantern movie. This makes me actually want to watch the film all the more as I'm certain that having him on board seals the deal in terms of loyalty to the whole Green Lantern concept.

Another thing I didn't know is that Supe (a.k.a. the Man of Steel) was suppose to make a small appearance. They sliced him out—scared he would steal the show.

Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill, Reservoir Dogs) was considered for direction (I wonder how true that is though). I am so curious how that would've panned out though I really loved Casino Royale so "Go, Martin Campbell!"

I am currently reading Green Lantern: Agent Orange, which is pretty much the prequel to Blackest Night. So far, it seems pretty good, but since I haven't finished it yet, I'll have to form a concrete opinion after I'm done. It basically revolves around ol' Hal looking for the Orange Lantern. Something I can definitely say is that Philip Tan did a bang-up job. Awesome stuff!

 
Gonna catch this movie soon! Let me know what you guys think when you're through watching it. I'm especially curious how Green Lantern fans will feel.  Happy long weekend everyone!