Green Lantern (2011)

Lean, Green, Pudding Machine. Green Lantern does an efficient job for someone like me who was after a colourful bit of noisy entertainment. No expectation levels are set other than to not be insulted, so by and large this does a job. This falls more in line with a comic book adaptation that has no desire to set up a broody and conflicted hero, no hidden agendas or metaphors in the villain ranks, so yes! It's got a little campy flavouring to it. Which is fine if that is what you ordered. The effects work is very effective, though the sequences involving one of the villains, Parallax, are hindered by it being quite simply a very silly looking being. The story has some credible complexities about it, but the writers strain to keep it simple enough for a younger audience - which is both a blessing and a curse since it becomes uneven and corny whilst still retaining a watchable fun factor. The acting is only fine, but again this is because the script is never sure when to give emotional heft to the characters, or when to add some dramatic vulnerability. It's a safe superhero film, a creamy desert to satisfy the sweet palate, maybe one that is flavoured with Chartreuse? In other words it fills a gap for a while and is then quickly vanished from the memory. 6/10 Footnote: extended cut recommended as a preference since it puts more flesh on the human bones.