Green Lantern was a much maligned movie that I feel very strongly did not deserve the poor reviews it received. Was it a great movie? No. Was it bad like Ghost Rider? No. It was a very entertaining film that had more good moments than bad.

The positive…

I felt that Ryan Reynolds as Hal Jordan/Green Lantern was a good fit. I do agree with a lot of people that Nathan Fillion would have been better, but with Reynolds they got a very well known actor who did a good job in the role.

Peter Sarsgaard as Hector Hammond was another strong point. You did feel sympathy for him regarding his strained relationship with his father, but he was a creepy villain that you definitely wanted to see get his behind kicked.

Possibly the best part of the movie was Mark Strong as Sinestro. He is not yet the villain, but Strong did a masterful job of portraying a complex character and giving just the right amount of nuance to hint at his eventual turn in future movies.

The not so positive…

Parallax…the main issue is the CGI was just not up to par. He looked too cartoony at times. Also, he is a major villain who affects Hal Jordan in a major way  in the comics and having been relegated to just a one-off in this first movie seemed a real waste. Parallax is a nemesis that should have been built up to in future movies for a much more dramatic final battle.

Blake Lively as Carol Ferris was sort of eh..she was not terrible, but her portrayal of Ferris could have been much better especially since this a major character in the Green Lantern universe and goes though many interesting changes.

The most unfortunate situation with the mostly negative reaction to the movie is we will not get any sequels. Seeing Sinestro’s full turn in a second movie would have been amazing, but we will have too settle for only a small scene in the credits. With a full-on, bad guy Sinestro, the second movie could have taken a huge leap forward in quality in many people’s eyes. I really feel a second movie could have righted the ship for many people and perhaps made this a more viable franchise.

With Warner Bros./DC pushing ahead with a Justice League movie I really hope they include the character of Green Lantern. He is an important part of the League and whether they recast Hal Jordan or go with the John Stewart version, I sincerely hope they do not leave this character out due to the solo movie’s negative reception.

It is a good movie that deserves a viewing no matter what you may have heard about it.