So over the weekend, I finally decided to bite the bullet and watch a couple movies that I initially had high hopes for but that, upon theatrical release, received such poor reviews from critics and fans alike, that I signed off on them. Even when they were released on DVD, I didn't bother picking them up right away. Well, I finally did and honestly, they weren't that bad. As the title suggests, the two movies are Ryan Reynolds as the Green Lantern and Johnny Depps 4th film of the franchise, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. I'll address them separately and as always, minor spoiler warning is in effect:
Green Lantern:
Okay, so the movie is a little silly, I'll be honest. The on screen manifestation of the lanterns' constructs can be a bit goofy, this being most evident to me the first time Hal Jordan reveals his powers in front of an audience to save a crashing helicopter by turning the chopper into a green hot rod and racing on a Hot Wheels track to (eventual) safety. Ugh. That was pretty lame. Other complaints are the use of CGI to make his super suit when a real costume would have sufficed, the mask looking particularly awful. Also, the movie spends to much time on earth, where things are boring. Thor ran into this issue as well. The juxtaposition of Oa and Asgard, respectively, to earth is jarring at best and makes you think you are watching two movies worst: one movie that is a top gun rip-off and a CGI alien movie.
All that being said, I didn't think Reynolds was as miscast as people said, there were some fun parts (like when his mask doesn't protect his identity "Did you think I wouldn't recognize you just because I couldn't see your cheekbones?!", and some of the action scenes were fun. Also, Sinestro was a good character. I dunno. I guess I do hope they make a sequel and can iron out some of the more egregious problems. There is potential.
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides:
I went into this one with very mow expectations and ended up thinking it was pretty good. I do like the returning characters, though critics are quite correct in saying that Barbosa was basically a different character. The film was a bit disjointed and the pieces didn't fit together as well as they could have, but there was plenty of swashbuckling and treasure hunting to go around. Some of the action scenes were a bit boring, but I had that problem with Pirates 2 & 3 as well, so that's not unique to #4. All in all, I think it was successful. I think Penelope Cruz was a good replacement for Kiera Knightley (who I do not like, as I have mentioned early and often) and it had a decent story, though the Spaniards were extremely under developed. If they keep making the Pirates movies, I'll keep renting them when they come to DVD.
So there are my impressions of two movies who I think got more of a bum rap than they deserved. They are not great movies, don't get me wrong, but they have enough good about them that they are still worth a rental. I think the backlash against these was so severe because there was such high expectations. People loved the Pirates movies and wanted the story to continue. Green Lantern fans wanted the Green Lantern to get the Dark Knight treatment. But really, if you go into these thinking they are going to suck and much as people have told you they do, you may be pleasantly surprised.
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