GREEN LANTERN (2011)

GREEN LANTERN (2011). Director: Martin Campbell.

"I've seen you naked. You think I wouldn't recognize you because your cheek bones are covered?" -- Carol Ferris. 

The super-hero Green Lantern of the "silver age" first appeared in comic books in the late 1950's. In this big-screen adaptation, somewhat flighty [pun intended] test pilot Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds) is chosen by a dying alien named Abin Sur (Temuera Morrison) to be his replacement in an Intergalactic policing force known as the Green Lantern Corps. Jordan not only has to prove to some skeptical colleagues, including the obnoxious drill instructor Kilowog [voice of Michael Clarke Duncan] and the slightly bitchy Sinestro (Mark Strong), that he has the right stuff, but also himself -- as he doesn't exactly see himself as someone "without fear." In the meantime, the alien blue-skinned Guardians, who formed the Corps, learn that one of their number has been mutated into an evil and monstrous being known as Parallax -- and it's pissed off and coming to Earth. Other characters include Hal's sort of girlfriend, Carol Ferris (sexy Blake Lively), the parrot-like corpsman Tomar-Re (voice of Geoffrey Rush), smarmy Senator Hammond (Tim Robbins), and his weird son Hector (Peter Sarsgaard), who is becoming mutated and dangerous himself after examining the body of Abin Sur. Green Lantern takes a while to get going, looking too much like a video game in the beginning, but once Jordan puts on the uniform it kicks into high gear and becomes quite exciting and entertaining. The cast is quite good, with Reynolds sheer perfection as our hero, although he gets a lot of competition from Strong as an impeccable Sinestro. Great scenic design. 68-year-old Campbell also directed the 2006 Casino Royale, the earlier Bond film Goldeneye, and Criminal Law, among many others. [Moral: You don't have to be a comparative kid to handle a trendy big-screen action flick.] NOTE: You can read more about the early comic book adventures of Green Lantern, Sinestro [originally a bad guy], Tomar-Re and the rest in The Silver Age of Comics.

Verdict: It's great fun watching GL do his "ring thing." ***.

CRIMINAL LAW (1988)

CRIMINAL LAW (1988). Director: Martin Campbell.

Slick, well-acted nonsense presents a defense lawyer Ben Chase (Gary Oldman) who gets off a nutty serial killer Martin Thiel (Kevin Bacon), then discovers that he really is guilty and decides to risk disbarment by defending him on new charges and bringing him down while secretly working with the police. Surrrrre -- defense lawyers always do that sort of thing! The movie is never believable but a lot of it is dramatically handled and Oldman and Bacon give dynamic and committed performances. Tess Harper and Joe Don Baker are fine as the detectives pursuing Thiel, and Elizabeth Shepherd is wonderful as Martin's doctor mother. Shepherd made this film ten years after she played the crow-pecked Joan Martin in Damian: Omen II, but she looks even more attractive. The picture has some exciting scenes and suspenseful moments, but it's never able to make its central premise remotely believable.

Verdict: Definite suspension of disbelief required. **1/2.

GOLDENEYE

GOLDENEYE (1995). Director: Martin Campbell. [NOTE: On occasion Great Old Movies will review films less than 25 years old if they would be of interest to our readers.]

Pierce Brosnan took over the role of James Bond with this movie. There's a new “M”, a woman (Judi Dench), who tells off Bond in one sequence, as well as a new Miss Moneypenny, who does the same, but Q remains Desmond Llewelyn in a sequence that borders on something out of Get Smart. There's an exciting prologue involving skydiving sans parachute; the rest of the story deals with a double-agent (Sean Bean) who steals a powerful weapon called GoldenEye from the Russians, and plans to use it to devastating effect if he isn't stopped. The Bond girls include ex-Soviet fighter pilot and hit woman Xenia Onatopp (Famke Janssen, pictured), and the much nicer Natalya (Izabella Scorupco), the only survivor of the attack on the facility that housed GoldenEye.

This is a good-looking movie photographically, and has some exciting moments, but no really outstanding sequences [certainly not as compared to what has come before in the 007 canon]. The scene with Bond chasing after a Russian ally of Bean's in a tank is rather long and comparatively dull, and in the scene after the prologue Bond acts like an overgrown adolescent. The climax on the giant satellite dish isn't bad, however. Sean Bean nearly steals the picture with Janssen close behind him. Tina Turner “sings” a forgettable title song, and the rest of the score by Eric Sarra is mediocre to say the least. John Barry is sorely missed.

NOTE: “Goldeneye” was the name of Ian Fleming's estate.

Verdict: Pierce Brosnan makes a not-bad Bond, and this is a not-bad Bond adventure, although certainly not top-rank. **1/2.