By Graham Osborne
Well the hint I gave at the end of my review wasn’t that subtle I suppose. Yes, the next film I shall attempt to fix will be Green Lantern. I think we can all agree that whatever I write here, I can’t make it any worse, at least going by my new Green Lantern Oath, “In Brightest Day, in Blackest Night. My god that film was utter shite”, I can’t.
(Beware, HEAVY geekiness beyond!)
Well the hint I gave at the end of my review wasn’t that subtle I suppose. Yes, the next film I shall attempt to fix will be Green Lantern. I think we can all agree that whatever I write here, I can’t make it any worse, at least going by my new Green Lantern Oath, “In Brightest Day, in Blackest Night. My god that film was utter shite”, I can’t.
(Beware, HEAVY geekiness beyond!)
Let’s start off with the cast. Obviously, Ryan Reynolds would no play Hal Jordan. As for who would replace him, I don’t know. A lot of people would say Nathan Fillion (Firefly) but I don’t think he suits the role of a relatively fresh-faced Hal Jordan joining the Green Lantern Corps, which this story is about. If we were talking about a Hal Jordan from later comics, then he would be the number one choice. Obviously, other actors would need to be replaced too. But I’m unsure who should play them.
Actors sorted (sort of), let’s move on to discussing the characters themselves. Hal’s character needs to be less depressed. This is a man with an awesome job and a great life, yet he complains that it’s not all that it’s cracked up to be. In my remake, we’ll have a more fun loving yet serious Hal - he’s not afraid to take risks and do whatever it takes to win. The scene to show this would be at Ferris Air, where Hal is testing a new aircraft, much as in the film. The scene would play out in a similar manner to the film, but with the crucial difference that we wouldn’t have any vague flashbacks about Hal’s father and his demise during a similar training exercise. This would need to be referenced; the fact that Hal witnessed his father’s death and was affected by it will form the crux of the character arc in which he overcomes his fear and becomes a Green Lantern. The reference for this moment in the film would be Hal going to a plaque or some sort of display with a photo of his father and a description bearing a traditional eulogising statement. Hal’s response will be “Wish me luck, Dad”. The exposition of his father’s death will be saved until afterwards.
Actors sorted (sort of), let’s move on to discussing the characters themselves. Hal’s character needs to be less depressed. This is a man with an awesome job and a great life, yet he complains that it’s not all that it’s cracked up to be. In my remake, we’ll have a more fun loving yet serious Hal - he’s not afraid to take risks and do whatever it takes to win. The scene to show this would be at Ferris Air, where Hal is testing a new aircraft, much as in the film. The scene would play out in a similar manner to the film, but with the crucial difference that we wouldn’t have any vague flashbacks about Hal’s father and his demise during a similar training exercise. This would need to be referenced; the fact that Hal witnessed his father’s death and was affected by it will form the crux of the character arc in which he overcomes his fear and becomes a Green Lantern. The reference for this moment in the film would be Hal going to a plaque or some sort of display with a photo of his father and a description bearing a traditional eulogising statement. Hal’s response will be “Wish me luck, Dad”. The exposition of his father’s death will be saved until afterwards.
The Guardians of the Universe will also be changed. They’ll embody their more recent versions, in which they appear to have something to hide (which they do) and are also emphatically against the whole idea of the other Spectrum Corps. The origin story being told in my version will link to the comic story lines of Emerald Twilight and Blackest Night. The two stories depict the corruption of Hal via Parallax and the prophecy of the Blackest Night, in which the dead rise up. This could also link as a crossover between the rest of the Justice League in a possible future film, though the results of that could easily end up as a super powered zombie film, and that may just be a bit too far for the cinema-going public to swallow.
Getting back on track, the Guardians have read about a hidden prophecy in the Book of Oa pertaining to the Blackest Night, and will do everything in their power to see it is not fulfilled. This would be shown when Sinestro asks the Guardians to wield the yellow light of fear as a means of trying to control Parallax. The Guardians will show a very brief flash of emotion when saying no, this will lead to Sinestro’s attempts at controlling the fear and the eventual formation of the Sinestro Corps. This will all be set up to happen as a subplot during the sequel, as it would be quite interesting to set up a twist ending where Sinestro believes he will be the host for Parallax. But at the last minute, Hal is chosen instead, leading the way for the final film of the trilogy with the other Green Lanterns (specifically the three remaining Earth Lanterns) to find a way to exorcise the two.
This leads me nicely into cameos. As many of you should be aware, there are currently four Green Lanterns of Earth (five if you count the current continuity). It would be a very good idea to give them a speaking part to some degree. Guy Gardner would be a bartender at Warriors, his own bar, a watering hole for the pilots at Ferris Air. His and Hal’s relationship would be very antagonistic, possibly with Hal recently being banned for arguing with Guy too much.
This leads me nicely into cameos. As many of you should be aware, there are currently four Green Lanterns of Earth (five if you count the current continuity). It would be a very good idea to give them a speaking part to some degree. Guy Gardner would be a bartender at Warriors, his own bar, a watering hole for the pilots at Ferris Air. His and Hal’s relationship would be very antagonistic, possibly with Hal recently being banned for arguing with Guy too much.
John Stewart, on the other hand would be a much calmer persona. I’m unsure how to add John into the films without sounding as if it’s been randomly tacked on for the sake of introducing him (my current thought is to have him designing a new building at the airfield, but that feels rather weak). Regardless, John (or Guy, for that matter) would be set up to appear in the Justice League film, creating a bit of diversity and giving a shout-out to all those who watched the Justice League Unlimited cartoon. Strictly speaking, it should be Hal who is in the Justice League, but this would allow for a bit of character development for the future sequels and we wouldn’t have to waste a large portion of screen time saying where all these new characters had come from.
Another way to show that there is more than just one hero out there would be to have a Nick Fury-esque appearance by another hero or government official. I would give that position either to Batman (World’s Greatest Detective, investigates rumours of something crashing near Coast City, finds out new hero has appeared on the scene, works it all out, etc.) or to Amanda Waller. She was shown in the original film and it seemed to me that she could have been a catalyst for forming the Justice League, especially as she was given a random backstory, then written out of the plot not five minutes later. Waller’s appearance felt like DC were beginning to dip their toes into the pool of a shared universe, whilst the Marvel heroes were splashing around and holding Bruce Banner’s head underwater to see if he’d Hulk out… Sorry, I got incredibly off topic there, but I really wanted to follow up on that analogy.
Another way to show that there is more than just one hero out there would be to have a Nick Fury-esque appearance by another hero or government official. I would give that position either to Batman (World’s Greatest Detective, investigates rumours of something crashing near Coast City, finds out new hero has appeared on the scene, works it all out, etc.) or to Amanda Waller. She was shown in the original film and it seemed to me that she could have been a catalyst for forming the Justice League, especially as she was given a random backstory, then written out of the plot not five minutes later. Waller’s appearance felt like DC were beginning to dip their toes into the pool of a shared universe, whilst the Marvel heroes were splashing around and holding Bruce Banner’s head underwater to see if he’d Hulk out… Sorry, I got incredibly off topic there, but I really wanted to follow up on that analogy.
Using Waller as the recruiter of heroes could also lead to her creating the Suicide Squad when she realises that she’s created a team that could control the world if they so choose, and her taking steps to rectify the issue. (I just realised I’m coming up with a lot of “future” story arcs. Warner Brothers, call me. I think we could make this thing work!).
The theme of the story would revolve around overcoming fear, it being the primary antagonist for the film. Addressing Hal’s fear about losing his father will be the predominant factor in why Hal can’t become the greatest GL ever known. The significance of this fact should not be relegated to what feels like a minor plot point and then fixed with an emotional pep talk. We should be able to see that it had a huge impact on everything in Hal’s life, especially his career, and him accepting what happened will make him a better person for it.
I think I’m going to leave it here. I’m sure there’s so much more to write about, but I can’t think of ways to say it. If you have any ideas, put them in the comments. Also if you have any ideas for films to “Fix in Post” let me know in the comments too. I can’t promise I’ll do it any time soon, but maybe one day...
The theme of the story would revolve around overcoming fear, it being the primary antagonist for the film. Addressing Hal’s fear about losing his father will be the predominant factor in why Hal can’t become the greatest GL ever known. The significance of this fact should not be relegated to what feels like a minor plot point and then fixed with an emotional pep talk. We should be able to see that it had a huge impact on everything in Hal’s life, especially his career, and him accepting what happened will make him a better person for it.
I think I’m going to leave it here. I’m sure there’s so much more to write about, but I can’t think of ways to say it. If you have any ideas, put them in the comments. Also if you have any ideas for films to “Fix in Post” let me know in the comments too. I can’t promise I’ll do it any time soon, but maybe one day...
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