Green Lantern (2011/Warner Blu-ray 3D + Blu-ray + DVD + Ultraviolet Digital Copy) +
X-Men – First Class (2011/Fox
Blu-ray + Digital Copy)
Green Lantern
Picture:
B+/B+/B-
Sound:
B+/B+/B
Extras: C
Film: B-
X-Men: First Class
Picture:
B+/B-
Sound:
B+/B
Extras: C
Film: B
Here are
two examples of films borrowing from well established source material; one
doing it very well and the other missing the mark. Green
Lantern was a highly anticipated film, leading some to even make statements
such as “this film will rival Star Wars,”
well those people were sadly mistaken. Green Lantern is not the worst
incarnation of a superhero film we have experienced but made very poor use of
the source material available to it and an even poorer execution. X-Men:
First Class, however, whereas not perfect got it mostly right.
Green Lantern
What we
get with the character of Hal Jordan
is (again) Ryan Reynolds playing the same part he does in every film. He does a good job of playing the arrogant,
yet likable hot shot fighter pilot. If
someone else played Hal Jordan
he may have come off as a jerk, but Reynolds having played the suave, arrogant,
pretty boy with a heart a number of times already has it down pat. The plot of the film is simple, yet
concurrently confusing. A magic ring
with mystic powers seeks out Hal Jordan as the successor to a fallen
ring bearer; choosing him to become part of the intergalactic Green Lantern
Corps. The films villain and arch
nemesis of Green Lantern Corps is Parallax (Clancy Brown); who eats up planets
and seeks out the destruction of the Green Lanterns. It is from here the film falls apart. The ill trained and inexperienced Hal Jordan
must fight off Parallax, after only a minuscule
amount of ‘training’ with other Lanterns played by the likes of Michael
Clark Duncan, Geoffrey Rush, and Mark Strong (as the imminently evil
Sinestro). There is no character
development, no reason for the ring choosing Jordan, no rhyme or reason for
basically anything. In many ways the
film is beautifully made with plenty of money poured into making it look great,
but the film is lacking the more ‘real world’ aspects fans desire. The characters look somewhat cartoony and the
storyline isn’t far off. What Green Lantern could have been is now
gone and all we are left with is a jumbled mess.
X-Men: First Class
This film
delivers all around; ending up as not only a good superhero film, but a great
film in general. Whereas the film could
have been a bit darker/edgier/grittier, for the most part it did a fine
job. Taking place in the 1960s, the film
takes off like a rocket as we are introduced to the origins of the future
Professor X and Magneto, before they took their place in mutant history. Exploring the events right around the Cuban Missile
Crisis we have a story unfolding that will shape the rest of history. First
Class is based on the comic series of the same name, showing Charles Xavier
(James McAvoy) and Erik Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender) gathering mutants to
explore their potential (with the help of the government) and protect them from
the evil Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon).
Placing the film in a real time period, while concurrently giving the
characters back story and depth separates it from the less than stellar hero
films we got this past summer. Rather
than just slapping the name on a film and expecting fans to come running, X-men First Class treated fans to a solid
cinematic experience that contained all the right elements for success.
Overall
both films have similar technical features and demonstrate how far home video
has come. Granted both of these films
are better viewed on the big screen as they have the ‘action packed’ POW that
can’t be duplicated elsewhere, but both films clean/clear High Definition on top
of Green Lantern’s well done 3D do
present well for a home viewing experience.
Green Lantern is a 2.4 X 1
1080p, whereas X-Men is close by
with a 2.35 X 1 image. Both have
stunning color palettes embracing a degree of vibrancy; though as a nice
comparison X-Men is a bit more
subdued or muted as it emphasizes the 1960’s atmosphere. Both images as previously mentioned are crisp
and well defined and even as Green
Lantern pushes the limits of technology with 3D the image is mostly clear,
without blurring or distortion of the image.
There are moments here and there that both Green Lantern and X-Men could
have been better as black levels aren’t always best and minor light/dark issues
hinder; though few and far in between.
The
extras are minimal on both sets and are as follows:
Green Lantern
- Maximum Movie Mode: Green
Lantern’s Light
- A feature length look into Green Lantern including
Picture-In-Picture Commentary, 8 featurettes on the making of Green Lantern, Character Bios,
Picture Galleries, Storyboards
- Ultraviolet Digital Copy of
Film
- VERY annoying Digital Copy
of the film. Whereas most Digital
Copies allow you to pop in the disc and load to iTunes or other player; Green Lantern forces buyers to
load a Flixster Ap and basically sign your life away. Very frustrating and invasive.
X-Men: First Class
- 2 Hours of extra features
- Cerebro: Mutant Tracker
- The Ultimate X-men Mutant
Database
- Search, track and locate
your favorite mutants; then unlock essential videos, profiles and more
- Children of Atom: Multi-Part
Documentary
- Deleted and Extended Scenes
- Composer’s Isolated Score
In the
end, I enjoyed both films thoroughly, but with the coming of Christopher
Nolan’s take on the Batman series,
comic book/Superhero films are now held to a higher standard. The days of throwing on some cheap tights and
hokey one-liners are LONG gone and now audiences demand depth, realism, and
continuity. It isn’t enough to bring a
superhero to the screen, the film must deliver.
- Michael P. Dougherty II
