Reynolds versus Yellow

Will power is green, fear is yellow, and both can be harnessed to screw the conservation of energy principle if only you believe in yourself.

And yet, the glowing sparkly colors masquerading as real science — “There’s no such thing as magic,” Ryan Reynolds said — aren’t what’s keeping Green Lantern from being as fun as other heroes this summer; it’s a main character you couldn’t care
less about.

Reynolds plays Hal Jordan, a fighter pilot who is afraid to end up like the splat on the tarmac that is his father.

Despite Jordan’s constant recklessness and fear, an alien gives him superpowers and Reynolds goes to space to use them before quitting when another alien is mean to him.

It used to be that superheroes had to go through hardships, and we sympathized with them.

Who didn’t feel for Peter Parker getting picked on in high school and then learning that being tough isn’t enough? Or Bruce Wayne’s tortured journey fighting a war against crime that has no end?

You don’t get a real sense of what Hal Jordan stands for other than preventing the world from ending long enough to get the girl.

When the emotions and the powers don’t make sense, it’s hard to find hand-holds in the story. And don’t bother staying after the credits. Shameless sequel baiting seems to be a trend that superhero films will not shake.