Green Lantern

A superhero movie that comes with an ironic undertone: beauty is equated with heroism and virtue, lack thereof not so much. No wonder Ryan Reynolds made more of an impact as the antihero Deadpool. The garish nature of that vibe makes it difficult to root for the people you're supposed to like, because you get a distinct impression that they wouldn't like you (unless you're one of them, of course). This story might have been strengthened if it had been more directly tied to an extended universe, a la later flicks in the genre, but there's little evidence of that sort of overarching thinking here. (Released in 2011, this may be the last superhero movie that was designed to be, at least somewhat, a standalone piece.) As it is, the film is mildly entertaining, but with too many stretches that are not engaging--and the climax is somewhat lame, if not downright dumb. We may be safe from seeing a sequel to this one, though a reboot is always threatened in this genre. I think this one effort is more than enough.