Green Lantern, Blu-ray + DVD Combo Pack (2011)
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Peter Sarsgaard, Mark Strong, Tim Robbins, Angela Bassett
Director: Martin Campbell
Studio: Warner Home Video [10/14/11]
Video: 2.40:1 anamorphic/enhanced for 1080p HD color
Audio: English DTS HD-MA 5.1; French, Spanish, Portuguese, Thai Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Thai, Indonesian, Korean, Mandarin
Extras: Extended and theatrical cut; Maximum Movie Mode: Green Lantern’s Light; Focus Points (eight feaurettes); “The Universe According to Green Lantern” featurette; “Ryan Reynolds Becomes the Green Lantern” featurette; Deleted scenes; Justice League #1 digital comic; “Green Lantern: The Animated Series” preview; PS3 Arkham City character skin code; “Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters” game preview; Ultraviolet digital copy; Standard DVD copy
Length: 114 minutes (theatrical cut); 123 minutes (extended cut)
Movie Rating: ***½ Video Rating: **** Audio Rating: ****1/2
Cocky test pilot Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds) is gifted superhuman powers when he is selected by “The Ring”. The Ring is the power source of the Green Lantern Intergalactic Corps, a group of alien beings charged with protecting the universe from harm. Jordan receives training in his new role as interstellar peacekeeper from a group of Green Lantern veterans. However, it is not long before the daunting task of saving mankind is thrust upon Jordan when an evil alien life form called Parallax is determined to annihilate Earth and other planets. I did not catch Green Lantern during its theatrical run but I was aware that the movie was not well-received critically. After watching this Blu-ray, I think the movie is better than some have made it out to be. Green Lantern is an above-average superhero movie with excellent action sequences and a charismatic lead actor in Reynolds that makes the title character enjoyable to watch (similar to what Robert Downey Jr. does for the Iron Man films). Fans of the movie shouldn’t hesitate to buy this Blu-ray combo set and everyone else looking for a fun Saturday night popcorn-type-flick may want to check Green Lantern out as a rental first before committing to a purchase.
The overall high definition video quality of this Blu-ray DVD is very good. Images are, for the most part, razor sharp and highly-detailed. Black levels are occasionally murky, especially in the darker scenes. Colors are vibrant and warm with fully-saturated hues. Picture defect mastering is excellent with no major flaws or compression artifacts. The overall audio quality is also very good with the English DTS 5.1 track serving as the basis for this review. The soundtrack actively incorporates all of the discrete channels into its mix. Dialogue is crisp, properly positioned and always intelligible. The surround channels are aggressively utilized for sound effects and music score, plus include several split rear effects. The low frequency effects channel is deep, palpable and can rattle the room during the action sequences. [It is also available in a 3D Blu-ray version, probably done post-production, which is not as good as originally done in 3D…Ed]
—Calvin Harding Jr.
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