FROM THE VAULT: Green Lantern Extended Cut

As 2011 comes to an end, and another long holiday weekend is upon us, why not kick back and watch a superhero movie or two? The Green Lantern Extended Cut movie is available on Blu-Ray that gives us more backstory on the characters.

GREEN LANTERN EXTENDED CUT
Writers: Greg Berlanti, Michael Green, Marc Guggenheim, Michael Goldenberg
Director: Martin Campbell
Producers: Greg Berlanti, Donald De Line, Herb Gains, Andrew Haas, Geoff Johns
Director of Photography: Dion Beebe
Hal Jordan – Ryan Reynolds
Carol Ferris – Blake Lively
Hector Hammond – Peter Sarsgaard
Sinestro – Mark Strong
Abin Sur – Temurea Morrison
Amanda Waller – Angela Bassett
Senator Hammond – Tim Robbins
Parallax – Clancy Brown
Tomar-Re – Geoffry Rush
Kilowog – Michael Clarke Duncan

Complete credits at IMDB

Synopsis: In a universe as vast as it is mysterious, a small but powerful force has existed for centuries. Protectors of peace and justice, they are called the Green Lantern Corps. A brotherhood of warriors sworn to keep intergalactic order, each Green Lantern wears a ring that grants him superpowers. But when a new enemy called Parallax threatens to destroy the balance of power in the Universe, their fate and the fate of Earth lie in the hands of their newest recruit, the first human ever selected: Hal Jordan.

EXTENDED CUT EXTRAS FOR FANS ONLY

If you haven’t heard our thoughts of the Green Lantern movie before, take a moment and listen to issue #312 of the Major Spoilers Podcast, where we sat down immediately after the movie to discuss what was great, and not so great about the flick. In the six months since the movie’s release, not much has changed in my opinion – It’s a solid movie, that has some flaws that might be the result of too many writers, but there is nothing too damning that would cause someone not to recommend the film. Director Martin Campbell does an excellent job of bringing the action to the screen, Ryan Reynolds plays cocky Hal Jordan to near perfection, and the supporting cast fill the world of Green Lantern with believability.

The Extended Cut features an additional ten minutes of footage not seen in the theater, and if you want to see it, you’re going to need to get your hands on the Blu-Ray or Blu-Ray 3D editions of the film. You do have the ability to watch the theatrical release on that disc, but I think many people are going to be more interested in the extra bits. Those bits occur at the beginning of the film and features the young Hal Jordan and friends on that fateful day Hal’s father dies in a plane accident. While not crucial to the understanding of what goes on in the film, it does establish that Carol, Hal, and Hector have known each other for years, and fleshes out the movie world. Young Hal’s race to the airfield mimics Present Day Hal’s race to the airfield including seeing younger and older versions of bit characters.

And that’s about it for the extra stuff. The movie is edited slightly differently in the Extended Cut, and those hoping to see more fighty-fight and wiz-bang special effects are going to be in for a let down. There are a couple of deleted scenes in the extras section of the film that may add to the enjoyment. One scene features Hal and Sinestro talking in the Green Lantern cemetery, and another where Hal saves his nephew’s life when Parallax is attacking Coast City. They’re nice bits, but one can see why they were not included in either theatrical or extended versions of the film.

One extra feature I do like in this collection is the Maximum Movie Mode Green Lantern’s Light feature, that has picture-in-picture commentary from the stars, Martin Campbell, and Geoff Johns, and includes behind the scenes footage. I’m usually not a big fan of this kind of bonus feature, but if someone is watching this movie for the third or fourth time and want a little something extra, this feature is the answer.

BOTTOM LINE: WORTH ADDING TO THE COLLECTION

Fans of the Green Lantern movie who want something more than the theatrical release, will definitely want to buy this collection. The added content is worth the extra dollars, and gives you something to show off to your friends. The movie and Blu-ray release earns 3.5 out of 5 Stars.

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