Green Lantern

A test pilot (Ryan Reynolds) is recruited into the Green Lantern Corps, an elite army of 3,600 intergalactic warriors charged with maintaining order in the universe and drawing their powers from a magic ring. The venerable DC Comics hero, who has had a number of reboots and makeovers since 1940, gets yet another one here. Things get off to a clumsy start with an awkwardly verbose prologue and some truly cheesy CGI effects, but the movie finds its bearings once Reynolds takes center screen; the franchise would do well to depend on him more than on sci-fi mumbo jumbo. There’s a good supporting cast (Peter Sarsgaard, Angela Bassett, Tim Robbins), but it seems only Blake Lively (as Reynolds’ love interest) and Mark Strong (as villain-in-training Sinestro) will be coming back for the sequel—if there is one.