Critics not impressed by DC's latest movie adaptation...

Expectations are, by default, phenomenally hard to live up to. Take The Godfather: Part III - the previous instalments had redefined cinema and made Marlon Brando an iconic part of cinematic history, yet the third instalment turned out to be one of the biggest disappointments of all time. Then there's The Matrix: Revolutions, another example of a truly unique idea tarnished by its three-quel.

But it's not just over-milked, cash cow franchises that have failed. Remember Hulk? Sure it grossed well, but critically speaking it was a disaster; so much so that it almost ruined Ang Lee for good. Need another - how about All The King's Men? Based on a Pulitzer Prize winning novel, and flooded with the cream of Hollywood's crop, All The King's Men should have been a sure thing; yet a 11% Rotten Tomatoes rating and $7.2 million gross - on a $50 million budget - made this one of the biggest flops of all time.

However, with comic book adaptations flying high as of recent - especially considering the success of both X-Men: First Class and Thor - expectations remained high for the Green Lantern; unfortunately, fans and critics alike have been left bitterly disappointed. With a score of just 24% on Rotten Tomatoes (as of 1pm, 16th June 2011), Green Lantern risks becoming the biggest flop of 2011, if not the biggest flop of the DC adaptations to date.

It remains seen as to whether Green Lantern will be able to claw back to a decent rating, but the early signs aren't good. To date the film has been described as unstable, worn and, according to Shadowlocked's very own Guy Kelly, a true indication of a film that tries to do too much, so it's hard to see how it will recover. That said, I'd be very surprised if this wasn't at least a financial success; after all, its DC, Green Lantern and Ryan Reynolds - their fan-bases alone should carry this through...

See also:

Green Lantern Review

Green Lantern (3D) review [2]

Green Lantern 3D Trailer

Captain Hammer voices Green Lantern

Running Low on Heroes?

The last great frontier of CGI: The eye

A rationale for CGI luddites

Top 10 most mishandled comic book characters in film

Top 10 films that should have been good, but weren't

Cars Trouble: Pixar's latest may be studio's first flop

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