OVERVIEW: HBO’s divisive LANTERNS puts a ring on it…
In presenting a series overview, one distinct factor to consider from the offset is how well such an adaptation represents the original source material that inspired it. So, this is the point where I have to confess that I don’t have a huge knowledge in the back catalogue of Green Lantern as a comics title. (I was always a Marvel fan, so my insight into DC heroes is pretty basic). I’m aware of names such as Hal Jordan, John Stewart and Guy Gardener (who have all interned as the superhero at some point) and I know the infamous, if well-intentioned Ryan Reynolds film version of 2011 is generally derided as a misfire, even by those involved with it (I was not fan of it either)… Simply put, I knew it was about a soldier in a cosmic army of people with rings that can do cool green stuff. So, I came into HBO‘s Lanterns with little emotional investment apart from “Will I enjoy this for whatever it is..?”
And I did. And chances are that if you liked other HBO offerings such as True Detective, you’ll have liked this as well, the reverse also being true. HBO has a track record of taking existing material (or existing writing talent) and creating something earthy, ambitious and sometimes quite dangerous – and not to everyone’s tastes. It’ll likely have swearing, violence, possibly some nudity. Possibly even…. heavens forbid, smoking. But unlike the likes of, say, Starz, it’s not resting on those vices, but on a definite subversive undercurrent of reinvention that pushes buttons.
And that seems to be where the great Lanterns schism takes form… between: is this good tv and is it a good adaptation – two things that are sometimes nowhere near the same thing, in whatever direction. Your mileage may vary.
Plenty of people took exception to the characterisation of Hal Jordan and to him being killed off in the seconds before the first episode’s credits rolled. That’s pretty understandable. Jordan remains one of the most beloved characters to assume the mantle and to some both the brusque manner and the early dispatch felt as if the central column was not being fairly represented.
Jordan (like many legacy characters) has been through several variations and reinventions on the page, cast as both hero and villain hero over the years. He’s certainly demonstrated both huge bravery and recklessness. He’s had the bravado, even arrogance and hubris of a test‑pilot – a confidence similar to that of Tom Cruise’s Maverick – a person who was genuinely good at the job but never afraid to show it. But Lanterns give us a character older than many of the incarnations of the comics – one that could easily have shared some of those self-same stories but not all… but is now looking at them in hindsight. He’s a man awkwardly aware that he might be past his prime and that some elements of the fight may have been fixed from the outset. The Lanterns‘ variation is not completely ‘inconsistent’ but a natural extension of what the character could be or could have been if things were or will be different. However, it might not have been what many were expecting.
On one hand a prominent demise is a strong dramatic device, a bold statement to presume nothing, but on the other that character may well be one of the reason a viewer has tuned in at all and could turn off a potential audience who want to see you develop and deconstruct but not demolish. So, to some, Jordan’s depiction and demise might have felt like a double-slap – at least in the short term.
Thankfully, structure is often a huge part of a narrative – how (and in what order) you are spun the tale and given chapters, rather than just the story itself. So, Kyle Chandler’s central role was not merely a cameo – the actor and the character being just as central through the rest of the run.
It’s a show carried through by performances. Chandler and Pierre are excellent. Chandler gave us a sardonic, abrasive take on Jordan, an impatient, tired man who questioned the weight which he carried, but was equally unwilling to give it up to someone he doubted was worthy. Weathered mentors aren’t a new story-device, but whether you thought this was a fair take on the character of Hal Jordan or not, the performance itself was a good one… it takes a certain skill to create a character who the audience wants to cheer and slap simultaneously.
British actor Aaron Pierre (who appeared in the Krypton series as Dev-em, voiced the lead character in the 2024 Mufasa: The Lion King, but is perhaps best known for his role in the Walking-Tall-like Rebel Ridge the same year) provides the counterpoint of John Stewart, a man raised to be a soldier from infancy, a cool, collected character who puts any demons and insecurities in a box and holds them under lock and key. He seems, at the outset, to be a good soldier… but, of course, the best soldiers sometimes hit a moment where individual character is more important than just following orders.
The supporting cast are also good. Scottish actor Kelly Macdonald (who got her big break way back in 1996’s Trainspotting, but has quietly consolidated effective screen roles ever since) does another strong American accent as Sherrif Kerry Kane, remaining sympathetic throughout. Garret Dillahunt as Will Macon always makes a good sinister mover-and-shaker as does Poorna Jagannathan as Zoe. Paul Ben-Victor is a good character actor and Jason Ritter (on loan from Matlock) has his moments. The likes of Laura Linney (as Guardian Liliana) and Banshee‘s Ulrich Thomsen as the imprisoned Sinestro are always watchable but somewhat underused despite being important to proceedings.
The series has angst in its soul, a murder mystery at its heart, but a buddy movie rhythm as its heartbeat. There’s darkness and light here, yet such things are the essential qualities needed for a lantern to work, even if they cast uneven shadows. True, they are sometimes out of balance and off-target and some episodes worked better than others as the story was pieced together, but for the most part they work to show the elements at play.
Many will have presumed that the show would be VFX-heavy and though there’s plenty for post-production to do and hand-to-hand stunt action, the cosmic angle is downplayed and the traditional Lantern suits barely make an appearance. It’s really only Episode Five’s ‘Lights Out‘ that cuts loose with the foreshadowed town-wide destruction. Otherwise, the show usually remains literally grounded – both a brickbat and bouquet depending on your taste and expectations.
Shows are often made by their ability to stick the landing or not in their finales. Episode 8’s ‘Dirt and Stars‘ is a good title for the eighth episode, but it does some things well – performances are as good as ever, but the story cherry-picks what it wants to address or ignores some logic. (Did I miss something or did Noah, trying to hide his identity claim to have broken Sinestro out of his galactic prison… which would surely raise questions and scrutiny?) That’s one of many ‘Wait, why..?‘ plotting in the eventual tie-up. Too many aspects are left-hanging by season’s end, some elements don’t knit together well if you think too hard and the back-and-forth structure can be both a nice gambit and too much of a crutch. Again, if you liked True Detective, you’ll like this, despite the seams showing. It’s certainly not perfect and bears some of the fault-lines of another HBO effort, Watchmen – the creative staff trying to balance existing mythology and fantastical decoration and latch it on to a story they already wanted to tell (relationships, racism, societal change and power corruption seem the go-tos) and those factors sometimes feel forced together rather than melded organically.
James Gunn, in a comment more relevant than it might have initially sounded and would have been more useful in advance, has now confirmed that Lanterns isn’t exactly part of the mainstream DC movieverse, essentially saying it’s adjacent to the main continuity rather than setting precedents. “Lanterns has always been an Elseworlds project. Some of the events and characters are canon, but I won’t tell you which,” he said in a twitter/X post. That was likely meant to becalm the demographic who were still at odds with the askew depiction of the characters they liked – again, a perfectly valid frustration to have. However, fans of whatever hue are likely to find that hand-wavery, conveniently vague, somewhat self-serving and a little late in the day, but time will tell.
Despite being critically well received in general, it is not known at this point whether Lanterns will get a second season. Its ratings suggest a tick in the right column, alongside other critical darlings due to return, but nowadays the number of eyes on a production is not the only factor at play. (In the meantime, Jon Stewart and Guy Gardner will be back in next year’s Superman: Man of Tomorrow…)
There are those who consider Green Lantern one of DC‘s best heroes, too often overshadowed by the trinity of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman… and note that he’s never been served well on the screen. With Gunn’s Elseworlds addendum to Lanterns acknowledged, it’s entirely possible that he still hasn’t… and that even if you like Lanterns for what it is (or even what it isn’t) the definitive Hal Jordan screen story is probably still to be made.
8/10
Lanterns: Season One is now available in its entirety on HBO Max…