What's green and stinks?

SMALL PRINT: GREEN LANTERN, a hugely expensive comic-book adaptation starring Ryan Reynolds was unlikely to have become a critical darling. But somewhere along the way, something magical happened: Green Lantern's unique blend of eccentricity and ineptness has stoked critics' collective creativity, prompting some entertaining, imaginative reviews.

The most inventive has to be Mike Ryan's review for Vanity Fair,which takes a unique interview format like this:

“Q: How could a superhero movie be so bad that you would consider quitting your job and getting a memory wipe?

"A: It's not like Green Lanternis the worst movie of the year, or even the worst movie of the summer, it's just so f**king bloated and lazy.

"It's the Norm Peterson of summer movies. It's as if it's presented to us as 'Hello, America. You like superhero movies. Green Lantern is a superhero. Please pay us a lot of money to watch Green Lanterndo superhero-type things.' If a movie is not going to even try, why should I try?"

Elsewhere, Dana Stephens of Slate.com believes Green Lanternis "a powerful contender" for worst film of the year. "Even by the standards of the current run of mediocre comic-book movies, this one stands out for its egregious shoddiness," she moans. "Its characters, dialogue, and pacing recall a destined-to-be-cancelled Saturday morning cartoon from the early '80s or possibly an extended Hasbro infomercial."

A separate issue, according to The AV Club's Scott Tobias, is the film's shameless aping of Top Gunin its earthier moments. "Reynolds plays a hotshot fighter pilot who rides into the danger zone at every opportunity. He also ignores the rules of engagement, has more raw talent than anyone has ever seen, is haunted by his pilot father's tragic legacy, falls for his superior (Blake Lively) on the tarmac, and would likely serenade ladies with You've Lost That Lovin' Feelingif Anthony Edwards were his wingman."

In fairness, Jason Solomons of the Observershrugs that it's "thoroughly alright", but acknowledges that its timing is a big problem, arriving as "the latest movie scraped from the barrel where studio execs store their childhood comic collections." Ouch.