Green Lantern movie review: My thoughts on The Wall, Ryan Reynolds & how Israel's 1st prime minister became the Guardians of the Universe

I just got back in from having seen GL and there's just two things I want to say off hand. One, what I was thinking about writing about the Amanda Waller character before I saw the movie is exactly what I will write since having seen it. Two, although Nathan Fillion still would have been my first pick for Hal Jordan I have to say Reynolds did a fine job. Over all the movie was pretty good especially with the way they introduced the secondary GL characters like Kilawog, Tomar Rae and of course Sinestro. They set them all up really well for the sequel that we all know is coming. My biggest gripe off hand is that visually the Parallax menace could have been thought out a bit better though. I'm sure more issues I'll have with the movie will come up that I'll mention in the comments as I have more time to "digest" the movie.
Now, on to The Wall. The Amanda Waller character was not really a very prominent character in the film maybe only having about 15 minutes of screen time. Which for the most part I expected. beyond her being a black woman who had a high ranking position with the U.S. govt. that deals with shit that is generally kept. away from the public eye we really didn't get to see the Amanda Waller most of us have been reading about for more then 20 years now. There was one scene that was an exception however in which we are treated to a flash back sequence of Waller's life that includes most of the stuff in that Suicide Squad secret origins issue #14 that pertained to Waller herself. So basically she was just another secondary character that is probably also getting set up for a more prominent role in the sequel. Which is fine really since this isn't a Suicide Squad movie. I think the fact that their using the Amanda Waller character to any degree is a testament to the enormous popularity she has gained with fans in of the DC Universe over the last 20 years and that in and of it's self is pretty damn cool I think!
As for Angela Basset as Amanda Waller I'm so over that whole controversy already. It's been talked to death and when you go see the movie just come to terms with the fact that when it comes to seeing Amanda Waller on the big screen she's not going to be played by a short heavy set black actress. That being said Basset was fine in the movie too even though she didn't really get to flex her acting muscle too much as of yet.
On an interesting side note some of you out there may not be a aware that the look of the Guardians of the Universe is based on Israel's 1st prime minister David Ben-Gurion. Like the Guardians he was a small man in stature (only about 5'4") but a giant in heart and spirit. He was a leader in the early Jewish militias in the British mandate of Palestine which was made up mostly of Holocaust survivors and Jewish refugees from Russia and other parts of the Middle East. In May of 1948, literally hours after Ben-Gurion declaring state hood the then fledgling Jewish state (smaller then New Jersey) was attacked by the combined armies of syria, iraq, egypt, jordan and lebannon. In response Israel did what it does best when it's survival is threatened, it won! There is a theme about how one must conquer their fears when facing horrific odds and great evils in the Green Lantern mythology. Knowing this it's hardly surprising that David Ben-Gurion would have served as an inspirational figure for the founders of the Green Lantern Corp which is made up of only the bravest and noble beings of the universe. Minus the occasional exception like Sinestro of course.

Angela Basset on Amanda Waller: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3TCMBomcsY