** DUE TO CIRCUMSTANCES BEYOND OUR CONTROL, 'GREEN LANTERN' WILL NOW BE SCREENING ON THURSDAY 20 OCTOBER AT 8 PM. FOR MORE DETAILS, CLICK http://www.anufg.org.au/read/6479/recent-screening-changes.html[HERE]. **

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Pioneering science-fiction author E.

E. "Doc" Smith wrote a series of classic space opera novels about the Lensmen, an interplanetary police force who use their coruscating coloured lenses to amplify their thoughts into tangible outcomes. By comparison, the Green Lantern Corps of the DC comic book series are an interplanetary police force who use their green coloured rings to amplify their thoughts into tangible outcomes.

Like many superhero films before it, Green Lantern is an origin story, chronicling the evolution of Hal Jordan (Reynolds) from a cocky and frivolous test pilot to a responsible defender of truth, justice and the American way from the evil intergalactic villain Parallax (Sarsgaard).

In order to bring the numerous worlds of the Green Lantern universe to life, the production utilised computer-generated effects to a level that essentially dwarfed the efforts of all existing superhero films. This caused a slight ruckus amongst fanboys of the original comic, who were horrified that Hal Jordan's Green Lantern costume would not be made of traditional fabric, but instead generated by CG throughout the film. One benefit of this approach, however, was that the ever-reliable Geoffrey Rush was able to be included in the film after principal photography was finished, since his character of Tomar-Re was to be completely computer generated - placing Rush in good company amongst an already-talented cast including Lively, Tim Robbins, Mark Strong, Angela Bassett and Michael Clarke Duncan.

Part science-fiction space opera, part superhero epic, Green Lantern is a sensational and lavishly produced film that needs to be seen to be believed.