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"Greatly Green Lantern Lets Fear Famish!"

By Ramesh C. Reddy
Publisher

Theatrical Release Year:  June 17, 2011

'Green Lantern' (2011)

Source: http://www.imdb.com.
The movie is rated PG-13 for bad words and sci-fi violence. The run time is 114 min.

Main Cast:
Ryan Reynolds - Hal Jordan/ Green Lantern
Blake Lively - Carol Ferris
Peter Sarsgaard - Hector Hammond
Mark Strong - Sinestro
Tim Robbins - Hammond

 

Plot Synopsis:
‘Green Lantern’ is about a superhero who has to fight a villain who feeds on the fear of living beings. He gets his powers after he is chosen by the green ring.

 Plot Review:
‘Green Lantern’ is an excellently written script for seeing multiple biblical connections within the movie for spiritual implications for our lives.

 Content Review:
‘Green Lantern’ has few bad words and sci-fi violence and addresses the issues of fear, courage, dealing with the past, pride, love, family affection, responsibility, honor, encouragement, and choices.

Biblical Connections seen in Green Lantern: 

Spoiler Alert I:
When people are fearful, Parallax builds up on people’s fear to make them his own.

 Parallax reminds me of how Satan works.  Satan uses our fears to make us ineffective to do God’s work or even help others. It will put thoughts in you such as ‘I am fearful how others will perceive me, so I can’t speak up for Christ’, ‘I am afraid to do the right thing because of what others will think about me’, etc. It is the spirit of fear that immobilizes us to the point that we become dead to the things around us. Fear paralyzes us.

"Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8, NIV)

Spoiler Alert II:
Hal Jordan has bad memories of what happened in the past that it almost cost him his life.

 Hal Jordan predicament reminds us of our own predicament when we allow ourselves to be captivated by the bad memories of the past to the point that we cannot move on endangering ourselves and hurting those we love.

 “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13b-14, NIV)

Spoiler Alert III:
Hal Jordan acts very childish in his behavior which upsets Carol his love who says, “We aren’t children anymore”

Hal Jordan’s predicament reminds me of the warning from Scripture to move from childish behavior to adult behavior.

 “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.” (1 Corinthians 13:11)

Spoiler Alert IV:
The green ring chose Hal as the chosen one to battle Parallax, where the ring was the initiator, instead of Hal choosing the ring.

What the ring did remind me is of my own walk with the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus chose me to be His very own not because of my strengths but in my weakness. I could have been left on the wayside but I was not. The ring chose Hal for a purpose just as Jesus chose me for a purpose. Thank you Lord!

“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.” (John 15:16)

Spoiler Alert V:
Hal used a sorrowful experience from his past to ensure the same thing does not happen again when he rescued the alien.

This reminds me of the experiences we are taken through so we can sympathize and empathize with others.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. (2 Corinthians 1:3-4, NIV)

Spoiler Alert VI:
Hal was given the ring and told that it is a great honor and responsibility to be chosen by the ring and should not be taken lightly.

This reminds me of the Word of God saying the accountability that results from great responsibility and honor. It is not something to be taken lightly because the discipline could be stricter because of a leadership/teacher role.

“Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers; because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.” (James 3:1, NIV)

Spoiler Alert VII:
Hal Jordan is intent on fighting evil with light by acting out, “In brightest day, darkest night; No evil will escape my sight; Let those who worship evils' might;
Beware of my power, Green Lantern's light!"

This reminded me of how much Jesus wants to be there to guide us and lead us through the darkness when we follow Him because He wants to be the Light of our world too. When we do that, no evil will escape our sight and those who worship evils’ might will realize they cannot go up against the Light of the World.

“When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12, NIV)

Spoiler Alert VIII:
Hal apologizes to Carol for the mess he made to which Carol responds something to the effect, “Did you really say sorry, have you been replaced by an alien?” This is very significant because she knew Hal as the non-apologetic type but now says sorry.

This reminds me of our daily walk with the Lord Jesus as Christians. When we act as followers of Christ should, people will notice a difference and start to question. In Christ, we are given a new beginning.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.” (2 Corinthians 5:17-19, NIV)

Spoiler Alert IX:
Hal feels the ring made a mistake choosing him because his friends tell him how irresponsible he is so he decides to leave the corps even as he hears the words, “Ring chose you, chose you because it saw something you did not see. Ring never makes a mistake.”

 This reminds me of Jesus choosing me to be His ambassador no matter how unworthy I feel. Jesus sees my mistakes and yet chose me to be His very own because of His grace. Jesus chooses us not in our strengths but in our weaknesses to make an impact for His Kingdom just as He chose the apostle Paul.

 “I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power. Although I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ, and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. (Ephesians 3:7-9)

Spoiler Alert X:
Hal is told that fear is the enemy of will. Fear will stop you and make you weak. Fear cannot make you act. If you cannot act, you will die.

This reminds me of what Satan intends to do in our lives. Satan’s intention is to put so much fear in our life that we get paralyzed to the point of being a statue. Satan wants to make us so afraid to the point that we don’t act. If we give into the enemy, he will devour us but if we stand against him, he will not succeed. This reminds me of the importance of wearing the armor of God and resisting the devil.

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.” (Ephesians 6:10-13, NIV)

Spoiler Alert XI:
Hal goes through a painful transformation to become Green Lantern. The light prunes him for greater strength.

This reminds me of how the Lord Jesus prunes us to be the way He wants us to be when He chooses us to be His very own.

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.” (John 15:1-4)

Spoiler Alert XII:
As Parallax wrecks havoc on lives because of their fear of him, leaders are told about the unprecedented danger with an enemy they don’t understand. He is powerful enough to decimate civilizations.

This reminds me of people thinking they can go up against Satan on their own without intervention. We cannot face Satan on our own without the Lord Jesus’ help. We need to realize that we need help of the Lord.

But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not himself dare to condemn him for slander but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” Yet these people slander whatever they do not understand, and the very things they do understand by instinct—as irrational animals do—will destroy them. (Jude 1:9-10, NIV)

Spoiler Alert XIII:
As Parallax continues to create havoc, a green lantern encourages other warriors the purpose for which they were chosen: “For this moment, we have been created, your duty, who we are. We are the corps.”

This reminds me of the situation Esther was in when Haman wanted to destroy the Jews. Esther was told by Mordecai that she was brought there for such a time as this and she needed to act.

“For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14, NIV)

Spoiler Alert XIV:
Sinestro wants to find out how Parallax came to be and is told that instead of using free will which has been the weapon of choice, they wanted to explore another source of power-fear. However, the guardians saw that the chance of corruption was great and were against it. However, one person decided to go into the chamber of fear to master it. His intentions were pure but his hope was naïve. Instead of him mastering fear, he was consumed by the power of fear. He became that which he wanted to destroy. Now as Parallax, he tries to destroy worlds.

This reminds me so much of Lucifer, the fallen angel. Lucifer was not content with what God had given everyone. He wanted to be like God and wanted more. So, he rebelled against God because of his pride. This caused a chain reaction of evil and Lucifer became Satan whose desire and purpose is to turn everyone away from God.

“How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.” (Isaiah 14:12-15)

This also reminded me of few Christian student leaders who went out with good intentions to make a difference in other student organizations. As Christians, their hope was to influence the organization for good but they did not realize the propensity for being influenced negatively themselves if they were not careful. The ones who they tried to influence positively actually influenced them negatively. I have seen this happen. Their intentions were good but along the way somewhere they let their guard down and instead of influencing organization members for Christ, they actually got influenced by the negative traits within the organization which had a ripple effect. Now they could not serve effectively as Christian leaders. This tells me the importance of not thinking we can do it on our own or taking lightly the mission we are called to.  Christ has to be the center of every influence and mission we take part in.

“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” (Proverbs 4:23)

 “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:13)

Spoiler Alert XVI:
Hal Jordan lets Carol know that he quit being Green Lantern to which Carol responds, “How can you quit something like that? Is it even possible?” Hal responds, “It’s like anything else, I just walked away!” Carol responds, “For once if you didn’t quit about what you cared about, what is the worst that could happen? You have been given so much so often, you just.”

This reminds me of the Bible verse dealing with opportunities.

“Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.” (Ephesians 5:15-17, NIV)

Spoiler Alert XVII:
Hal shares with Carol that the job description of a Green Lantern is to be fearless but that he is afraid. Carol asks him, “Don’t you think your dad was afraid?” He was courageous. Hal responds that he does not know what the ring saw in him to choose him. Carol responds, “I see it. I always have. The ring saw your ability to overcome fear and be courageous.”

This reminds me of how the Lord uses us in our weaknesses and makes us what He wants us to be through sanctification by His grace.

“But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as firstfruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Thessalonians 12-14)

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:8-10)

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” (2 Timothy 1:7, NLT)

Spoiler Alert XVIII:
Dr. Hector Hammond was infected by Parralax and became an enemy to those on earth. He allowed Parralax to charm him to do evil. After that, he was never the same again but became Parralax’s puppet. Hector Hammond is an anagram for ‘Hot demon charm”

It reminded me of how dangerous giving into Satan’s ways is. Sin will devour us without the Lord’s help and intervention. We need to remember we need the Lord Jesus who alone can help us overcome Satan.

Then I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ “ ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ the Lord replied. ‘Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen and will see of me. I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’ (Acts 26:15-18)

Spoiler Alert XIX:
Sinestro was the leader of the Green Lanterns and wanted them to make a yellow ring of fear to battle Parralax. Because of the danger of the ring Hal persuaded everyone not to wear it but he was willing to go fight for earth against Parralax. But if you did not realize why a good guys named was called Sinestro, it is because the enticement of the ring was too much for him and he eventually decides to wear it turning him into the evil, he wanted to stop. Hence SINestro.

This reminded me of what happened at the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve were told not to eat of the Fruit of the Knowledge of Good and Evil but they gave into the serpents’ temptations and lies and ate the fruit that was forbidden. Now, their relationship with God was broken bringing sin into the world.

“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. (Genesis 3:4-7, NIV)

Spoiler Alert XX:
Hal Jordan was willing to risk his life to save the inhabitants of earth who were infected with the deadly virus known as Parralax who was creating destruction as he devoured as many as he could. Hal finally defeats Parralax overcoming fear.

This reminded me of Jesus Christ who came into this world to save sinners like me and you. Jesus laid down His life so that we can be delivered from Satan and his ways. He who had no sin took sin upon Himself that we maybe called the children of God. Jesus did that with His precious cleansing blood to set us free and give us new life from the virus of sin that pervades. Thank you Jesus!

“This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” (Matthew 26:28, NIV)

“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” (Romans 5:6-11, NIV)

“For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” (Colossians 1:13-14)

 Questions to Ponder:

1. What is your greatest fear and how do you tackle your fear?

2. What are bad memories from your past that you have to lay at the feet of Jesus?

3. Why do you think the Lord will choose you over someone else to do His will?

4. Why can our painful experience actually be a good thing than a bad thing?

5. What is a responsibility that you have been given and how have you handled it?

6. How do you fight evil around you and Satan’s deception?

7. How can others know that you have new life in Christ?

8. If you have ever felt you are the wrong person for the job, what have you done?

9. Why is pride so dangerous?

10. Jesus wants to save you from the evil that pervades the world. How can that be possible in your life?

Express Your View

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17. "'Bucket List' Lovingly Leaves Life Laudable!" /  Jan 11, 2008 / June 10, 2008

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10. 'Untraceable' Unabashed Viewing Victims!" / Jan 25, 2008 / May 13, 2008

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16. The Island (July 2005) / July 22, 2005 / Dec 13, 2005
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12. Hostage (2005) /March 11, 2005 / June 21, 2005
11. Hitch (2005)  /Feb 11, 2005 / June 14, 2005
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9. Swimming Upstream (2003) / Feb 27, 2003 / May 31, 05
8. Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith / May 19, 2005 / Nov 01, 2005
7. xXx: State of the Union (2005) / April 29, 2005 /  July 26, 2005
6. The Interpreter (2005)  / April 22, 2005 / October 04, 2005
5. In Good Company (2005) / January 14, 2005 / May 10, 2005
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3. Ocean's 12 (2004)  / December 10, 2004 / April 12, 2005
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REVIEW OF DVD RELEASES OF 2004:

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DVD RELEASES OF 2003:

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DVD RELEASES OF 2001:

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DVD RELEASES OF 1999:

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