Review of ‘Lanterns’, series available on HBO Max
When the premiere of “Flashlights” At HBO, many of us felt interested, not so much because we were staunch fans of the superhero genre, but because one of its managers was Damon Lindelof. Many had condemned him in their minds to all the pains of hell after the last and catastrophic season of “Lost” (“Lost”) and its no less disastrous script “Prometheus”. However, in 2019 he accepted the challenge of taking on a comic book classic as revered as “Watchmen”face the curses of its original creator, the great Alan Moore, and do something new. And he did it: his peculiar sequel is, without a doubt, one of the last great series released by HBO and, even more so, by streaming in the last decade.
For this new endeavor he teamed up with a rising comic book writer, Tom King, and with Chris Mundy, one of the creators of that “Breaking Bad” white label that was “Ozarks”. However, unfortunately, despite having good actors and some interesting ideas, the final result falls far short of his ingenious and extravagant reinvention of the universe of “Watchmen”. Furthermore, it had been announced as a kind of superhero version of “True Detective”with a very intricate case that would develop in three timelines, as in the legendary miniseries starring Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson. Although there is some of that, the truth is that comparisons are odious.
The Green Lanterns are a space police force that, under the supervision of the Guardians, is responsible for ensuring justice throughout the universe. All Lanterns have a ring capable of channeling immense powers. The Lantern of Earth, in 2016, when the action begins, is Hal Jordan, with the tired face of Kyle Chandler. The classic Hal Jordan from the comics is a noble and trustworthy character, but the one we meet in the first episodes of the series is a moody and sardonic individual.
The Guardians have assigned him an apprentice, John Stewart (played by an imposing Aaron Pierre, in whom we already saw star material in the wonderful thriller “Rebel Ridge”). Jordan suspects that they’re actually expecting him to train him to keep his job, and that makes him bitter and intractable. Those of us who have followed Tom King’s career in comics suspect that this is one of his contributions to the script: one of his specialties consists of taking classic characters and showing them in their most fallible, antiheroic and even miserable aspects.
But, for now, they are forced to collaborate. A somewhat enigmatic message that Jordan sends himself from the past leads them to Nebraska. There four bodies appear in the Rushville football stadium: according to Hal, they are actually aliens. The local sheriff, Kerry Cane (Kelly Macdonald), denies this and would like them to leave. Hal Jordan doesn’t plan to do it: he knows that a ship crashed there years ago and that this seemingly peaceful town hides many mysteries. Ten years later, as a result of what happened there, a shocking murder occurs.
This structure of whodunit (which also refers to many of King’s comics) is moderately effective throughout the eight episodes, but, despite the brilliant sequences scattered throughout the footage (such as John Stewart’s peculiar upbringing or those involving some of the town’s strangest characters), it never quite works as “Watchmen” or, even at a lower level, the very successful “The Penguin”also from HBO. Firstly, because it lacks the imaginative energy of the first, and protagonists and antagonists as charismatic as the second. But also because the events that take place in that small Nebraska town never manage to convey a genuine sense of cosmic threat, no matter how hard the series tries, and, in its most mundane aspects, it is no more gripping than any of the numerous crime series currently on the air.
