'Green Lantern' is a caricature of what a comic book adventure should be

CBS) The verdict is in on the newest DC Comics super hero to make his big-screen debut.

Reportedly costing north of $300 million to make and market and burdened with early projections that it would be the summer movie of 2011, the "Green Lantern" is under pressure to shine. It does, but only in parts.

Ryan Reynolds is daredevil test pilot, Hal Jordan. Gifted, but brash and cocky to the core, he lives a playboy lifestyle until a test flight goes embarrassingly wrong, and he finds himself on the outs with old flame Carol (Blake Lively), a peppy test pilot, and her father, the boss at Ferris Aircraft where he works.

Things take a tangent, when he is miraculously picked to become part of an elite, powerful intergalactic force known as the Green Lantern Corps. These warriors have been charged with keeping peace in the universe. When their top soldier meets a sudden end, he passes his green ring, complete with all its' super hero powers, to Jordan, his chosen successor.

His induction is not well received by the rest of the Corps, who have little respect for humans who have never harnessed the power of the ring before.

Jordan's ring gives him the power to create anything his mind can muster. His challenge is to rein in his mind, to enable will to conquer fear. He must do so quickly; the universe is under threat from the ultimate villain, Parallax, whose strength feeds on fear.

Director Martin Campbell delivers an entertaining enough story, but he takes a long time at the beginning to set the context and explain what the Green Lantern Corps is He obviously is aware that, inundated with comic book characters making their way to Hollywood; we may not immediately know who the Green Lantern is. (After all, there is that other not-so-super hero, the Green Hornet, out there to confuse matters.)

Campbell delivers on special effects and makes good use of CGI to create alternate universes and aliens that will keep you watching. Viewers can choose to see it in 2D or 3D.

Ryan Reynolds holds his own and is well suited to the flip renegade attitude of his character. Let's not mince words here - he is also the hottest eye candy in the film (sorry, all you Blake Lively fans out there). He's incredibly easy to watch and strikes a good balance between fulfilling his super hero duties and going through all the angst and issues of his flawed self.

Peter Sarsgaard could be the high point of the film. He's He's brillisat as Hector Hammond, a creepy biology teacher, who grew up with Jordan and Carol and who mutates into a vile, grotesque figure after being exposed to alien toxins. His transformation on screen from a nerd to a nebulous threat to a villain who gives in to his dark side is masterful.

The movie's biggest problem (and there are a few) is that Campbell is trying to present a film about a flawed super hero, making him appear as human and believable as possible, but is then asking the audience to accept absurd plot points and dialogue. If anything, 'Green Lantern' is a caricature of what a comic book adventure should be. At times, plot points are just plain silly and that's difficult to digest, given that we are being asked to believe in the humanity of the hero.

Also implausible is Blake Lively as a love interest. She comes across as vapid and uninteresting. If there is a sequel, as the film suggests there may be (no big spoiler here), I'm not sure she should be in it.

The result is a film that has all the elements and the budget to be theit film of the summer, but it lacks the sparks. Reynolds does a pretty good version of bad boy "Tony Stark," but the "Green Lantern" doesn't hold a candle to the genius of "Iron Man."