‘Lanterns’ review: buddy-cop drama is worlds away from Ryan Reynolds’ comic book disaster

The 2011 Green Lantern film starring Ryan Reynolds was so bad, it became the butt of every superhero joke going. In Deadpool 2, the Merc With A Mouth even put a bullet in Reynolds’ head after he read the script. The Lanterns are clearly a difficult superhero to do justice in live-action: magic rings, extravagant powers, expansive sci-fi lore. So it’s all the more impressive that this HBO miniseries – which is part of the rebooted DC Universe, overseen by James Gunn and Peter Safran – finds a confident and grounded tone for the potentially silly material. READ MORE: ‘Supergirl’ review: Milly Alcock is exceptional in this bubbly, watchable hero flick Lanterns skews older than the DCU’s recent output, with swearing, sex, violence and heavyweight themes ruling it out for kids who might know the character from The Lego Batman Movie. The eight-episode series comes from creators Chris Mundy (True Detective), Damon Lindelof (Watchmen) and author Tom King, with Mundy serving as showrunner. Together, they’ve created a show that’s somehow in keeping with the essentials of the wider DCU, while still working as a gripping, grown-up piece of telly. At the centre are two of the long-running comic...