Lanterns Review: HBO's Green Lantern Series Is Powerfully Bright
Lanterns, HBO's new superhero series, is a powerful and bright take on the Green Lantern mythos. The show centers around John Stewart, a physically flawless and highly skilled military-trained sniper, and his relationship with Hal Jordan, Earth's first and only intergalactic law enforcement officer. The series explores themes of systemic racial discrimination, mismatched and unaligned partners, and the importance of fear in defining our humanity.
One of the strengths of Lanterns is its diverse cast. John Stewart, played by Aaron Pierre, is a young Black man who has been working his whole life to be deemed a worthy member of the Green Lantern corps. In contrast, Hal Jordan, played by Kyle Chandler, is an old white guy who was handed the ring after answering a single yes-or-no question correctly. This dynamic highlights the systemic racial discrimination that John faces and the entitlement and superiority complex that Hal exhibits.
The show also features a compelling case that serves as the unifying objective of the series. Soon after Hal and John's return to training, they are summoned to Rushville, Nebraska, where four strangers are dead after a shooting at a high school football game. Hal's gut tells him that aliens are involved, which means that he and his trainee won't be shooed away by the local sheriff, despite her well-intentioned urgings.
The sheriff, Kerry Kane, played by Kelly Macdonald, is a whipsmart and no-nonsense character who exudes honesty and trustworthiness. However, she is married to Billy, the son of the richest man in town, William Macon, who employs a private militia that's armed to the teeth for a war against something.
The show also features a mysterious benefactor who provides funding and supplies to Macon, and a private militia that's armed to the teeth for a war against something. The rest of the town echoes their de facto leader, who does not want Hal and his protégé to be there.
While Lanterns is not as bursting with ideas as some of its creators' previous work, it is an exciting synthesis of their strengths. The show is a cop show set in America's heartland that centers systemic racial discrimination with a refreshing flourish of comic book sci-fi. The show's partners are mismatched and unaligned, except when it comes to the case they're determined to crack, and the top-notch actors working in tandem to bring them to life.
Overall, Lanterns is a bright addition to HBO's expanding mandate, rather than an empty capitulation to corporate demand for more name-brand franchises. The show embodies the ethos it so closely studies, exploring the importance of fear in defining our humanity and the need for respect and understanding between different races and generations.
Grade: A-
Lanterns premieres Sunday, August 16 at 9 p.m. ET on HBO. New episodes will be released weekly through the finale (Episode 8) on October 4.
