Ars Technica Review Praises HBO's Lanterns as a Unique Superhero Series
Ars Technica calls HBO's Lanterns a distinctive superhero drama and urges viewers to ignore review bombing.
The review said the show's trailers had promised a gritty realism closer to True Detective or Slow Horses than to usual superhero action, and that the change worked. It described the finale as emotionally charged and almost elegiac, saying it fully delivered on the initial promise. The reviewer added that the rebooted DC Universe films released so far had been enjoyable but rather forgettable, while Lanterns showed what is possible when creators are allowed to be genuinely creative within the genre.
According to the review, the series has two primary storylines. The first is set in 2016, after a mass shooting at a local football game in Rushville, Nebraska. Current Green Lantern Hal Jordan, played by Kyle Chandler, and his new trainee, John Stewart, played by Aaron Pierre, become involved in the investigation. Their involvement annoys Sheriff Kerry Kane, played by Kelly Macdonald, who initially does not believe the case has any extraterrestrial connection.
The review says the sheriff is soon proved wrong when the suspect, an alien, self-detonates. Hal's power ring controls the damage, but the mystery remains.