Lanterns review – Kyle Chandler and Aaron Pierre’s alien-hunting superhero caper is a bust

Sure, it’s got evil extraterrestrials trying to detonate whole towns … but not even the almighty Green Lantern and his mesmerising protege can save this show from feeling a whole lot of meh It is my personal belief that you are starting off on the back foot whenever you’re given a superhero who draws their powers from an extrinsic item.

Captain America is nothing without his shield.

Elon Musk could build a metal suit and proto-heart and become Iron Man, which tells you everything you need to know about the problem.

And, most pertinently, as we’re about to discuss the latest iteration of the Green Lantern legend, there’s the Green Lantern and his big green ring.

It grants the wearer mighty powers but periodically needs recharging from a big green power pack.

Plus, Green Lanterns themselves are ultimately employees of Green Lantern Corps, a cosmic law enforcement agency run by the Guardians.

They are a race of immortals who live on the planet Oa, but by that point there’s a lot of meh to cut your way through.

Lanterns, the new televisual venture into the DC Comics universe, keeps all of the above elements and adds a mentor-mentee buddy-cop spine that plays out across two timelines – 2016 and 2026.

The ever-dependable Kyle Chandler plays Earth’s current Green Lantern, Hal Jordan.

Rising star and mesmerising screen presence Aaron Pierre plays his trainee John Stewart (one of DC’s first African American superheroes, who made his debut in 1971).

In 2016, Hal is weary and lazy when it comes to teaching John to be – as he sees it – his backup.

He has no intention of retiring or being killed (which is an enormous amount of trust to place in a piece of jewellery that comes with a battery worse than your phone’s).

The 2016 John, a well-disciplined son of a marine, and a former sniper and architect (and vegan), is a model of quiet endurance, retaining his poise and respecting the chain of command.

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