In 'Lanterns,' the superheroes soar through a grounded detective story

For each their vaunted power, superheroes are astatine the mercy of the radical who constitute them, gully them, play them connected the screen, and by hold the producers and executives who determine what should spell wherever and for however much. Sort of powerless, really.

Sometimes this operation of forces works retired good for the hero, and sometimes not truthful much. The Green Lantern, a secondary fig successful the DC Comics pantheon, had the sick luck to beryllium trapped successful a 2011 Ryan Reynolds movie adjacent its manager didn’t like. Fifteen years later, helium has had the precise bully luck to beryllium played by Kyle Chandler, and additionally to prima successful a tv bid — “Lanterns,” premiering Sunday connected HBO — alternatively than a theatrical feature, with its concern successful noisy acceptable pieces and earth-shaking battles royale.

I’ve often championed the supposedly humbler mean arsenic the champion spot to archer these stories, with the clip to analyse character, successful each its shadings and ambiguities, and a haven for concepts excessively quirky oregon niche oregon ... conceptual for blimpish big-budget theatrical IP exploitation. And present again, I person been proved right.

Creators Damon Lindelof (“Lost,” “Watchmen” and, champion of all, “Mrs. Davis”), comic publication writer Tom King and Chris Mundy, who wrote for “Criminal Minds,” “Ozark” and “Bloodline” (in which Chandler starred), person expressly looked to tv for inspiration — specifically to “True Detective” (on which Mundy worked), with its uncomfortable partnerships, and “Slow Horses” (for its disreputable hero, I guess), with “Slow Horses” manager James Hawes helming the archetypal 2 episodes. (I observe a hint of “Fargo” arsenic well, for its Midwestern plainscape, acheronian drama and bigger-than-life yet someway mean characters.)

“I’m a regular person, similar you,” Hal Jordan (Chandler) says successful a 1996 TV interrogation that opens the series; indeed, he’s lone ace almighty by crushed of the cogwheel that comes with the job, a quality “beat cop” moving arsenic portion of the Green Lantern Corps, an extraterrestrial galactic peacekeeping enactment — the peculiar ringing and the lantern-shaped gizmo that charges it. It gives him the quality to alert and to manifest objects astatine will, astir often a protective greenish bubble, but besides a vessel opener and a $10 bill. (There’s a uniform, but for the astir part, helium leaves it successful the closet.)

Watching that interrogation is young John Stewart (then a Lantern-obsessed child). We’ll conscionable him again successful 2016, played by Aaron Pierre (“The Underground Railroad”), erstwhile astir of the enactment takes place, arsenic a erstwhile Marine sniper and creation pupil — quality talents that volition beryllium utile — assigned to Hal arsenic a “trainee,” ostensibly to supply backup if thing happens to him. Hal, aft 2 seemingly palmy decades successful the job, is unused to the institution and suspicious of the arrangement. (“The large bluish bosses whitethorn deliberation you’re blistery s— but you’re conscionable a f—ing substitute teacher.”) He sets John tests that mightiness termination him, if helium is not really trying to termination him. But he’s besides the much genial of the two.

Through an cause whose individuality the producers are counting arsenic a spoiler — I’m definite I don’t cognize wherefore — Hal receives a connection that there’s hail successful Rushville, Neb. (i.e., aliens!), astatine which constituent helium jets disconnected from the taco basal wherever he’s happily been signing autographs and posing for selfies, leaving John to alert determination connected his own, successful the accustomed way, portion the Stooges’ “No Fun” plays connected the soundtrack.

They arrive, separately, successful the aftermath of a precocious schoolhouse shot crippled that has near dormant bodies connected the field. (Hal suspects immoderate benignant of alien rumble.) Here we conscionable Kelly Macdonald, suppressing her Scottish accent arsenic pugnacious but tender Sheriff Kerry, asserting her jurisdictional rights. Hal finds her “something incredible.” (John: “I deliberation she hates your guts.” Hal: “Yeah, but it’s the mode she hates them.”) Kerry is joined to lawyer Billy Macon (Jason Ritter), whose father, William (Garret Dillahunt), is simply a section bigwig, with a cowboy militia and a wife, Zoe (Poorna Jagannathan), who perchance not coincidentally meets John successful a bar.

At 60, Chandler is arguably much charismatic than ever, with the benignant of seasoning that served James Garner truthful good arsenic Jim Rockford, TV’s top detective. Five seasons of “Friday Night Lights” person cemented him successful the fashionable consciousness arsenic a preternaturally decent guy, which allows america to excuse Hal’s little creditable moments, oregon astatine slightest to spot things done his eyes. Pierre, 32, who competes successful Brazilian jiu-jitsu, has the assemblage of a superhero; helium plays John coiled tight, humorless, grimly ambitious — helium grew up letting his begetter sprout apples disconnected his caput to beryllium his fearlessness, the superior request for a Green Lantern — though the quality warms up crossed the people of the play (which besides takes spot successful 2026). The actors are astatine their champion successful their scenes together, which the writers marque hap adjacent erstwhile it seems impossible. (Spoilers, oregon I’d explain.)

Combining detective enactment and subject fabrication is thing caller — spot “Sugar,” currently; “The X-Files,” classically. (And there’s an interrogation country I’m beauteous definite nods knowingly to “Blade Runner.”) “Lanterns” isn’t wholly escaped of cliches, which is practically intolerable for sci-fi and transgression stories anyway, truthful galore person been told implicit the years, and to immoderate grade that’s conscionable what we travel for. But the bid is caller capable successful its details and execution, and beardown capable successful its writing, and truthful good performed, that it feels rather original.

I watched “Lanterns” without immoderate peculiar cognition of the character, who has been astir since 1940, and successful this peculiar mentation since 1959. (I did a small speechmaking afterward.) Happily, the amusement is not up to its cowl successful DC cross-references and crossovers. There are fleeting mentions of Gotham and Metropolis (where Superman works) and Nathan Fillion reprises his bad-hair Green Lantern from the 2025 “Superman” movie (a agelong story), but “Lanterns” comes equipped with everything you request to know. Bringing successful other mythology wouldn’t marque the confusing parts immoderate little confusing, and would conscionable confuse the parts that aren’t confusing astatine all. Most each character, whichever broadside they’re connected — and it’s not ever casual to tell, fixed that the aliens look precisely similar the humans — comes with layers.

Did I ever afloat recognize what these factions were after, oregon adjacent what precisely the factions were? Nope. Did it matter? Nope.