Green Arrow (film)

**Green Arrow** is a 2016 superhero film based on the DC Comics superhero of the same name. It was written and directed by David Ayer. It stars Tom Hiddleston, Scarlett Johansson, Ewan McGregor, Elodie Yung, Daniel Brühl, and Ralph Fiennes. The film ran 123 minutes and was released on August 5, 2016.

## Plot

Oliver Queen is a billionaire, playboy, CEO of his parents' company Queen Industries. He was left an orphan when his parents were killed on a safari when he was 8. Then, 24 years later, he was presumed dead after his yacht crashed in the ocean. However, Oliver really washed up on a seemingly uninhabited island. After three years on the island, Oliver is finally rescued. He goes back to Star City where reunites with girlfriend Dinah Lance, best friend Eddie Fyers, and his parent's best friend, Arthur King, who practically raised Oliver when his parents were killed. However, soon Oliver begins to have nightmares about the island. Dinah realizes this and discovers that there were people on the island that are still trapped, though Oliver left them to be rescued himself. Oliver decides to pay for his sins by using his newfound skills from the island to become a vigilante with a bow and arrow.

The Green Arrow (Oliver) shows up in Star City and he begins stopping everyday criminals. However, another archer shows up that faces Green Arrow several times. Eventually, Dinah finds out, though Oliver is able to stop her from telling Eddie or her father, Larry Lance, who is the captain of SCPD, who wants to stop Green Arrow, who is supposedly killing criminals, though it is actually the other archer. Dinah decides to become a vigilante herself, much to chagrin of Oliver. Dinah becomes the Black Canary, Green Arrow's partner. They face the other archer together, who now calls himself Merlyn. However, even together they are defeated. Green Arrow finally convinces the city and the police that he is not killing criminals and gets the police's help to stop Merlyn.

In flashbacks, Oliver has been on the island a year now. He has befriended Shado, a mysterious woman who won't tell Oliver her origins. The two fall in love and eventually have a son and name him Robert Queen, after Oliver's father. A year later they are attacked by the mysterious agency that is hunting them down, called Checkmate. Oliver finds a small jet that can only fit one person. He tries to get Shado to go but she drugs him and gets him in so he can escape. Oliver flies the jet to a small port in China where he bribes the Chinese people there to announce his return as fisherman finding him on the shores. In present day, Green Arrow, Black Canary, and Larry find Merlyn and finally subdue and arrest him. Oliver then flies back to the island where he finds Shado and Robert. He gets them rescue and they return to Star City to raise their family properly, much to the dismay of Dinah, who finally understands why Oliver did not want to resume their relationship.

Months later, the Queens have been at peace, with Dinah being Star City's vigilante due to Oliver retiring to be a family man. However, suddenly Eddie is mysteriously killed by an archer, though Merlyn is in jail. Oliver discovers from "Merlyn" that he is simply a henchman, that the real Merlyn has been out for months. Oliver returns as Green Arrow to stop Merlyn, who they find is Arthur King. Oliver goes back to his family, where he finds Shado has left Robert crying on the ground. He finds a message from Shado that reveals she was a con woman and has stolen all his bank account money. Oliver realizes he is now broke and his company's savings have mysteriously vanished as well. Oliver finds Shado, who thought she had gotten away and she is put into federal prison. Oliver and Dinah then resume their relationship and raise Robert together.

In a mid-credits scene, Dinah is in her home when suddenly a portal opens and a woman steps out, revealing herself as Dinah Drake, Dinah's mother. In a post-credits scene, Oliver is approached by Hal Jordan/Green Lantern for a mission.

## Cast

* Tom Hiddleston as Oliver Queen/Green Arrow
* Scarlett Johansson as Dinah Lance/Black Canary
* Ewan McGregor as Arthur King/Merlyn
* Elodie Yung as Shado
* Daniel Brühl as Eddie Fyers
* Ralph Fiennes as Larry Lance

## DCEU connection

At first there was some confusion over the fact if *Green Arrow* was in the DCEU, due to there being no plot or character connection. In light of this, the writers included the Checkmate taking over A.R.G.U.S. plot due to Oliver's escape from the island being just in the time of Checkmate.

## Reception

### **Box office**

*Green Arrow* was a box office success, grossing $325.1 million in the United States and Canada and $420.5 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $745.6 million

### **Critical reception**

*Green Arrow* received generally negative reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 26% based on 321 reviews, with a weighted average rating of 4.7/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "*Green Arrow* boasts a talented cast and a little more humor than previous DCEU efforts, but they aren't enough to save the disappointing end result from a muddled plot, thinly written characters, and choppy directing." On Metacritic, the film has a normalized score of 40 out of 100, based on 53 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.