Green Lantern: First Flight

Green Lantern: First Flight — 5

 

Going into this one, I realized that I wasn’t expecting much. There have been a few animated super hero Movies that have been amazing, and some just downright spectacular, but this one kinds hovers between good and bad. And I really don’t know which one i want to learn towards. It was a good start for the animated Green Lantern, but I feel ripped off after watching it.

See the thing is that whenever they do a new super hero movie of any sort, the company feels the need to do an origin story for them. This is not needed, ever. If you really want to know, then go and read a comic book, or if you don’t want to do that then there is always Wikipedia. But thankfully the origin of Hal Jordan did not take up to much time, the only thing that irks me is that when he gets the ring, he seems to automatically know exactly how to use it to its fullest potential. The other thing that got to me was that the movie started off on Earth, and was only there for about 10 minutes. After that they went straight into space and stayed there the entire time. Which suits the Green Lantern, don’t get me wrong, but it just seemed that after a while that they were never going to go back to earth (and they didn’t) so it was all rather awkward after a bit.

As far as the story goes I pretty much figured out what was going to happen after I met all the other Green Lanterns. It wasn’t even funny really. It was only about 30 minuted in and I could have stopped watching the movie. Seriously that’s how see through the plot was in it. And I don’t know much about Green Lantern, so I am not familiar with it really at all. I really only know that he has a ring that does pretty much what he tells it to. That’s my knowledge of it. So being able to tear apart the plot like I did was a joke. a serious joke.

And from that point on the only thing that kept me going was the hope that I was wrong and that I might actually be surprised. The only thing that got me was when Hal Jordan decided to start using earthly apparitions with the ring. Like a bazooka, a fly swatter, and a crowbar, etc. It all seemed to just sink home some and make it feel more like earth than not for just those brief moments.

All in all, if you are a comic book nerd, then you must see this movie, if you are not, then wait till the live action movie coming out around 2011 (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1133985/) with Ryan Reynolds playing Hal Jordan. WOO!

Base Score = 5
-1 for not going back to Earth
-1 for a see-through plot
+1 for using Earthly apparitions.
+1 for Ryan Reynolds landing the part in the live action movie.
= 5/10

Last updated: 2010-01-02 11:02:53 by user03

Green Lantern: First Flight

It was announced this summer that Ryan Reynolds would be playing Green Lantern in a long overdue live action film. I must say I can’t wait, it’s about time DC let some of their characters on the screen besides Superman and Batman (and Flash, if you count that short lives TV show in the late 80s).
A while back, I was extremely impressed with Wonder Woman. One of the special features on that DVD was a first-look at Green Lantern: First Flight. Since then, I’ve been counting down the days until I got to see this….I won’t go into the fact that Netflix was playing around with my emotions the past couple weeks and teasing that it was available. On this one, there is a first look at the next DC direct-to-DVD film, Batman and Superman: Public Enemies (don’t quote me on the title).  The next countdown can begin!
We’ve all seen superhero films that spend the majority of the time dwelling on the origin. Thank goodness this is not the case here. Yes, they do go into the origin, but its more of a footnote version of it. No complaints from me about that. The reason they give for choosing to not go into the origin is that it is covered in-depth in Justice League: The New Frontier.
This is what I wish superhero movies on the big screen would be. It is faithful to the source material, not too dark, filled with action, and is just a joy to watch, just like reading the comic.
The voice cast here in top notch. Christopher Meloni, of Law & Order fame, is the voice of Hal Jordan/Green Lantern. Nothing to really brag about with him, but considering the character, he really works.
Victor Garber’s voice as Sinestro gave me chills. not because he’s scary or anything, but rather the fact that he is the perfect fit. The timbre of his voice is the perfect mix of maniacal villainy and sophisticated contempt.
Michael Madsen and Tricia Helfer work in their roles, as well. both are said to be stars of the film, but thir roles aren’t that big, yet they are enough to make mention of, especially Madsen, whose gruff voice seems perfect for Killowog.
The action and animation in the film are the main draw. The big climax at the end isn’t a surprise for any Green Lantern fan, but that doesn’t make it any less exciting. The animation impressed me because it appears that about 90% hand drawn. CGI has its place, and its not mixing animation styles, at least in my opinion.
Should you rush out and see this? Well, I’m not going to say that. If you not a fan of the character, or at least have a decent background in the Green Lantern lore, you will get a bit lost, but if you can get past that, then by all means rush out and enjoy. It is definitely worth the time!

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