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GREEN LANTERN: FIRST FLIGHT BLASTS OFF

by Jason P. Hunt

Warner Premiere has released the next in the series of animated origin stories, following the Wonder Woman and Justice League: New Frontier projects. And while it may not be a home run, it at least gets to third base.

For those uninitiated among us, this is the Silver Age Green Lantern, Hal Jordan, a test pilot for Ferris Aircraft who suddenly finds himself in possession of a ring that gives him extraordinary powers. After the death of Abin Sur, the Green Lantern of sector 2814, Hal Jordan (“Law & Order” star CHRISTOPHER MELONI) gets taken to Oa, where he’s put under the supervision of Sinestro (VICTOR GARBER).

Sinestro takes it upon himself to train and test Jordan as they search for Abin Sur’s killer, who is part of a greater plot to destroy the Green Lantern Corps and the Guardians by restoring the Yellow Element – the only power capable of negating the Green Element. These Elements have apparently been around since the dawn of the universe, and the Guardians had hidden the Yellow Element away, until it got rediscovered by the warlord Kanjar Ro (KURTWOOD SMITH).

It’s a tale of conspiracy and the fate of the galaxy, pretty ambitious for a first movie. But overall, it’s a good effort. Christopher Meloni and Victor Garber are perfectly cast, and the supporting cast is equally inspired. TRICIA HELFER as Boodikka, MICHEAL MADSEN as Killowog, and JOHN LARROQUETTE as Tomar Re all do respectable jobs, and it was fun hearing William Schallert and Malachi Throne as Guardians (especially since they both have “Star Trek” cred…).

The Story:

Overall, I like that we got some back story on Abin Sur, why he was mortally wounded when he crashed on Earth. I also thought it was a nice touch to have Sinestro get progressively more arrogant and less careful about hiding his true nature. Having said that, I’m not sure why Warner Premiere didn’t just adapt Emerald Dawn II, since there are so many elements from that series that it may as well be a carbon copy. It actually seems a wasted effort. I’d much rather see a direct adaptation of both Emerald Dawn stories, but First Flight at least respects the source material.

There’s also a decent explanation why the Green Lantern rings don’t work against yellow. And when Sinestro uses his ring to reanimate a dead Kanjar Ro, it just shows how far over the edge he’s gone.

But there’s only a brief nod to the relationship between Hal and Carol Ferris. Being only 77 minutes, there could have been more time spent on that dynamic, since it figures so heavily in the GL mythology. This could easily have gone to ninety minutes with the Hal-Carol element, and it wouldn’t have dragged any.

The Production:

From a technical standpoint, this animated project looks like it borrowed from a lot of other sources. The opening titles are very reminiscent of the Superman movies and the end of the new Star Trek (and can we get away from the “flying through space” for a while? It’s starting to get tired…). The first time the ring assembles the Green Lantern uniform on Jordan just screams “Ben 10”, and the opening titles are a little difficult to read against the animation. The Alien Resurrection Easter egg was interesting to see, as well. And speaking of Easter eggs, be listening for the “Batman: The Brave and the Bold” wink.

While most origin films spend the whole story on the origin, this one doesn’t, and I think that helps move this one along. Even though I think they could have spent more time on the relationship with Carol Ferris, at least they left that open at the end. So perhaps the second movie will feature Carol more. Maybe a Star Sapphire angle is in the offing?

The animation is good, combining traditional 2-D with some CGI elements in a seamless visual style. But I wasn’t impressed with the way most of these projects are starting to make the heroes look like they’ve been using steroids. Hal Jordan looks fine, but in his GL uniform, he and Sinestro are both over-muscled. They’re too ripped. But there’s one shot of Boodikka where she looks almost exactly like Tricia Helfer, and I thought that was a nice touch.

I was initially concerned that this was PG-13, since my son is 7 and I had to screen it before he watched it. In that regard, I could have done without the occasional four-letter word, but otherwise it went OK with the youngling. His words: “It was totally awesome!” While the PG-13 is appropriate, it’s not too intense that kids can’t watch it, but it does get violent – including quite a few deaths that happen off-camera. But if you’re a parent, you want to screen this first before letting the kids see it. Just as a precaution.

Green Lantern: First Flight is produced by Bruce Timm, directed by Lauren Montgomery (Wonder Woman, Superman Doomsday) and scripted by four-time Emmy Award-winning writer Alan Burnett (The Batman).  Available on DVD July 28^th from Warner Premiere.

8 out of 10

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GREEN LANTERN: FIRST FLIGHT
Own it on DVD
Available July 28

starring

CHRISTOPHER MELONI
VICTOR GARBER
TRICIA HELFER
MICHAEL MADSEN
JOHN LARROQUETTE
KURTWOOD SMITH
WILLIAM SCHALLERT
MALACHI THRONE

directed by LAUREN MONTGOMERY

written by ALAN BURNETT

produced by BRUCE TIMM