Green Lantern: First Flight Review

[Jer Alford]

Since Ryan "Deadpool" Reynolds has just been signed up to be in the live-action movie, DC Universe was timely with releasing their next direct-to-video animated film. Green Lantern: First Flight is similar to their previous one, Wonder Woman, in the fact that it is an origin story. Now technically, they covered Hal Jordan's story slightly in Justice League: The New Frontier, but this one is all about him and the Corps in modern day. It's about the Silver Age Green Lantern, who is officially the second GL to appear in DC Comics, although most moderate fans are more familiar with the John Stewart GL from the Justice League animated series.

Hal Jordan is a test pilot on Earth who gets chosen by a dying alien to become the new bearer of a powerful ring which enables its user to create nearly anything they can imagine. With it, Hal becomes a Green Lantern, one of a special force of space protectors that use their rings to keep order in the galaxy. They are lead by a small race of elders called the Guardians on the planet Oa. Hal comes under the wing of Sinestro(they gave a power ring to a guy with that name?)who is the resident top gun of the Green Lantern Corps, and they begin to search for the intergalactic criminal Kanjar Ro. He is planning on using a special yellow element which is supposed to counteract the Green Lanterns' power. Kanjar Ro is also is secretly in league with Sinestro. But Sinestro turns the tables on him, and goes to get the yellow element from the alien race of the Weaponers. They create a special yellow power ring for Sinestro, along with a giant yellow lantern core. Sinestro then heads back to Oa to seize control from the Guardians and destroy their Green Lantern power core. Fortunately, Hal temporarily fuses himself with the green power core, and defeats Sinestro.

Now, I'm not the biggest GL fan out there, but always thought he was one of the better "space heroes". The movie doesn't seem to focus so much on Hal Jordan's rise to being a hero, as it is clearly more about Sinestro's fall from grace. We learn waaaay more about Sinestro and his contempt for the way he thinks the Guardians have let the universe go to Hell. The other Green Lantern Corps members get some decent airtime too, like Kilowog, Kanjar Ro, and Ch'p(What? No G'nort?). The animation in it is probably the best that's been put into an DC Universe title so far, at least for one that was made in America. Once again though, the main problem it has is the same with all DC Universe movies in that its at least 15 minutes short. They could've turned this into a full 90-minute long feature, but for some reason they all have to end it around 75 minutes. It would be nice for them to commit to doing an entire full-length movie instead of this compressed for TV airtime edition. But the fast-paced action and cosmic adventuring really help to sell it. Hopefully, they'll do a sequal with the Sinestro Corps War!