Quick VOD Review- Green Lantern: First Flight

Caught the latest animated feature from DC and Warner Brothers over the weekend and I’ve got to say this is by far the most impressive attempt since the old Justice League TV show. Green Lantern: First Flight is a complete effort and delivers enough winks to diehard Lantern fans while still being a great stand alone story. The story opens with a brisk origin segment for Hal Jordan and the speed in which this was delivered was a relief considering a similar version was just told in the animated adaptation of JLA: The New Frontier. Once that is out of the way, the story picks up at a pace that suits the 78 minute running time. Hal is brought out to space by a group of Green Lantern Corps members, meets the Guardians, and is soon out on patrol with his new mentor Sinestro. The rest of the story takes some liberties with the DC cannon but the important thing is that it feels right. The scope of the GL universe is huge and the film certainly captures that by displaying the diversity in the both the universe and in the Corps. The animation is top notch especially in the space battles. The final piece to the film’s success is the voice work. Christopher Meloni does a great job of capturing the cockiness of Hal Jordan while Victor Garber gives us a definitive interpretation of Sinestro. If they ever attempt to adapt the Sinestro Corps Wars storyline, WB and DC need to sign Garber. Finally Michael Madsen does a wonderful Kilowog and I’m hoping he gets a shot at voicing the eventual CG version in the live action film. All in all this is clearly the best film the Bruce Timm animated team has done and it’s got me super excited for one of my all time favorite Batman/Superman stories coming this Fall.