Green Lantern: First Flight

I've never been a big fan of DC comics characters. Most of them are so godlike in their powers (Superman, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter) that there is no tension, no drama, no question that at the end of the day the good guys will carry the day and all will be blase. Batman of course is exempt from that list, because he's just a really smart, athletic, rich guy, so he's okay. Green Lantern? Well, I'd probably include him on the "bad" list as he essentially manipulates reality, but I've always liked his costume, and sometimes that's enough to at least peak your interest in a character.

As such, when I heard about the new Green Lantern animated movie, which is supposed to peak our interest for the upcoming Green Lantern film starring Mr. Ryan Reynolds, I was intrigued. Although most recent DC animated films I've seen (except for Batman) have been pretty bad, I had high hopes for this one.

I was a midge disappointing. First and foremost, this is supposed to be Green Lantern's origin story, but they might as well have caused it the "Sinestro" story. Hal Jordan is such a 2-D character and the writers of this movie are in such a rush to get to the action that his origin is completely ludicrous. When he comes across the dying alien who bequeaths his ring to him, he doesn't even blink. Huh. Dying Alien? I see that stuff every day.

NO YOU DON'T!!!!! In fact the only shock and awe we experience through Jordan's eyes is the alien food they feed him which looks like someone puked on a plate. So, here we have a chance to humanize a fascinating situation, and surprise surprise, DC wastes it.

The second thing that made me laugh was the fact that Sinestro, AS A GOOD GUY, was named Sinestro. What not just name him Captain Evil? I mean seriously, I have no issue with Sinestro as a name, but who would not suspect a guy named Sinestro of eventually betraying the Green Lanterns? They really should have given him a "normal" name and then he could call himself Sinestro upon his rebirth unto evil. Kind of like the Keldor/Skeletor situation over in Masters of the Universe.

After that, the movie becomes a good action movie, although it's incredibly noticeable just how 2-D Jordan is, and how much this story is really about Sinestro. The epic final, inevitable battle between the two is an example of the DC "godlike" issues I talked about earlier, as Jordan actually pulls two moons out of their orbits in order to defeat Sinestro's power source, the Yellow Lantern. It's a fitting climax, but a very real reason why I prefer Marvel comics characters almost any day over DC.

I went ahead and bought this movie for $20 or whatever, and while I don't regret it, nor would I recommend anyone like myself on the fence do the same thing. Ask yourself a question, are you a DC animated movie fan? If not, then pass. If you answered yes, I would still rent this movie first before jumping into an immediate buy, it's simply not of the quality of another animated movie I purchased earlier this year like Hulk vs.

3 out of 5 stars.