Now that Ryan Reynolds has signed on to play Hal Jordan (the Green Lantern) in Martin Campbell's live-action, big-budget deal, this recent direct to video animated movie could be viewed through another lens. What will they keep, and how big will they go? One would assume there are some major themes and cast members in common, as the Lantern universe is more strictly defined than Superman or Batman, who have giant rosters of potential villains. I'm most interested to know just how "weird" they'll let the tentpole movie go when it comes to creatures and other-worldly things. As with all comic adaptations, they have to rein things in a lot or they lose the general public. It's all going to come down to how much they rein things in, especially on a "traditional" sci-fi property like GL.
Green Lantern: First Flight blows by at a lean 77 minutes. First Flight flies right through the origin story and leaps headfirst into the world of the Green Lantern Corps, the universe's power ring-equipped police force. A behind the scenes power struggle is brewing as Jordan is thrust into this organization, and it comes as no surprise that the red-skinned, Snidely Whiplash-mustachioed Sinestro isn't such a good guy after all. The box proudly touts the PG-13 rating, and the movie seems to include just enough "swear words" (like "ass"), blood, and violence to not seem too kiddy for adults watching, yet just edgy enough for younger kids to feel cool for sneaking it under mom/dad's radar. One kill in particular was surprisingly graphic to me. Overall, it feels like a cartoon made for adults who still love their comics, but it won't scar kids for life if they see it too young.
The voice cast is impressive, with Law & Order: SVU's Chris Meloni as Hal Jordan, Victor Garber as Sinestro, Battlestar Galactica's Tricia Helfer as Boodika (another Lantern), and a That Guy congregation of Michael Madsen, John Larroquette, Kurtwood Smith, William Schallert (every 80's cartoon in existence), and Larry Drake. The style of performance is what one expects from the top-notch pedigree of DC/WB animated product produced by Bruce Timm.
Warner Bros. is doing a single disc version of First Flight that includes a promo for the upcoming Superman/Batman: Public Enemies animated DVD, a Behind the Scenes of Blackest Night, a current major DC Comics crossover that involves the Lanterns, and trailers for three other animated comic movies.
The 2-Disc DVD Special Edition includes all the single disc extras plus a Windows Media-only Digital Copy, Behind the Story with Geoff Johns (GL writer/current mastermind), featurettes profiling Sinestro and other GL characters, and my favorite toss-ins, a two-part Justice League Unlimited episode and Duck Dodgers episode "The Green Loontern". The Blu-ray puts everything on one dual-layer BD-50 disc. The animation upconverts nicely on the DVD, but as always with animation, Blu-ray is the choice for those with the right equipment.
Green Lantern: First Flight hit the street on July 28th. Order the DVD from Amazon by clicking here (Blu-ray here).
