Green Lantern: First Flight (2009)

Powerful

Just perfect...

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

I have to say that, before watching this movie for the first time (Aproximately two years ago) all my knowledge about Green Lantern was from the two "Justice League" animated series.I'm not sure how faithful is this movie to the comic books, but I think that it was a decent origin story, which was entertaining to watch, even if at moments the plot felt a bit rushed. I also liked the character development and the voice acting.The animation from this movie was pretty well done, with a very good design of characters and sceneries. The music, without being extraordinary, fit perfectly with the overall mood of the story.Of all the direct-to-DVD DC animated films that I've seen so far, this was one of the most enjoyable to watch.

I like superheroes, and I like comic book movies as much as anybody. Having loved Green Lantern: Emerald Knights and being underwhelmed by the live-action movie, I found myself really liking this film. It is too short in length and I also felt it was rushed in places. However, there is much to like. The animation is very good indeed, the colours are bold and atmospheric, the backgrounds are detailed and the character designs are modelled well. The music is both cool and haunting and the script is humorous in a wry sense as well as suspenseful. The story, even though abridged, has some great twists and poignant drama and any tension is exactly what it promises. The action scenes are violent but very well-choreographed and gripping. The characters are mostly compelling, the titular character is a strong charismatic hero. Even better is Sinestro, possibly what makes the film, his motives are not the most surprising but not overly-predictable either but this is more than a standard villain. The voice acting is dynamic also, especially from Victor Garber and Michael Madsen. All in all, well animated and gripping. 8/10 Bethany Cox

OK, well I've never been the biggest of G.L. fans - I still couldn't help but be disappointed with this film. My expectations were never really that high to begin with but so far the DC animated films have been so good that I couldn't help think this film could have been great if not better than it was.I'll be quick: The animation is OK. Not great. Not horrible. Lacks the detail that other DC films have and relies a little too much on very average CGI effects.The story is similar to the comic but adds in silly rip-offs from better science fiction films such as "Star Wars" and "The Fifth Element".The action scenes are few and nothing special.Voice acting is fine.All up, worth a watch if you like G.L. but honestly - he is portrayed better in the 'Justice League' series and films.Not up to standard of some of DC's previous works.

As a major fan of Hal Jordan's Green Lantern since the mid 60s, it was good to finally see him arrive in his own feature (and this prior to the live action movie being green lighted - how appropriate!).And I thoroughly enjoyed this take on his origin, feeding into his training and then a variant version of Sinestro's "turning to the dark side." But somehow it never quite seemed to achieve the full potential inherent in the character. Yes, it was good to see a fair proportion of the Corps on screen (and Michael Madsen's voice characterisation of Kilowog was exactly right), but perhaps the Guardians were highlighted at the Corps' expense. And Hal's earthside life was almost entirely irrelevant.So it'll do, and it's much better than not having a GL movie at all, but I hope there will be another and it will realise more of the character's potential.Incidentally, it wouldn't have taken much to trim the language and violence sufficiently to enable the movie to have been presented to a wider audience.