With characters that have as huge of an existing storyline as Green Lantern, it’d be easy for a movie like Green Lantern: First Flight to get lost in trying to add in all the cool stuff and cameos that could be covered. That isn’t the case here. This is a lean movie. At 70 minutes, you could actually argue that it’s too lean. But I still liked it.

Everything . . . → Read More: Review: Green Lantern: First Flight]]>

Green Lantern - First Flight

With characters that have as huge of an existing storyline as Green Lantern, it’d be easy for a movie like Green Lantern: First Flight to get lost in trying to add in all the cool stuff and cameos that could be covered. That isn’t the case here. This is a lean movie. At 70 minutes, you could actually argue that it’s too lean. But I still liked it.

Everything I know about Green Lantern and Hal Jordan in particular could fit on a half-sheet of paper. I’m no expert. I know the broad strokes. I’ve always loved the character and concept of Green Lantern, though. Intergalactic cops with the ability to temporarily create tangible objects by sheer will (thanks to their rings). Pretty cool stuff. Most of what I know I’ve gleaned from Justice League cartoons and comics, and a few crossover events.

Not being an expert, I have no ideas what true Lantern fans will think of this movie, but I loved it. Was it perfect? No. But I had a good time watching it and it was true enough to the backstory I knew to satisfy me.

The things I didn’t like were mostly just a lack of character definition. I don’t think enough time was spent defining Hal before he got the ring (which he does before the opening credits, as we’ve seen). It would have been nice to see him exhibiting some ingenuity and willingness to accept new ideas before throwing him into a situation filled with aliens and conspiracies. That was probably the biggest flaw with this movie, as far as I was concerned. They just jumped in a little too quick, and had him completely comfortable almost immediately. Five or ten more minutes at the beginning setting him up (in a way that played in to the story later, preferably) would have been well spent.

Aside from that, though, it was a fun ride. There wasn’t a whole lot of subtlety on display here. It’s pretty much a straight line plot, and you gotta roll with it. The final battle is really great. I especially liked the simple shots where the Guardians and other Lanterns are watching the mano-a-mano battle unfold in the sky. That gave the battle a bigger perspective, to me.

It should be said that I wasn’t expecting much from this movie aside from a fun ride. And that’s what I got. My expectations for the live action film will be much higher. It will need that character development and tighter writing to be successful. Compared to the other DC Comics animated movies I’ve seen, though, this is on par with most. Well worth a rental and an hour or so of your time. I’d even be interested in a sequel.

As for the DVD Extras… there was absolutely nothing about behind the scenes on this movie. There weren’t even Scene Selections available, which was pretty annoying. There were some behind the scenes featurettes on other DC movies/events, though. The Wonder Woman movie was plugged, and looks pretty good. But the one I’m really interested to see is Superman/Batman: Public Enemies. That one just looks like a good picture – plus they got the original actors back from the animated series (Tim Daly as Superman, Kevin Conroy as Batman, and Clancy Brown as Luthor). It really looks good. Looking forward to that one in a few months.

But did you know about Batman Gotham Knight, the animated DVD (also downloadable) coming out on July 8th? Oh, yeah….. Batman gets the “Animatrix” treatment (well, sort of).

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Yes, Kevin Conroy will once again put a voice to Gotham’s caped crusader:

Conroy set the standard for modern day Batman voices with . . . → Read More: Batman Gotham Knight]]> The Dark Knight is coming out on July 18th. Everyone has heard of that. And I can’t wait.

But did you know about Batman Gotham Knight, the animated DVD (also downloadable) coming out on July 8th? Oh, yeah….. Batman gets the “Animatrix” treatment (well, sort of).

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/9I5744WCaxA" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

Yes, Kevin Conroy will once again put a voice to Gotham’s caped crusader:

Conroy set the standard for modern day Batman voices with his performance in “Batman: The Animated Series,” “The New Adventures of Batman and Robin” and “The New Batman Superman Adventures.” He reprised the role as an aging Bruce Wayne playing mentor to a new Caped Crusader in “Batman Beyond.” Animation legend and “Batman Gotham Knight” producer Bruce Timm said Conroy was the obvious choice for both widespread fan approval and to provide an overriding sense of continuity within a film in which Batman appears in so many new, visual variations.

For more on Conroy and the Gotham Knight project, read this Slice Of Sci-Fi entry.

The six anime-style stories will delve deeply into Bruce Wayne’s transition to becoming Batman. It’s not clear if the Batman Begins storyline will play any role, though I doubt it.

So July 8th, we get ahold of some great Bat-animation, just in time to stoke the flames for The Dark Knight. Until then, here’s the trailer…

[kml_flashembed movie="http://youtube.com/v/WaIR9dAZRR0" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

Batman = cool.