User reviews

i thought this was a very well done animated movie.it's the origin story of how Hal Jordan became a Green Lantern.i have no idea how close it is to the original comic book origin.but i do knew,i loved the story.i thought it flowed very well,with a good mixture of action and drama.i thought the voice acting was terrific.plus,they seemed to have a good script to work with.i found the dialogue to be really good,as well.none of the usual cheese we tend to see in many animated or even live action movies.i think this particular animated film is as good as any of the recent spate of releases by both Marvel and DC,and it's certainly as entertaining.for me,Green Lantern:First Flight is an 8/10

Green Lantern is part of a group of superheroes in comics that I'm only familiar with on the periphery, either from seeing some parts of Justice League or hearing here and there about his powers, the ring, the whole fleet of Green Lanterns, the color codes and space battles, etc. It's safe to say then than, for the novice crowd, First Flight is an ideal choice to watch. It has all of the fast pace and (mostly) terrific animation that one's come to expect from the Warner brothers animation with collaboration from DC Comics. This comes now after a few other new animated straight-to-video movies: Superman Doomsday, Justice League New Frontier and Wonder Woman (the last one not yet seen by me). And it's safe to say that Green Lantern can claim its rank with those other examples, nestled most likely in quality and entertainment between Superman and Justice League.

It basically plops us into his origin story, or at least a solid re-telling of it. We get the story of Hal Jordan, who was a test pilot until he came across a dying alien with a green ring on his finger which he entrusted to Jordan. From then on, he's the Green Lantern, but not the only one: he's met on Earth by Sinestro, a red-skinned arrogant jerk, and a few other alien Green Lantern folk, who take him along into space to meet with the council that guides the Lanterns in their adventures. In this case, they have to find the "Yellow element", which is like a yellow machine that is the one weakness of the Green Lanterns: this color is the one thing that can block their power, and in the wrong hands it can wrought devastation on the whole universe. And, meanwhile, Sinestro maneuvers behind the scenes...

Oh, it's not exactly the 'easiest' sort of story and world, so to speak, to enter into on a first viewing with only limited experience to Jordan and the Lantern corp. But once one is acclimated to everything, the animators and filmmakers take it from there and make it a rollicking science fiction action story, with touches of the space opera (sometimes blatantly, like with the rip-off of the Cantina scene from Star Wars when Hal and Sinestro go to interrogate someone). While some of the supporting characters are quite stock-like (i.e. Madsen's honorable pig character), and the usage of CGI, especially during the back-story exposition on the Yellow Element, is sub-par, it's mostly compelling thanks to Jordan being a heroic hero and Sinestro being a complex enough villain in the story. In fact, Sinestro was what made this far better than I initially expected, as a character who is on the side of good, but has his very questionable methods - and then crosses that line where he can never go back from.

I imagine that for the die-hard fans of Lantern from the comics, who perhaps aside from the die-hard fans of WB/DC animation, this might not be anything too new storywise, but the best thing about it is it doesn't need to be. This is the first time we've seen any kind of direct-to-video, or just perhaps any, actual feature film version of the Lantern story (until the Martin Campbell film comes out anyway), and as an origin story it does what it needs to. It sets up its universe (again, so to speak), delivers us interesting characters (more or less), and is jam-packed with intense action and some very particular and amazing scenes of animation. Another Bruce Timm produced effort worth watching, if not an immediate must-see unless one is itching to learn more about one of DC's most popular characters (after, you know, Batman and Superman and maybe Wonder Woman too).

Let me just say right up front that I've never read a single comic book in my entire life (I just couldn't get into them as a kid), so that's why I'm very thankful for the existence of film adaptations based upon these superheroes' backstories and mythos. The first time I'd ever heard of the Green Lantern character was in 2011, back when the whole fiasco of Ryan Reynolds' critical and commercial failure was released onto the big-screen (only a couple of years after this animated film originally came out). Say whatever you want about it by all means (personally, I didn't think it was as awful as everyone makes it out to be), but that financial bomb helped expose many people (such as myself) to the fictional world and expansive lore of the Green Lanterns (so in a way, I suppose not all box-office flops are completely worthless).

Under the surface of things, Green Lantern: First Flight (2009) is really a more in-depth character study about Thaal Sinestro - a tired and bitterly broken-down veteran member of The Corps who finally goes rogue when his faith in the Guardians' justice system has been pushed to its limits and ultimately, his own rigid beliefs in achieving total peace and order in the universe are skewed far beyond repair. It's refreshing to have a superhero film that takes the time to properly establish its antagonist's motivations, even if the character himself is a bit underdeveloped in certain areas (I still say Thanos in Marvel's Avengers: Infinity War is the number one best supervillain out there, which was all thanks to The Russo Brothers meticulously fleshing him out to the point where you could then start to understand the reasoning for his extremist attitude). That being said, even thought it feels a lot more small-scale than it actually is, the film still manages to provide the same amount of action spectacle as any MCU movie would.

Hal Jordan still retains his archetypal character traits (from what I've heard about the actual comics, that is) of having a cocky and brash personality, while also maintaining the likeable and heroic qualities of his otherworldly superhero persona as a smooth-talking, and sometimes smart-mouthed, inexperienced rookie cop on his first terrifying assignment. And by the way, no offence to Christopher Meloni's voice acting, but I actually think I prefer Nathan Fillion voicing the eponymous character (his vocal performance in Emerald Knights just fits the role a lot more).

For a direct-to-DVD animated movie, I thought the action sequences were very well choreographed by the talented team of animation artists. The fight scenes in traditional hand-drawn animation tends to look awkward, in a stiff and jerky kind of way (a little rough around the edges, is all I'm saying), and although that's usually the case for most of them, I'm happy to say the animators were experienced enough at knowing how to pull it off in a way that made the lengthy battles appear to have fluent and swift movements when it came to the characters' actions (I mean after all, this is the same team who also worked on the animated Wonder Woman film). The only other good 2D cartoons, which are primarily action-oriented, that I know of are the original Ben 10 series and the 2003 revitalisation of TMNT.

To sum things up; not even a $200 million big-scale "blockbuster" could compare to this action-packed, yet somehow humble, cartoon feature. This was everything that the expensive live-action movie should've been in order to impress casual audiences worldwide and start a whole new ongoing film franchise (but sadly, that never came to pass).

A pleasant introduction to one of DC Comics most beloved heroes, an origin story well adapted and finely crafted in terms of its animation. I find most DC films from its animated universe to be of top-quality, and this effort is no less. Perhaps it doesn't fully share the spectacularity of Justice League films or the grandeur of Superman, or the somberness of Batman, but it feels rather cosmic in its nature, it takes on an astronomical dimension obviously due to Green Lantern's stories mostly taking place in outer space. To me is utterly satisfying when a hero and their stories develop an atmosphere of their own, and are able to produce a sense of warming familiarity when you are watching.

Make sure you watch this, if you don't know the first thing about Hal Jordan's Green Lantern, definitely check this movie out, and even if you do you'll realize what a fine origin story WB has in store for fans.

A very solid effort from the writers and animators at DC. The origin of GL, Hal Jordan, is solidly told, if a little quickly and predictably. We have the dying alien, Abin Suhr, giving his ring to someone worthy, ace pilot Hal, a decent guy doing a hard job and trying to have fun with it.

And fun he has! Hal takes to the ring like a duckling takes to water, and soon he is flying high with the other Green Lanterns, getting into trouble on alien worlds, and saving the day.

The pluses of the movie are many. The animation is smooth, and green never looked so good. The voices are excellent. Christopher Meloni excels as Hal, and Victor Garber is suavely evil as Sinestro. All the other voice roles are handled well; in fact, there are no slackers in the bunch.

The music is also excellent, providing drama when necessary, being playful and light at others. As always, the alien worlds were depicted imaginatively. Watching this movie might have been somewhat predictable, but it was a fun ride all the way.

Its only drawback was that Hal took to his power ring too quickly. No practice, no failures in forming constructs...nada. A little exposition might have made the screenplay work better, but all the same, it was enjoyable, and the ending fight between Hal and Sinestro was superbly staged. A worthy addition to any fan's animated collection.

It just fails to really introduce us to Hal Jordan before he gets the powers, and after that, he's kind of a "Gary Stu" (male's version of Mary Sue) that in my opinion is a pretty weak character beyond some fine jokes here and there.

Yet, when the plot of the actual story takes off, it has great pace, good twists and particularly violent action (compared to other movies of the genre), that serves the (considerably serious) tone well.

The third act is more "typical", but the animation finds another gear (and the great use of color and good desings help) and the action is good enough to end the movie on a high point.

Although I have seen Green Lantern being featured in the the few Justice League/DC comics that I have read, I never did know the hows and whys of the original character. This animated movie explains how he came to being without lingering too much on just the origin and continues with solid action throughout. The twists in the story were engrossing and the climax was spectacular and lived up to it's name. I was also riveted by the score, almost as chilling as how Dark Knight was. Some room was also made for wry humor although the content veered more towards PG-13 than PG. All in all I am very impressed by the movie which leaves me eagerly awaiting for the Martin Campbell one of 2011. 8/10.

Good origin animated movie, quite entertaining and with a more than decent villain. The level and type of animation is interesting, as it's far from what DC Animations normally offers in its movies. It has a good kinetic flow and the character design fits very well considering this is an animated space opera.

We could make a direct comparison between this animation and the Live Action Green Lantern movie from 2011. Leaving aside the bad CGI and the changes of antagonists, I think that the story that the animation offers is better. There's a better consistency, Sinestro is more complex and has a gradual evolution within the movie.

The animated movie has good pacing too, filling half of Act 2 and all of Act 3 with fast-paced action and revelations that make it all the more engaging. While the power levels are somewhat unbalanced, it's satisfying to see the outcome of First Flight, after all.

In its negative aspects, some characters are very underpowered, the humor doesn't quite work and the patterns of power become repetitive.

Recommended for those who follow the animated series of DC movies.

I've never been a huge fan of the Green Lantern, I think it's because I'm not a big "Space" and scifi guy and let's be honest Green Lantern is certainly DC's premier space traveller.

This is an origin story, I suppose. But the actual origin is basically compacted into 5 minutes, no....really.

It then immediatly moves onto his first mission which none too surprisingly involves longtime nemesis Sinestro and yadayadayada.

Don't get me wrong I'm not saying in any way shape or form that First Flight is bad, it's just so incredibly paint by numbers and I needed something special to take my attention away from not being keen on Hal Jordan.

Yes, no doubt this is considerably better than the live action movie which I'm still in denial about but this really is one for fans and perhaps fans only.

The Good:

The chair shot made me laugh

Great voice cast

The Bad:

Highly rushed origin story

Highly generic

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Super heroes in space simply don't work for me *Ahem* Except Guardian Of The Galaxy

The blue men group are ancients? This explains so much

What did you expect from this? Animation that is decent, but nothing spectacular, lots of pretty colors and funny faces, everyday guy with large manly jaw becoming galactic marshal rookie, rookie fighting evil, rookie defeating evil. I knew what was going to happen, who was the bad guy and how good will prevail from the first 10 minutes, yet it still was fun :) Sneaky sobs!

Bottom line: it's a cartoon for kids. Nobody sings, thank you very much, but there isn't much humour in it either. A simple plot which explains the birth of the Green Lantern superhero. To their defense, I doubt they could have squeezed much in it anyway, as the plot was packed with action from beginning to start.

Test pilot Hal Jordan is in a simulator when he suddenly finds himself transported into the desert where he meets a dying alien, is presented with a green ring that gives him great power. It is not very long before others come with the same power and he learns that he is not unique but that the "ring" has chosen him to join an elite intergalactic police force (the Green Lantern Corps). He joins with the leader of the group to be trained but he finds that his natural style doesn't sit well beside the more cruel and fear-based method of police favoured by Sinestro.

Coming to the Green Lantern as a completely casual viewer with no knowledge of him I will say that this film didn't come over as quite abrupt to me because I was introduced into the creation of this character in about the first 30 seconds of the film! I guess this is a necessary evil since, unlike the forthcoming Hollywood film, many people picking up this animated film will already be at very least familiar with the character so backstory and development of the character might annoy them – and they are in the majority here so fair enough. That said, once it gets past this and the Green Lantern Corps are introduced, I did sort of forget that my initial feelings were that I had been thrown in at the deep end, because the plot became pretty simple, the characters pretty obvious and the action pretty engaging by virtue of keeping lots happening.

Although I came to it thinking it would be a kid's affair, it is actually pretty strong in terms of action and plot; OK it is still comic book material but I did like it and in a way not knowing the story actually helped me because I didn't already know what was happening. The motives of Sinestro were hardly a surprise (Hello? His name sounds like "sinister") but I was still reasonably engaged by it all. The animation worked well because it allowed me to accept all these little trolls and rings that make things of all shapes (Baseball bats! Fans!) because it was fantasy – I'd be interested to see how they pull this off in live action because I'm not sure if the story will be the same but the trailer looks so-so at best. The voice work is solid enough – reasonably big names but I wasn't really ever thinking "oh, who is that it's on the tip of my tongue", although Meloni, Garber, Madsen, Smith and others all do pretty good jobs.

I'm sure I'll see the live-action blockbuster at some point, but for this animated film I did rather enjoy it. It has a solid plot and although some of the powers of the Lanterns were daft, the animation and the pace of it all made it work pretty well. Solid little comic-book animation.

Technology has advanced to the point where actors can be completely integrated into electronically generated special effects to the point where it appears that the superheroes are really super. Many blockbuster movies have been created based on comic book characters coming to life. However, this movie is a demonstration that there is still a role for animation when it is done right. This one is done right. The story is about the interstellar Green Lantern corps and how one member crash lands on Earth. The power ring seeks out a worthy replacement and daring test pilot Hal Jordan is selected. Once the ring is on his finger, he is transformed into a Green Lantern and he is summoned to appear before the Guardians to argue for his inclusion in the corps. There is some significant resistance to his presence as well as a cancer within the corps. Green Lantern's longtime prime adversary in the comics was the renegade Green Lantern known as Sinestro. In this story, Sinestro is a member of the Green Lantern corps, but is actively plotting against the Guardians. Hal Jordan becomes his apprentice, not knowing what Sinestro's real motives are. This is a great action feature, the animation, writing and delivery of the audio are all first rate. The viewer is injected into the storyline to the point where they truly care about the consequences. Hal emerges as a bulwark against the overthrow of the Guardians and comes face-to-face with a very powerful Sinestro. One of the simplest determiners of the quality of a movie is that when it ends, you look forward to a potential sequel. That is the case here.

Fans of the Green Lantern, is probably going to really like this movie. Sure the development may fall short in some areas. But it does a fine job of carrying on the essence of the Green Lantern. It does a good job of showing the origin story of the Green Lantern and where he comes from and how he got the ring. I think the 2011 live action Green Lantern was probably saving certain plots from this animated movie for the sequel. Cause the story is good enough for a Green Lantern movie to make it worth a watch. Sure I can see certain areas where the movie could have been better, such as more on the growth and depth of Hal Jordan. Maybe a less generic and predictable direction may have also really worked for this movie without messing up Hal's origin. But it doesn't lose focus on the primary goal of the story. So in that regards, it's a fairly satisfying movie. Not great, but satisfying and I think they did what they could with the budget and time they had. I think some movies shouldn't be made if they don't have the resources to make a good one, but I think this one is worth the pass.

6.8/10

This was what the 2011 live action Green Lantern movie should have been! First flight is absolutely amazing! Would recommend a watch if your on the fence about it!

Green Lantern has always fascinated me. His power is really his imagination as he uses his ring. What I always want to see from Green Lantern is creative usage of his ring. This movie was just satisfying enough in this area. I would have loved to have seen less laser light battles and more technical usage with the ring, but the action is fun and entertaining. The voice acting stands out as one of this movie's strengths. While many of the random aliens are wacky and a bit over the top for my tastes, I enjoyed the more primary characters. I liked this version of Hal Jordan. He had a sense of humor but it wasn't overbearing.

Telling the origin of Hal Jorden the Green Lantern (with some tweaks here and there), the Green Lantern Corps and Hal's arch-enemy Sinistro, this animated movie, while not as good as the previous Wonder Woman animated film, is still able to keep one's interest due to the pretty good amount of action in the film. While it's far from perfect it still did it's job, a primer to drive up interest for the upcoming live movie, well enough. Furthermore, the voice acting was good for the most part with some minor exceptions and it was well story-boarded. The animation,however, was a bit inconsistent.

My Grade: C+