As I mentioned in my Hulk Vs review earlier this year, I’ve enjoyed the Marvel and DC series of direct-to-DVD animated films.  DC’s most recent entry is Green Lantern: First Flight released earlier this summer.  I expected a straight forward origin story for Earth’s most famous Green Lantern, Hal Jordan.  His origin had been told in the film adaption of Justice League: The New Frontier.  So I was pleasantly surprised when I found myself getting wrapped up First Flight which turned out to be an intergalactic version of Training Day.  It became an origin story of sorts for Hal Jordon’s nemesis, Sinestro.

My previous exposure to the Green Lantern mythos was the aforementioned Justice League: The New Frontier; the excellent Justice League animated series; and the character’s appearances in the old Super Friends Saturday morning shows.  I’ve never read the comics.  The film opens with a dying member of the Green Lantern Corp, Abin Sur, crash landing on Earth.  His ring seeks out and literally brings the alien’s replacement, someone worthy of becoming a green lantern, to the crash site.  Hal Jordan, a test pilot, is given this gift.  A short time later, members of the Green Lantern Corp, an interplanetary police force of aliens from across the galaxy, arrive on Earth to confront the new lantern.  Hal is taken to Oa where he meets the Guardians.  Long ago the Guardians harnessed the “green element”, source of the Corp’s power.  These founders of the Green Lantern Corp allow Hal to begin his training under the Corp’s most ambitious member, Sinestro.  Their first mission together is to find the being responsible for Abin Sur’s death.

But it seems that there is corruption even in the noblest of organizations.  In a series of scenes similar to any “good cop gone wrong” movie, Sinestro reveals his true motivations and even frames Hal for the death of a suspect under investigation.  Power corrupts and “yellow” power corrupts absolutely.  As I said, this isn’t really a Hal Jordan origin story.  His back story is over and done with in the first ten minutes of the film.   Hal is the rookie.  The young detective on his first assignment, he spends much of his screen time reacting to what’s going on around him.  Fortunately he gets to be proactive during the film’s climax.  But having said that, Sinestro is the driving force of this film.

I liked this movie.  The voice work and dialogue of these DC animated films continue to be first rate.  As for its content in comparison to the comic book’s mythos, I can’t speak for its accuracy or faithfulness to the source material.  There is no mention of the emotional connections the rings have to their wielders.  Green for willpower.  Yellow for fear.  None of that.   I’d be interested to know what a hardcore Lanetern fan thought of the film.  I think most superhero fans will enjoy the Green Lantern’s first solo adventure.