Today’s quick review: Green Lantern: First Flight. Hal Jordan (Christopher Meloni), a cocky test pilot, finds a higher calling when he is chosen to become a Green Lantern, part of an alien police force that keeps the universe safe from a variety of threats. Training under Sinestro (Victor Garber), one of the top Lanterns, Hal’s skills are put to the test when he learns that Sinestro is planning to betray the Green Lantern Corps.
Green Lantern: First Flight is an animated superhero movie based on the DC Comics character. The movie tells the origins of Hal Jordan as the Green Lantern, as well as introducing the audience to the Green Lantern Corps and longtime villain Sinestro. First Flight is a fairly basic adaptation of the source material, but dynamic animation, a well-developed setting, and some good moments for Hal will make it an enjoyable watch for superhero fans.
First and foremost, Green Lantern: First Flight gets the basics of Hal’s story right. It glosses over the details of his life on Earth and skips some of the finer points of his powers, but it embraces both his fearless attitude and the wide swath of the Universe he is assigned to protect. Hal also has a nice character progression, advancing from unskilled rookie to respected leader largely on his own merits.
Other aspects of the movie are a mixed bag. The dynamic animation style lends itself to action scenes quite nicely, but the cartoonish alien designs would be more at home in Osmosis Jones or Men in Black than the DC Universe. The plot has almost nothing to do with Hal’s civilian identity or his life on Earth. And while Sinestro makes for a fine villain, the story could have benefited from a complementary external threat.
Green Lantern: First Flight is a solid pick for fans of the superhero genre and a worthy introduction to the character of Hal Jordan. The main points against the movie are its miscalibrated aliens and the repetition of a story DC fans should already be familiar with. But for anyone willing to put up with these minor quibbles, First Flight offers a healthy mixture of spacefaring action, sci-fi world-building, and heroic character development.
For a live-action take on the same basic story, try Green Lantern, starring Ryan Reynolds. For a different variation on the character’s origin, try Justice League: The New Frontier. For a sci-fi anime adventure with some of the same feel, check out Space Adventure Cobra. For a more down-to-earth crime drama about a rookie cop with a corrupt mentor, try Training Day.
[7.1 out of 10 on IMDB](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1384590/). I give it a 6.5 to 7.0 for good fundamentals.