**** If you wish not to be spoiled, turn back now! ****

Over the past couple of years, Warner Home Video has been releasing DC Universe films produced by Bruce Timm, now known as the Godfather of DC animated tv shows. The DC Universe films have been a hit and miss for me, Doomsday I hated, Batman Gotham Knights I hated, Wonder Woman I disliked and I love Justice League: The New Frontier; but now they have released Green Lantern: First Flight and it kicks ass!

In the beginning we see this bloody alien crash landing on to our planet, when the alien is out of his big white ship, he starts talking to his ring, saying “Find him”. We then cut to the air force base where Hal Jordan is doing some flight simulation, until all of sudden this green force comes out of nowhere and snatchs Hal and the flight simulater with it, when Hal finds out what’s going on all he can say is “Oookay?”, that’s all, that’s what he says, no “What the fuck?!” or “Oh my god, what just happened?” Just “Ok.”….. Stupid. So when Hal gets out of his ship, he sees a dead alien, and being the hero that he is, he tries to help it, but the alien says “No, leave me.” So he does, didn’t even give himself a second thought that he just found an alien. No questions, like "How did he get here?" or "Where did you come from?". There is only one question on Hal’s mind and that is “You speak English?"; but of course the alien ignores the stupid question and replays “No, but the ring has found you, use it wisely” then the alien dies, and then we see Hal Jordon transform into the Green Lantern, keep in mind though that this going way to fast. Everything I’m explain in this review is the first five minutes of the film. I guess they wanted get the origin story out of the way, but then an explosion happens out of nowhere, and everything is gone, haha, even the alien. And Hal’s last response before we enter the credits is “What the hell?”, my thoughts exactly Hal. What the hell was up with that opening?

After the Superman returns like credit opening, we see Hal carrying his flight simulator with the power of the Green Lantern’s ring. Without, anyone noticing who was that dude carrying the machine, Hal quickly puts himself into the ship and plays dumb in front of his girlfriend/boss who actually looks exactly like Wonder Woman, who later he lies to so that he can get out of town, and go exploring. But then suddenly four green lights attack Hal, they are the other four Green Lanterns, protectors of the universe. They find out that there friend has pass, and they question Hal’s purpose of being a Lantern. They start fighting, until a fifth Lantern stops them, a creepy looking dude, that goes by the name of Sinestro. Yeah it’s so obvious that he’s going to be the villain just by looking at him and oh I don’t know, maybe also because of the fucking music when ever he appears! So Sinestro explains that The Guardians have sent them to collect Hal, the ring won’t be his until The Guardians say it is.

So they take him to there planet where all the Green Lanterns roam free and wild, and to also speak to The Guardians. But apparently The Guardians are racists against humans, they try to condemn his existence as a human Green Lantern; but Sinestro with his villainy smile, makes a proposal, he will take Hal under his wing and train him, test him out. The Guardians excepts his offer, except one, who denies the humans right to be a Lantern. Sinestro now “owns his ass” and begins Hal’s training. We begin the his first test by attaching his arm to this giant lantern to gather all of the information of the universe. Sinestro is impressed that he didn’t get fried and takes Hal along to find The Butcher, the one who killed Abin Sur (the alien in the beginning of the film). So he takes him to this planet filled with Alien Scum, they go to this club to find the Butcher.

The club has that bar feel from Star Wars Episode IV, where Luke walks in and we hear this strange music and see strange beings. Sinestro finds Labella at this table with three other aliens who look like they taking some space blow, but they call it Moon ball, so he talks to her so he can find Kutch The Butcher. But she says he’s long gone and Sinestro doesn’t believe her, so he tries to overdose her with Moon Ball, Hal doesn’t like it, so he rescues her from Sinestro of course pissed at Hal, but all of sudden Kutch shows up and they start a gun fight at the bar, Hal and Sinestro split up, leaving Hal in the bar and a chase scene with Sinestro and Kutch the Butcher. Hal escapes the bar by going under ground in the swears, meanwhile Sinestro loses Kutch, Kutch escapes into the swear system, but bumps into Hal, and we have a fighting scene and Hal of course wins and arrests him. Sinestro finds out and gets pissed off , because Hal saved Labella at the bar. He explains that to fight evil, you have to strike fear into there hearts, whatever means necessary. He dreams of a new world order where they can clean the space trash, but it wont be under The Guardians. The other Green Lanterns have arrived and ask if everything is alright. Sinestro cools down and says everything is cool and he they escort him to lock up The Butcher, but Hal doesn’t think everything is cool.

Later on while Hal is having lunch, Boodika sits with him, Hal asks whats up with Kutch and she says he’s being interrogated by Sinestro, Hal gets worried, and she explains that they know he can be rough but he’s under pressure from saving the universe from Kutch’s boss. Kanjar Ro, who found the Yellow element. Ok, let me explain, when The Guardians first built this giant Lantern, they used the Green Element, it’s the most powerful energy, one problem there is another element, the yellow. It is the Greens only weakness, because the yellow resists the Green. The Guardians hidden The Yellow Element underground in another dimension, until Kanjar Ro found it. When the Guardians found out they called out for a emergency meeting with senior Core Lanterns, Abin Sur agreed to go undercover, but he got caught and was wounded by Kutch, and from there we see how he crash landed on earth. Meanwhile Sinestro kills Kutcher during the interrogation, The Guardians find out and they explain it’s not the Lantern Core’s way, next time they will do the questioning, but of course Sinestro doesn’t give a shit. So when they go hunting for Kanjar Ro, it turns out that Sinetro is working with Ro, wow what a big surprise! Like the dude can’t look evil enough. Sinestro makes a telepathic meeting with Ro and so they plan to meet alone. To collect the Yellow element. While Hal is waiting for action, he sees something suspicious and decides to follow it, but it turns out it was Ro and his men, they were walking around invisible and Hal caught them, there was a big fight and Row is on the run, but Senstro being the groups leader wants him alive for you know what. ;)

They find Ro, and the Lantern core chase him down in this red dimension tunnel, but Hal catches up on the chase and everyone is left behind on the chase. Hal get in the ship and fights one of Ro's main men. Hal defeats him and goes after Ro, but because Ro has a power to go invisible, he knocks out Hal, and surprisingly Sinestro was right behind him, Sinestro kills Ro and frames Hal for the murder of Kanjar Ro. So The Guardians dismiss Hal as holder of the Ring and place him under a rest. Hal wants to find out the true murderer and he believes it might be Sinestro. They find out that he’s at the morgue and the catch him reading a dead aliens mind in search for the yellow element Boodaka and Kilowog find out Sinestro’s plans and they a rest him, but Boodaka was also in on it and they knock out Kilowog out. Sinestro offers Hal power and his loyalty. But Hal refuses and Boodaka drys to kill him, and lets just say it doesn’t work out and Boodaka gets killed. Another two Lanterns show up, and it doesn’t look good for Hal, as Boodaka is dead and Kilowag is knocked out cold.

While Sinestro leaves for the Yellow Element, he goes to this planet and talks to a weapons maker, Sinestro demands for the Yellow Element and they give it to him, and turns out it is a giant metal Yellow Lantern powered by the Yellow Element, Sinestro dumps his green ring and becomes The Yellow Lantern. Sinestro arrives at the Green Lantern core and destroys everything, including the green element Lantern. After there very poor judgment on Sinestro, they give back the ring to Hal Jordan, and Hal resurrects the destroyed Lantern and becomes Super Green Lantern, and defeats Sinestro and destroys The Yellow Element Lantern. THE END.

The film stars Christopher Meloni as Hal Jordan, Victor Garber as Sinestro, Tricia Helfer as Boodikka, Michael Madsen as Kilowog, and Kurtwood Smith as Kanjar Ro. This was a great film, with wonderful animation, the animation didn't seem jerky or looped like some direct-to-Disney Dvd movies. I really enjoyed it, especially when the film wasn't afraid of growing up, when I mean by that, that it is violent, there is blood everywhere, characters swearing and talking like they would in a movie, not a animated movie. I still can't leave the animation alone, it's so smooth and right on every mark, that is hard to believe it's American animation. Not to mention the voices were right for each character, when it came to emotion or even retribution, and that is why I give this film....

But what about the direction of this movie, you may ask? Well, it was great, there is nothing more I can say about Lauren Montgomery.

She directed Wonder Woman and Superman/Doomsday, which were godawful films, but I think she learned her lesson with this one, and it really shows how much she improved; but there some complaints I did have with the film, like the dialogue. Some of the dialogue just was laughable or even cheesy, which kind of ruins the whole setting of the mood, but it is nit picking I guess, because I can't find a single thing to hate about this movie, only the origin was cut to five minutes and some bad dialogue, but that's it. Anybody who enjoys Green Lantern, DC Comics, or just generally superhero stuff will like....no...love Green Lantern: First Flight.




So check it out!