This weekend at WonderCon, Warner Bros. screened their latest DC Universe Animated Original Movie, Green Lantern: Emerald Knights. The film has Nathan Fillion voicing Hal Jordan, and is set to be released straight to DVD and Blu-Ray
Emerald Knights has Jordan mentoring new recruit Arisia Rrab (voiced by Elisabeth Moss) as a menacing force approaches. As the Green Lantern Corp prepares for this battle, Jordan tells Rrab the backstories of some of your favorite Green Lanterns, including Abin Sur (Arnold Vosloo), Sinestro (Jason Isaacs), Kilowog (Henry Rollins), and Mogo, as well as how the rings were created.
While I think most of us can agree that we would have liked to have seen a Green Lantern movie that features Hal Jordan, changing the focus to the other Corps members is an inspired choice that still lets us hear Fillion as he narrates. Many people, including myself, are unfamiliar with the Green Lantern universe, so this serves as sort of a crash course on the major characters and history of the Corps. For those who are already fans, the stories told are actually from the comics, so seeing them come to life on screen must be treat. There are a lot of small references and in-jokes that fans of the comic will appreciate.
The film is packed with plenty of action, though the storyline with Jordan and Rrab is a pretty weak narrative that is obviously just there to connect the stories together. There’s not much character development or exploration, so you’ll have to settle for the fun action sequences and humor.
Overall, this is a movie made for long standing Green Lantern fans, but can also be a crash course for newcomers. It’s nothing deep or meaningful, but it is definitely fun.
(4 out of 5 stars)
