With comic book movies coming from every direction it shouldn't come as any surprise that Warner Bros is looking to help re-establish some of their more popular, but less cinematically-exploited, characters for a new generation to enjoy. Green Lantern: First Flight is a fresh take on the origin of the character, but stays true to the nearly 70-year old mythos.  It has plenty of intrigue, awesome battles, heroic sacrifice, top notch animation and voice acting to draw you in and keep you hooked until the credits start rolling and beyond.

The plot follows Air Force test pilot Hal Jordan, who happens to stumble upon a crashed space ship with a dying alien aboard. As the alien nears death, he entrusts Hal with a green ring that turns him into one of the Green Lanterns, an elite group of intergalactic space police-like heroes who patrol the universe in search of evildoers and such. While the elder Green Lantern Corps questions the worthiness of this new recruit, a veteran named Sinestro offers to take Jordan under his wing. Together, they set off to find the alien responsible for the murder of Hal's predecessor, which leads to a lot of action, betrayal, and a new hero rising from it all.

The film is directed by Lauren Montgomery, who also directed both Wonder Woman and Superman/Doomsday films. I thought the direction here was a big improvement over the work done on Wonder Woman, as this is a visually stunning film that benefits from the extensive action scenes.  The voice acting by Christopher Meloni from the hit show Law & Order: SVU for Hal Jordan / Green Lantern is a surprising choice, but a good one.  Victor Garber from Alias is an inspired villain Sinestro, and it was nice to hear acclaimed actor Michael Madsen as Kilowog in there.  The animation is well done and is keeping with other films in the series, as are the sound effects and musical score.

Warner Premier adds another quality film to their growing line-up of straight-to-video animated films with Green Lantern: First Flight, and its always a treat to see these characters treated with such loving respect.  I really enjoyed the film and would recommend it to anyone looking for some cool animated comic book action, or to fans looking to complete their collection.  Either way, I’m sure you’ll enjoy seeing Green Lantern’s humble beginnings and rise to fame in this animated spectacle, and can only hope the upcoming live-action movie fares as well.