92 of 105 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
This is the Green Lantern fans have been waiting for, April 4, 2011
I saw an advance screening of this movie at Wondercon this weekend and there is legitimate reason to be excited about this. I have to admit that I was not impressed by Green Lantern: First Flight, the last DC Animated movie featuring Green Lantern, but they have really redeemed themselves in this one. This is 5 different stories (based off of classic Green Lantern comic issues) told as war stories by Hal Jordan (voiced by Nathan Fillion of Firefly fame) before they face a huge threat. Each of the stories focus on different members of the Green Lantern Corps and really show off the diversity that is so great about Green Lantern stories. The stories of the first Green Lantern and of Kiliwog both excelled in dramatizing how, despite the awesome power of the ring, courage really is a Green Lantern's greatest asset. The story about Mogo was based on a comic by Alan Moore and really drove the point home about how different Green Lanterns can be. I really hope DC continues to make similar animated movies, where they take advantage of the wealth of good stories from their huge catalogue of comics to create engaging movies.
One of the big problems I had with Green Lantern: First Flight was that the ring was usually used as some kind of green laser blaster, but in Emerald Knights there are some truly creative uses of the ring in the action scenes. Green Lanterns use the ring to cover themselves in a bombshell shape as they ram through starships, another Lantern uses the ring to form several different Chinese martial art weapons, etc. The action is fast, well animated, and with a variety of styles for the different stories. The drama and character building are also very effective. All in all, this is great animation worthy of not just renting but also owning.
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47 of 55 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Tales of the GL Corps!, April 9, 2011
Green Lantern: Emerald Knights
I got to see the entire animated film before its release date and listen to Bruce Timm discuss this great film, the best I've seen in the DC Animated universe.
And that's really saying something. I loved the latest Wonder Woman film with its emphasis on battle and the honor of the Amazons. I thrilled to the Red Hood and Batman's quest. But this film takes the best qualities of these and transforms them into a "GL Corps" that is really great.
Not to give too much away, but the film is broken down into an anthology format. Hal Jordan is explaining to his new recruit while they're hanging out on the Planet Oa, recharging their rings for a battle against Krona (which happens near the end of the film).
Some of the stories include when Kilowog (a tough drill sergeant who puts new GLs through the paces and anyone who doesn't measure up is a "Poozer") was himself a recruit and has to put up with a drill instructor who is tougher than he is! Self-sacrifice and working as a team are themes here.
Another tale that impressed me was Laira, a woman Lantern that has what Timm referred to as a mix of Star Wars' Jedi Master and Indiana Jones and martial arts. When she has to return to her home planet and face her own father in a battle that is heartbreaking to say the least.
As the two battle, these little hologram eggs accidentally open and show scenes where she would play with her father or they're having picnics together, etc. These homey scenes clash with the battle scenes and the irony and pathos of the scene just rips your eyes out. It's that amazing.
Bottom Line:
This film is much better than the earlier GL film "First Flight" and is a must-see to any Green Lantern or DC Animated film fan. Have you ever wondered about the first Green Lantern? How the constructs first appeared? The first mission of the first Green Lantern Corps? And how a Green Lantern can be an entire Planet??
Then pick this up! Its release date is June 7, 2011. It's direct to DVD!
Voice Cast & Crew:
Writers:
Alan Burnett, Geoff Johns
Stars:
Nathan Fillion, Jason Isaacs and Elisabeth Moss
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not as good as it could have been, June 9, 2011
You'd figure that a collection of various Green Lantern stories written by guys like Geoff Johns, Dave Gibbons, and Peter J. Tomasi would result in a great animated feature. With Green Lantern: Emerald Knights, you'd be sadly wrong. While this latest DC Universe animated feature isn't bad one bit, it still feels kind of lacking. Green Lantern Hal Jordan (voiced by Nathan Fillion) narrates a collection of tales to young recruit Arisa (Elisabeth Moss) involving various Lanterns past and present such as Sinestro(Jason Isaacs), Kilowog(Henry Rollins), Laira (Kelly Hu), and even Abin-Sur (Arnold Vosloo). The Abin-Sur tale is by far the best of the bunch, and the Mogo-starring tale (featuring the voice of the great Rowdy Roddy Piper as a nefarious villain) is pretty fun too, but the interlocking tale featuring Hal and the Lanterns in an apocalyptic showdown is quite an anti-climactic letdown. While I'm all for seeing a multi-faceted collection featuring various Lanterns, I would have loved to have seen some others like Kyle Rayner, Guy Gardner, John Stewart, or even the little squirrel guy whose name I can't remember for the life of me. Despite its flaws though, the animation is wonderful, and the voice acting isn't too bad either. All in all, if you weren't impressed by Green Lantern: First Flight; Emerald Knights won't win you over either. Still, it's worth a look at least for Green Lantern fans regardless.
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