Green Lantern: The Animated Series Premiere Review

I guess it's fair to say this first. I am not a big Green Lantern fan. I've read a bunch of comics with him, and a few from his own series. So I don't know too much about the deeper aspects of the franchise. I have read Secret Origin, and watched First Flight. (Though I've yet to see the live-action film.) I've rented a few of the big arcs from my library. (Sinestro Corps War, Blackest Night, etc.) So I know the gist of things. Now we could move on.

I remember a few months ago when the promo for this show was released. I don't know about you guys, but I thought it looked pretty bad. Not the characters or how the story looked, it was the animation. Man, the animation looked like something from the Nintendo 64. (No offense to the legendary system.) However, since Bruce Timm, the guy who did the groundbreaking Justice League series, would be writing it, it was worth to give it a shot. I wasn't expecting anything spectacular, but wow, it was a lot better than I anticipated. I'm not a huge fan of the franchise, but I was captivated by the story, you are not going to want to miss this.

The story follows Hal Jordan, as he and Kilowog steal a vessel against the Council's orders to go into deep space to find out who or what are destroying Green Lanterns. They get a surprise when they run into beings calling themselves "Red Lanterns." They work for Lord Atrocitus, and will not rest until his will is served.

After a very interesting beginning, we head into some generic, cringe-worthy stuff with Hal, his plane, the dessert, and Carol. Watching that actually made me think, "Wait, is this going to be an origin story?" Thank goodness that was false when Hal powered up with the ring. Once he heads into space, that's when it gets good. I am supremely glad that this show is taking place in space, so we don't have to deal with human drama. (Which isn't bad, but in this show it is.) Once Hal and Kilowog steal the ship and head into deep space, it turns into a triple A plus show.

Like most non-fans, the Green Lantern I knew growing up was John Stewart from the Justice League show years back. So I'm use to the tough-as-nails, no joke one, whereas this one is very laid-back and comical. From what I've seen, it looks they are attempting to match him with his live-action counterpart. (Not half as bad mind you.) I think this would have worked out if this was his early days, in this show he acts a little TOO much like a rookie sometimes. ( He actually though he could sneak past Oa's security by making a Guardian from his ring.) He isn't awful, as the premiere went on, he slowly got more respectable. Kilowog, (who is voiced by the same guy who voices Bulkhead in Transformers: Prime and Pantro in Thundercats) makes this show a lot more fun. However, it's really the villains that stole the show.

I'm glad they didn't go for Sinestro, they didn't didn't mention him at all. This is all the Red Lanterns. The leader, Atrocitus, is one awesome character. What I like is that he's portrayed as evil, but at the same time, has reason. I'm liking the backstory. The followers, Razer, and Modok, um, excuse me, I meant Zilius Zox, are actually very good. They aren't your average run-of-the-mill minions, they're actually pretty cool with some good scripting. Razer is either a character you love or hate, he's going to be having a rather interesting role in the series.

Now that I've seen the animation, it actually isn't that bad. (I'll take it over the horror that is Armored Adventures any day.) The fights are fluid, and actually pretty epic. (Something Armored Adventures is lacking.) Both the voice acting and soundtrack are very good.

Overall, I was greatly impressed by the Green Lantern premiere. With an interesting plot, good characters, and epic action, Green Lantern: The Animated Series is definitely worth the watch, I will be checking this show out.

8/10.