DVD REVIEW: Green Lantern: Emerald Knights

Green Lantern: Emerald Knights

Directed by Chris Berkeley, Lauren Montgomery, Jay Oliva 

Written by Eddie Berganza, Alan Burnett, Todd Casey, Dave Gibbons, Michael Green, Marc Guggenheim, Geoff Johns, Peter Tomasi

Starring Nathon Fillion (Hal Jordan), Jason isaacs (Sinestro)Elisabeth Moss (Arisia), Kelly Hu (Laira), Arnold Vosloo (Abin Sur), Henry Rollins (Kilowog), Rowdy Roddy Piper (Bolphunga), Bruce Thomas (Atrocitus)

In the hierarchy of DC Animations's direct to video offerings, Green Lantern: First Flight and Batman: Gotham Knight rank in the lower tiers of quality. They're not without merit, but compared to the brighter features like Wonder Woman and Batman: Under the Red Hood, their flaws seem particularly glaring. Given its pedigree then, Green Lantern: Emerald Knights shouldn't be nearly as good as it is. But it's a wonderful package of space opera movements and adventure yarns, combining all the best of those previous projects without inheriting much, if any. of their failings.

Prepare your home theater for the cosmic goodness.

Like Gotham Knight, Emerald Knights is structured as an anthology with short features written and directed by different teams and animated by different art houses. Unlike its predecessor though, Emerald Knights also features connective tissue. Not simply a string of unrelated narratives, these segments are framed as anecdotal stories told by Hal Jordan and Sinestro (still on the side of the Guardians). It's a nice variety of stories too, with cameos from heavy hitters like Abin Sur and Kilowog to more obscure characters like Mogo, Laira, and the very first Lanterns. While each section showcases the signature styles of its respective art house, there's a fairly uniform visual aesthetic maintained throughout. While the Batman anthology gets points for variety and diversity, Emerald Knights benefits from its consistency, ultimately feeling much more cohesive. This over-arcing plot of Hal and company instructing new recruit Arisia in the lore of the corps makes for a perfect entry point into the Green Lantern mythology and a natural framing device for an anthology. It also isn't as dull or flavorless as it might sound because the Hal and Arisia thread actually moves and then culminates in a titanic space battle with the imposing cosmic entity Krona. Throughout, we're treated to a wise and capable Hal Jordan, fully established as a Green Lantern. Nathon Fillion's eligibility for a superhero role has become an ongoing gag these days, but there's no denying his suitability here. Fillion's Hal is charismatic without being too rascally, engendering the kind of gravity you'd want in a mature Hal Jordan who's found his space-legs. He narrates several of the stories, sometimes wry, sometimes solemn. And there's but one glimpse of his now familiar origin story.

And that's what's so refreshing about this whole affair.  While Hal serves as a vital presence, this is not his story. These are the tales of the corps. Each chapter provides a different tone and flavor for what mass audiences will soon understand is one of the richest corners of the DC Universe. If there's a kid in your life wholly invested in the current goings on of Star Wars, they're going to plotz at the first story, the origin of the first true Lantern. It's, I swear to you, the stuff of space opera. Bizarre extraterrestrials, a mission for peace, a daunting invasion force, dodfights in the vacuum of space. We witness the first time a Lantern uses his ring to create a construct. It's a thrilling moment, and it shows just how awesome and impressive the power-set can be. This beautifully animated set piece establishes a tone of thunderous bravado that remains mostly intact through the entire feature, even when the story dips into comedy. There's always a monumental battle just around the bend.

Henry Rollins turns in something of a mixed performance as Kilowog, never quite convincing when he dismisses his recruits as poozers. He's much stronger in his own origin story, which sees the roles reversed. How did the universe's most imposing drill sergeant get to where he is today? It's not the Kilowog we've come accustomed to in film or animation, but an inspired choice that makes it all worth it in his moments of triumph and heroism.

Kelly Hu makes for a cool Laira in a violent and thoughtful origin story penned by Eddie Berganza. It's something like a Shakespearian Dune, with the character's strange and exotic native culture at center stage. There's even some ritual suicide. It's the least humous of the included stories, which is saying something given that it features one of those giant-head Weeble Lanterns. 

Dave Gibbons writes the anthology's most comical entry, with Rowdy Roddy Piper in the role of the monstrous warlord Bolphunga desperate to track and slay the notoriously antisocial Lantern known as Mogo. It's balls to the wall fun with the Rowdy Scot. I've seen reviewers complain that the conclusion (the Mogo reveal) is telegraphed, ruining the joke. Going in with full knowledge of Mogo's identity didn't much hurt this viewer's experience. In fact I was rubbing my hands together waiting for the inevitable confrontation. Aside from the First Lantern chapter, this is likely the best-looking sequence.

Geoff Johns writes a terrific little Abin Sur vignette featuring Atrocitus and Sinestro in his role as Abin Sur's old chum. You'll be amazed at just how much of modern comics continuity he's able to tease here without it feeling like fan service or too much dressing. Arnold Vosloo is a stoic Abin Sur, and this is where the comparison to robed Jedi Masters really comes into play. Much as I liked Victor Garber's scene-chewing take on Sinestro in First Flight, Jason Isaacs turns in an even better iteration here. Sinestro remains a galactic police officer at this stage, and Isaacs plays it as cold and calculated as what we've seen of Mark Strong's live action portrayal. 

Again, it all comes to a head with the full brunt of the Green Lantern Corps taking on the imposing and visually spectacular Krona. It's not the deepest story, but like the beloved DC Showcase shorts, it packs so much of a wallop into a tiny space, you're gonna need to cradle your jaw.

A really impressive collection of stories with a lot of pomp and circumstance. The space battles and the richness of the diverse alien cultures and story types had me grinning throughout. This is how an anthology feature ought to be done, and it's timed perfectly with this summer's big screen offering from DC and Warner Bros. 

4.5 Stars

(Out of 5)

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