random, and not so random
Things I've tweeted about tonight:
1. Is it sad that as I was about to throw some cardboard boxes into recycling, I realized they'd be perfect for holding Christmas presents? Responses on Facebook indicate that I am onto something here, thinking ahead like this. Of course, if I were really thinking ahead, I'd already have the gifts to put IN the boxes. But no-one is perfect.
2. Rivers belong where they can ramble. Not in my bathroom. Not that there actually IS a river in my bathroom. I'm just saying.
*****
And now for the not-so-random:
3. With such a great voice cast, "Green Lantern: First Flight" should have been a better movie overall.
Green Lantern has always been one of my favorite DC comics characters, pretty much regardless of who is wielding the ring. Most tv versions in the past decade have used the John Stewart version of the character (because he brings baggage Hal and Alan don't? Or to add more diversity to the otherwise all-white-bread Justice League? Only Bruce Timm and George Romero know for sure). This new animated film returns the most well-known GL, Hal Jordan, to the center of the story in yet another iteration of Hal's origin. Of course, in the Silver Age of comics when Hal debuted, all he needed for an origin story was "injured alien crashes on Earth, bequeaths the Ring to Hal, Hal joins intergalactic police squad and is immediately the greatest GL ever." In recent years, that origin has been fleshed out to include the Ring increasing his knowledge of the universe and Hal being trained on Oa by Kilowog, the big Poozer. And of course Hal's relationship with mentor Sinestro, and Sinestro's downfall, have been retold and revamped ad nauseum. For this version, they've imported a lot of Geoff Johns' additions to the comic book lore, including the look of Sinestro after he falls from the Corps: he sports the admittedly more sinister-looking "Sinestro / Yellow Lantern Corps" costume instead of his original oddly clownish costume.
Christopher Meloni as Hal Jordan, Victor Garber as Sinestro, Tricia Helfer as Boudicca, and Kurtwood Smith as Kanjar Ro really are all perfectly cast. Hal comes across as a bit rougher around the edges than his portrayal in "New Frontier." Sinestro has the appropriate condescension and sneer. Smith has that sound that grovels and bravados at the same time. Even Michael Madsen's delivery as Kilowog is not bad, nor John Larroquette's as Tomar Re. The only place the voice work drifts off course is with the Guardians of the Universe. Most of them aren't bad, they just aren't great. But Larry Drake is all wrong for Ganthet -- the most consistently involved of the Guardians sounds like Marvin the Martian here. Just wrong.
Where the movie falters is the animation, which is strangely inconsistent from scene to scene -- sometimes it's old school Batman and Superman, sometimes it looks more like the Legion of Superheroes cartoon, and there is one unfortunate scene in an alleyway in which the aliens look and act like they just wandered over from the nearest chibi anime set. It's jarring.
The plot has a few holes, as well. I won't dwell on them since most of them are minor in the grand scheme. I will say this: I don't mind changes to the GL origin / sequence of events or even to character motivations -- that happens with any superhero origin movie. What I do mind is changes to the visuals of a character just for the sake of change. There was no real reason to make Abin Sur less humanoid; there was no real reason to turn Kilowog from a fleshy skin to something that looks like concrete. Change for changes' sake alone.
So no ... can't give this one very high marks, especially not compared to the amazing job they did on Justice League: New Frontier.
I think I need to go ahead and watch the Wonder Woman animated movie that came out a few months ago, now. Just to see if overall the DC movies are consistent, or if they're getting less well-done as they go along.
The two-disc special edition of Green Lantern: First Flight includes the now-classic "Green Loontern" episode of Duck Dodgers in the 24 and a 1/2 Century, which almost makes it worth the price of admission. There are also two GL-centric JL episodes I did not watch tonight.
There's also a preview of this fall's Superman/Batman: Public Enemies. Now: with Tim Daly, Clancy Brown, and the great Kevin Conroy returning to the roles of Superman, Luthor, and Batman ... the animation and writing had better be up to par. These are THE iconic voice actors for these roles, IMHO. They deserve a great script and the best possible animation.
1. Is it sad that as I was about to throw some cardboard boxes into recycling, I realized they'd be perfect for holding Christmas presents? Responses on Facebook indicate that I am onto something here, thinking ahead like this. Of course, if I were really thinking ahead, I'd already have the gifts to put IN the boxes. But no-one is perfect.
2. Rivers belong where they can ramble. Not in my bathroom. Not that there actually IS a river in my bathroom. I'm just saying.
*****
And now for the not-so-random:
3. With such a great voice cast, "Green Lantern: First Flight" should have been a better movie overall.
Green Lantern has always been one of my favorite DC comics characters, pretty much regardless of who is wielding the ring. Most tv versions in the past decade have used the John Stewart version of the character (because he brings baggage Hal and Alan don't? Or to add more diversity to the otherwise all-white-bread Justice League? Only Bruce Timm and George Romero know for sure). This new animated film returns the most well-known GL, Hal Jordan, to the center of the story in yet another iteration of Hal's origin. Of course, in the Silver Age of comics when Hal debuted, all he needed for an origin story was "injured alien crashes on Earth, bequeaths the Ring to Hal, Hal joins intergalactic police squad and is immediately the greatest GL ever." In recent years, that origin has been fleshed out to include the Ring increasing his knowledge of the universe and Hal being trained on Oa by Kilowog, the big Poozer. And of course Hal's relationship with mentor Sinestro, and Sinestro's downfall, have been retold and revamped ad nauseum. For this version, they've imported a lot of Geoff Johns' additions to the comic book lore, including the look of Sinestro after he falls from the Corps: he sports the admittedly more sinister-looking "Sinestro / Yellow Lantern Corps" costume instead of his original oddly clownish costume.
Christopher Meloni as Hal Jordan, Victor Garber as Sinestro, Tricia Helfer as Boudicca, and Kurtwood Smith as Kanjar Ro really are all perfectly cast. Hal comes across as a bit rougher around the edges than his portrayal in "New Frontier." Sinestro has the appropriate condescension and sneer. Smith has that sound that grovels and bravados at the same time. Even Michael Madsen's delivery as Kilowog is not bad, nor John Larroquette's as Tomar Re. The only place the voice work drifts off course is with the Guardians of the Universe. Most of them aren't bad, they just aren't great. But Larry Drake is all wrong for Ganthet -- the most consistently involved of the Guardians sounds like Marvin the Martian here. Just wrong.
Where the movie falters is the animation, which is strangely inconsistent from scene to scene -- sometimes it's old school Batman and Superman, sometimes it looks more like the Legion of Superheroes cartoon, and there is one unfortunate scene in an alleyway in which the aliens look and act like they just wandered over from the nearest chibi anime set. It's jarring.
The plot has a few holes, as well. I won't dwell on them since most of them are minor in the grand scheme. I will say this: I don't mind changes to the GL origin / sequence of events or even to character motivations -- that happens with any superhero origin movie. What I do mind is changes to the visuals of a character just for the sake of change. There was no real reason to make Abin Sur less humanoid; there was no real reason to turn Kilowog from a fleshy skin to something that looks like concrete. Change for changes' sake alone.
So no ... can't give this one very high marks, especially not compared to the amazing job they did on Justice League: New Frontier.
I think I need to go ahead and watch the Wonder Woman animated movie that came out a few months ago, now. Just to see if overall the DC movies are consistent, or if they're getting less well-done as they go along.
The two-disc special edition of Green Lantern: First Flight includes the now-classic "Green Loontern" episode of Duck Dodgers in the 24 and a 1/2 Century, which almost makes it worth the price of admission. There are also two GL-centric JL episodes I did not watch tonight.
There's also a preview of this fall's Superman/Batman: Public Enemies. Now: with Tim Daly, Clancy Brown, and the great Kevin Conroy returning to the roles of Superman, Luthor, and Batman ... the animation and writing had better be up to par. These are THE iconic voice actors for these roles, IMHO. They deserve a great script and the best possible animation.