Green Lantern: Beware My Power is One Dark DC Adventure

redmangoreviews

Jul 30

Sommerleigh Pollonais, Senior Writer

Plot: Recently discharged Marine sniper John Stewart is at a crossroads in his life, one which is only complicated by receiving an extraterrestrial ring which grants him the powers of the Green Lantern of Earth.

Review: Most Green Lantern fans will tell you their favourite emerald hero is Hal Jordan, but while I give all props to the OG ring bearer, I grew up watching Justice League: The Animated Series so my favourite lantern was and is, John Stewart. Lucky for me and likeminded fans as the latest movie to feature the space cops, Beware my Power, puts John at the centre of its tale.

I like it, but I don't know if I want to put a ring on it

Aldis Hodge (Black Mirror, The Invisible Man and soon to be Carter Hall aka Hawkman in the upcoming Black Adam) is pitch perfectly cast as John Stewart. A highly decorated ex-Marine who is struggling with PTSD when Hal Jordan's ring seeks him out and turns him into a Green Lantern. John isn't on board (at first) and with the ring's help he seeks out answers that take him first to The Watchtower where he meets JL members Green Arrow (Jimmi Simpson Of Westworld, The Man Who Fell to Earth) Martian Manhunter (Ike Amadi of Trollhunters, Halo 5) and Vixen (Keesha Sharp or Lethal Weapon, Girlfriends). Their search for answers takes them across the galaxy to OA and into the path of Hawkgirl (Jamie Gray Hyder of Law and Order: SVU, Graceland) and Adam Strange (Brian Bloom of Avengers Assemble, Gravity Falls) who reveals what happened to Hal Jordan. And it's up to this unwilling and unexpected group to team up and stop Sinestro and his cronies from causing the genocide of an entire planet.

Of all the recent DC animated movies I've seen, this one's visuals are my favourite (so far). The art style is very reminiscent of the beloved Justice League animated series but with better line work that made the characters and the smaller background details pop. The colours are a bit muted but fit the darker storyline perfectly and the computer generated work never overwhelmss anything on screen. It may not be as detailed as reading the comics but the animators definitely put the work in.

GL: I see your point Robin Hood GA: Don't call me that!

Aldis Hodge's voice suits John perfectly and so does the other voice actors here. And like many of DC's animated movies, the story here leans heavily towards an older audience. This isn't mean for young kids folks, with topics of war, vengeance and actual bloodshed (the opening scene of John as a soldier sets the tone for everything else to come). To be honest, it's probably the darkest DC animated movie I've seen in quite some time. Depending on what you want from these films, this might be a negative for you but I like my stories, (even the animated ones) on the darker side.

So the animation and voice cast is strong and the story starts out interesting enough, the pacing is also good but the big twist reveals itself a bit too early, lessening the impact of what is to come. Green Lantern: Beware My Power's biggest mistake though is it lacks a sense of passion. All the ingredients are there but the overly serious tone makes it hard to call it entertaining. Not a bad effort but if I had to put it up against my favourites such as God and Monsters, Under the Red Hood or Batman Beyond: Return of The Joker (just to name a few), it would end up on the lower end of it all.

Score: 6 out of 10

Sommerleigh of the House Pollonais. First of Her Name. Sushi Lover, Queen of Horror Movies, Comic Books and Binge Watching Netflix. Mother of two beautiful black cats named Vader and Kylo. I think eating Popcorn at the movies should be mandatory, PS4 makes the best games ever, and I'll be talking about movies until the zombie apocalypse comes.

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