It frustrated me that they went with the military hard-ass version of John Stewart rather than the architect from the comics. The fact that he's an architect with a sharp, analytical mind who creates complex energy constructs instead of big goofy fists was a large part of his character. And it was the primary focus of the Mosaic series, where he used his understanding of systems and stressors to help create and maintain order when many disparate, conflicting species were forced to cohabitate.
I’ve always hated this obsession with giving other Green Lanterns Hal’s origin. It happened with Kyle on Superman TAS, and now it’s happening again. It’s not just lanterns, the same thing happened to Wally in Justice League, having Barry’s origin and job. I wish the people in charge of making external media were more confident in legacy characters standing on their own.
Outside media love to combine Barry and Wally, since for decades Barry didn't have a strong personality, but Wally's origin is reliant on Barry already existing so to get around it they give whatever Flash they're using Wally's personality and Barry's everything else. Then they just flip a coin to decide the character's name/hair color.
Yeah like how Aussie said, for Barry and wally is more of a difference case since you really need one of them established for the other to exist, but with green lantern is different, they can stand fully on their own if the writer wants, so they don't need to copy origins
I guess, but I wish they’d just use Barry if they were going to put so much of Barry in him anyway. Or they could just say that Barry existed in the past. Being Kid Flash was an important part of Wally, and there’s like, next to nothing outside of comics that does that.
It really feels like Hal's become the Justice League equivalent of Nightwing in these animated movies. Constantly getting sidelined, or in the case of this version, turn evil against his will(?) and then die for it. And the DCAMU version of the character got killed in a slideshow.
Hal's gonna need at least a few more dunkings if he wants to even approach Dick's level of getting crapped on. Dick "One Good Outing" Grayson is untouchable in that regard right now.
you know who's the actual definition of sidelined? Kyle Rayner. That man is nowhere to be found. This man can't even have his origin story. This movie is basically a Kyle Rayner story, and single handedly took down 2 characters down (Hal and Kyle) to elevate John.
But that doesn't work as much as Hal does. We actually saw Hal as a hero. we saw his triumphs. Thus, when we see him breaking down it actually has gravitas, unlike with Sinestro who we always saw as a villain from the get go until someone said he once was a hero. Hal having enough after always cleaning up behind the guardians while always getting left behind to fight on his own when he needs help makes a lot of sense, and I actually got behind that reasoning why he decided to become Paralax in the first place. I will admit though that his characterisation in Emerald twilight is shaky at best, they only started to nail it down in Zero Hour.
@@MiguelGonzalez-du8de All Superman villains by default are evil Superman. Extremely powerful beings who can do so much great but choose to cause destruction in some way. Even the giant gorilla
My usual problem with super hero movies is shown here. They try to take too many comic stories and tell them in one story. Each story gets weaker as they try to fit more themes in. Eventually, the entire whole loses all meaning and semblance to the source material.
I hqve noticed that problem with certain comic book IP films like the X-Men, Justice League and especially Green Lantern, as the Green Lantern mytho's are comprised of so much fascinating lore and stories that it could make up an entire saga of films, byt the problem is that they keep jumping the hun with all the stories and try to combine them without proper focus and long term direction... sometimes for something to be great, it takes time to grow and flourish rather than rush something thaat vould be beautiful, and that goes for Green Lantern. That's why I think Green Lantern: First Flight, Green Lantern: Emerald Knights and Green Lantern: The Animated Series are some of the best GL media we've seen as for the most part they take their time with the mytho's and were all setting things up for something bigger, but we're never given a chance.
@@milkiassamuel780 Ironically other heroes seem to have the opposite problem. Like Batman where he’s always reset to 0 in adaptions, isn’t allowed 80% of the batfamily, and gets the same stories adapted.
@@vullord666 thats because characters like batman and spider man are rebooted all the time with diferent actors and directors,batman and robin burned the batfamily for mainstream aldiences and modern directors , batman adaptions almost never are a 1 to 1 adaptation
@@asura7915 The Batfamily is also one of those things it's hard to do faithfully in adaptation. The ages of the Robins is the obvious problem, but the size is another. Cassandra Cain needs an entire movie to have her origin, and that's just the second Batgirl. The best ways to do an entire Batfamily in film would be either to just already have them all there and give only a bit of time for each (which would suck) or else make an entire MCU number of films just building the Batfamily. You'd need entire phases just for Robins. Barbara almost got her own movie which could have let Cassandra get a film one day but so much for that.
Felt no one came out of this looking good. John Stewart came off as a “Mary Sue.” Hal Jordan came off as nothing more than a plot device to make John look better. Shayera was obtuse. Adam Strange was just “there.” Also, many aspects of the plot don’t hold up to strict scrutiny. John, with almost no training, being able to hold his own against a corrupted Hal Jordan, who’s wielding +10 rings. Hal Jordan callously murdering baddies who, ultimately were following his lead. The war immediately deflating once the guilty parties had been identified.
Thank you! The newbie Green Lantern ( John) beating the greatest “Green Lantern in the universe” didn’t make sense. Even if Hal was corrupted- he had ten rings!!! I know they were tying to make it a “big moment” but it would have been better if they has Hal fighting back against the parasite and in a moment of clarity of mind telling Ollie to take the shot to end the threat. I would have bought that!
It's really hard to combine all the elements they put in the casserole in just 1 movie. They should have just made his origin, he's the focus with 1 villain.
@@Press_X_to_doubtit could've had so much potential as a 3-part series, but the writers were impatient and thought they could cram every detail into one movie and in the end it was a mess.
@@Leadeshipcoach This makes it much more plausible, but a) they want Hal to die "evil" (no moment of clarity, no redemption whatsoever), and b) they wanted John to beat him (which makes no sense whatsoever - what the f--- weak-ass threat was Hal if a newbie GL could take him. This movie was weak and had a clear agenda to remove Hal entirely. They didn't even bury or mourn him. His dead body is still in space???
To take Hal out, Olly should have just pulled out a bar of soap. Hal would have knocked himself out. He could have been taken into custody, the parasite could have been removed or something and Olly wouldn't have had to kill his best friend.
One of my hangups with this film was the voice acting. Not the actual quality, (It was solid) but the fact that my brain refuses to register anyone who isn't Phil LaMarr as John, and the fact that Hal's voice is the same as Superman's voice in Young Justice so my brain just thinks of that voice as Superman.
Reminds me of when they did like a trilogy of Justice League films, and Hal was CLEARLY written for Nathan Fillion, but he was replaced by Wash/K2-SO… I can’t remember the actor’s name but it’s literally like the other guy who is always with Nathan Fillion except in Castle… they even had a podcast together, I think… and the dude is great as K2-SO. Literally the only character I tend to remember from Rogue One. We should be getting a K2 series, not an Andor one… but he’s not Nathan Fillion. He’s even really funny. He’s great as Wash and bouncing off Nathan Fillion! But he’s not NF. And he shouldn’t have played Hal.
I was really annoyed at how the movie treated Hal. First they make it seem like he's dead, then he's alive, then he's evil, then he says he's evil because Sinstero implanted a creature inside him and instead of trying to remove it and save him, they just kill him. Ollie just shoots him in the back, doesn't try and stun him (doesn't he carry stun arrows) or something so they can try and use John's ring to remove the creatue? No, just murder him. It was also annoying, in the accompanying material, totally run down Hal to push up John rather than let John stand on his own. Very disrespectful, when they could easily have brought John in and passed the ring on without running Hal down or murdering him. Meh.
I feel like the whole thing about not focusing on the titular character has been a huge problem in these Tomorrowverse movies. The same thing happened in the Justice Society movie, where you're expecting to see JSA members have the spotlight but instead it just focuses on Barry Allen and Earth 2 Wonder Woman, and it becomes distracting because you know these characters could have movies on their own in the future, so seeing them here feels like they're just robbing the spotlight from other less known JSA members.
It’s so weird how they didn’t even make a justice league origin for this continuity, like at the end of the long Halloween movie felt forced to have GA and Barry into it.
I think they’d be better served just doing movies this time around instead of the “everything is connected” because they’re current moves are destroying a lot of potential in this verse
Literally, I was waiting for Oliver to snap Hal out of the thing, I hate that they killed him, honestly I thought there was gonna be a post Credit scene that in it we see Hal getting up
@@Kyraaa7 should have happened but I always thought green arrow killing paralax was ridiculous even in the comic but at least then the specter had helped
@@Dinoman-mo7mt I mean given their background, it is. Like if you found out you’re best friend has done horrible things but then found out it wasn’t their own choice and something was controlling them would you kill them or like find a solution to save them? (Btw finding a solution might not be easy but it is possible, Oliver is a superhero after all and he can even ask for the others help especially Barry)
@@Kyraaa7 my problem isn't that he does cause hal is the biggest threat to to universe as paralax but rather that he can yes the unstoppable fear entity that beat the spector and how is he killed green arrow shot him I mean come on he is using a normal bow and arrow
This sounds like what I call "dev head" in videogame circles. One can become so familiar with a fictional universe that you have to work really hard to see the work from the perspective of an outsider and a fan, to the point at which some things are so obvious to you that you don't even consider explaining or contextualizing them. But in any case this doesn't feel like John's origin, just the origin of his code against killing. The movie had a lot of good ideas but did not seem to have enough focus on any of them. I think your suggestions are good. I do like the mystery of John becoming a GL by simply having Hal's ring show up (after all if Hal is "dead" (from a certain point of view), the ring needs a new wielder. I don't like him being unable to remove it, It makes sense for John to try to solve the mystery by contacting the League and most of the rest of things begins to fall into place from there. If Parallax actually kills Hal it then explains his behavior (except spreading fear by threatening the universe not actually destroying it) and sets him up for later appearances as the Spectre or being brought back. On the other hand, if the point is Apocalypse Now and simply deciding to be a god of a planet or something... I can't even stretch the darkest interpretation of Hal that far, at least not without the whole "no you can't use the ring to resurrect loved ones"" bit.
I don't know if that would apply to this. To a theatrical movie courting a wider audience beyond the fanbase, sure. But, this is a direct-to-video movie with a lower budget not really intended for an audience beyond comic fans. In that context, I think that you should go in assuming that the people who want to seek out this movie and watch it are at least familiar with the basics. Like, they should have a vague idea of his origin story, OA, Sinestro, and Parallax, but they might not know anything beyond those things.
I thought it was cool to see Adam Strange in this movie, but only because it was a call back to his appearance in his DC Showcase segment. I think if Sinestro had been the main villain, and Hal was kept in the shadows, the movie would have worked a little better. It would have been cool to show Parallax at the end of the movie to open up a sequel.
So many of bits referenced to the showcase Adam Strange short and I’m curious why. It’s great but it’s so close it’s almost like a prequel for this if you want to understand what his deal is,
@@michaelmitchell1933 Maybe this started as an Adam Strange movie, but since he is not a popular character, they included John Steward Green Lantern. It could explain why John seems like more of a support character. No idea though.
@@argar6174 agreed. This movie could have been handled much better. And the idea that it was a movie intended for someone else, with John shoehorned into it, makes sense. Unfortunately
Agreed. This movie is already having the audience needing knowledge of events outside the story like the importance of guardians and the Ran / Thanigar War and Adam strange. Having a more established villian like Sinestro be main bad guy. Also I did not like how they limited the character of Hawkgirl and put in a variety of characters felt like lazy writing compared to a tight more dangerous group supporting Sinestro.
I liked JLU John for those little things like him not having a mask, being loved in his neighborhood. I also loved that he was never overshadowed by the rest of the Corps. In contrast, here he is copying someone else's origin, is barely a blip on Earth, and is a bit of a side character to more experienced heroes and a larger mystery he wasn't really involved in.
“Aggressively mediocre”… I Agree 💯! I watched this movie twice so I could say that I gave it a fair shot. I tried to like it… I didn’t. I wish they’d given John Stewart his own origin story for this movie instead of a reimagined, cut-and-paste, mashup of Hal Jordan’s origin, Emerald Twilight & Emerald Dawn stories. It wound up doing a disservice to both characters.
And suddenly I feel the need of never stop apologizing the late Joel Schumacher because until this "movie" happened I never knew that I was being too heartless with him
@@nestorsifuentesaguirre2722 To be fair I feel like Joel Schumacher’s Batman films are overhated similar to the Adam West’s Batman ‘66, first Fantastic Four movies, Spider-man 3, and Nick Cage’s Ghost Rider. Yes there is some flaws, but they’re at least fun as hell.
1:45 - "it's actually trying to emulate another film" - that's interesting to me for comparisons sake, because I feel that the best Green Lantern movie thus far is Green Lantern First Flight, which was clearly emulating Training Day, and it worked wonderfully.
I couldn't agree more. I very much loved the idea of the film taking inspiration from Training Day but in space, having Hal as Ethan Hawke's Jake Hoyt and Sinestro as Denzel Washington's Alonzo Harris, both reflecting different viewpoints about authority and translating said characteristics effectively to Hal and Sinestro, giving them a fascinating dynamic as both enemies and once as partners, that is almost a kin to say Obi-Wan and Anakin's friendship turned rivalry, but in swapped around. Green Lantern: First Flight still to this day might be the best Green Lantern film, and one of the best DC animated films in general.
@@orinanime Thanks, I appreciate that, and you do make some great points comparing GL: First Flight and Training Day. I do wish to Beware My Power though could've done a better job at presenting John Stewart's character as well as portraying Hal's turn into villainy with a lot more subtlety and nuance. Although I didn't mind them killing the entire GL Corps I do still wish they could've had some interactions among fellow GLs, as I think Green Lantern works as an intergalactic hero because of all the alien worlds, and interactions between said Lanterns and new species, thus making the GL Corps so much more interesting when utilised effectively, and instead of being a generic alien police force, the GL Corps should feel like a brotherhood/sisterhood of beings from countless sectors uniting to guard the universe. Aside from that, I didn't hate the film, but I wouldn't say it's one of my favourite DC animated films.
@@milkiassamuel780 I don't have any hate for Beware My Power either. But of the nearly 50 animated DC movies released thus far... It's not even in the top 25 for me
@@orinanime Perfectly said. Although now I am a bit concerned about how other films in the Tomorrow-verse will be written. Btw, nearly 50 animated films! Wow seriously?
I took John knowing about Hal like this: Hal is Air Force and known as a great pilot. Even if retried, John was Marines and most likely still has friends in service. It's natural that he either heard of Ace Pilot Jordan when in the Corps, or from friends.
Fun Fact: Hal and John actually met, before becoming Green Lantern's, back in their youth when they were both in training and got into a bar fight brawl by accident between air force cadets and marine cadets. Neither knowing the two would be good friends in the future.
Imagine if John had been sent on a mission to retrieve this crazy pilot who cratered his plane to save lives. John and Hal have a whole Behind Enemy Lines episode before they're even Lanterns.
This whole thing was a vehicle to take the shine away from Hal Jordan as the Big hero. Let's keep it all the way real. You know now it's popular to be hating on the straight white heroes. It wasn't just about John Stewart, it was also totally made to turn Hal into a VILLAIN and get rid of him for good. And goodness overall it was just boring
Well, he's also one of the most popular superheroes in the world. Like it was odd that they had Jon seemingly not knowing who the Justice League were. How would he not know that when even kids do?
It feels like everyone's character got assassinated. I really want John to get his movie and shine. Definitely agree that the Apocalypse Now interpretation was a swing and a very wide miss. Why are people that don't understand subtext getting writing jobs? Like, I am a regular dude with no formal writing education or training but even I get subtext and concepts like show, don't tell. Are movies being made by dumb people or for dumb people?
Movies are being made by folks who understand these things from a fan perspective, basically. Art used to be made by folks who had inspiration, and did a lot of things mostly intuitively, because current stories are written by folks who reduce stories to tropes etc and then think that's what makes them good.
@@blanktrigger8863seems even fans understand these characters and how they work better than the writers who were given free reign over them, it's embarrassing to see, honestly.
@@borderlands10. That's also dependant on the company making these things, you know! Batman the brave and the bold's staff we're not only intimately familliar with the silver age, but had enough story telling know how, to bring it on screen accurately as possible, all the while adding onto it! For example,"the super Batman of planet X"!
I was very surprised when you mentioned this was only 85 minutes! It sounded like between John's origin story, Hard Traveling Heroes, the Rann-Thanagar War, and Emerald Twilight this movie had a lot to balance and I have no idea how they managed to fit all of that into 85 minutes. Any of those stories could be a full-length movie on its own, I have to imagine they watered everything down a lot to put it all in a single movie.
everything is watered down, parallax origin in the movie is just cop out to have john as a focus while john's origin isn't actuallyused but instead just slot John in Kyle's origin...in the end, the movie is full on disappointment even on a standpoint of new watchers who don't know who hal or any of these character was.
That Sinestro's death scene is so weird. The "You gave me no choice" line makes it sound that he regrets it, but he did it on purpose. Honestly, it has Semper problem from Spider-Man TAS. Plotlines just don't jam together and the end result is just weird.
Really I think John did really well in Spider-Man TAS and I hope he can do good stories here. But if they cut a lot of scenes then yeah that will be a problem especially if they need to cut down on core story just to fit in action.
I feels like they took so much from other lanterns to try and make him interesting. Kyle’s origin as the only Lantern and Hal’s ptsd from New Frontier or Jessica Cruz’s ptsd. It doesn’t really feel liked they pulled anything from John’s actual stories for the character. I get that he’s the lantern that a lot of people recognize from the JL cartoon but was he really that many people’s favorite character in the show? He didn’t really shine too much in that show compared to everyone else. It just seems weird that they want to make John the main GL in this story but don’t seem to think there’s anything interesting enough about him besides his relationship with Shayera and his stoic military man personality from the cartoon.
In my opinion every green lantern can be great in their own way.Each of them have different personalities and a backstory that shape how they use the rings.I think there's something to at least appreciate about each and of them.
I JUST watched this yesterday and one of my first thoughts was, why does John Stewart have like the least amount of lines as the "main character". Honestly even counting the mumbles under his breath!
If we already knew these versions of the other characters and Hal was starting to be a little unhinged after going through the ringer in another movie we could have had far more focus on John's journey and maybe parallel it with Hal's fall to serve the positive spin on Apocalypse Now that the creators sound like they were going for.
18:28 - “Aggressively fellating” is not a term I expected to hear from Sasha 😅 21:37 - Sinestro forcing Parallax down Hal’s throat while the latter was unclothed and defenseless… sheesh. I didn’t even think about that when I first watched it.
When she first started taking about “Hal Jordan would be better off dead”, I just sighed and thought “they’re gonna bring in Parallax, aren’t they?” Ugh….. I first read Emerald Twilight when it came out. I remember liking it at the time, but I was an edgelord 90’s teenager. A complete idiot. It did give us Kyle, though. He was always my GL. Thank the gods for Geoff Johns’ retcon of that mess. It wasn’t perfect , but a distinct improvement.
As someone who got into Green Lantern BECAUSE of the War Of Light era.... so glad for Geoff Johns elevating GL into mainstream. How many ppl, even comic fans, cared about Green Lantern b4 that (especially Hal since he had been gone a while)
I like the Sasha's version of the movie better. And I have issues of making the limiting the runtime to 90 minutes or less for kids attention, if you get their interest, kids will watch a 120 minute film. I am sure Hal actually slipped on a yellow roller-skate while in a kabob restaurant and fell into a black hole and this is really a clone of Hal that has concussion brain damage. Spoiler: I would have given Hal's ring much more presence, the ring left Hal because of what Hal was doing and was not willing to keep killing. I would not have Hal killed but imprisoned by his own ring. You can always sequel bait with the fact that Hal's ring is not acting like the other rings and may have the real soul of Hal.
Dang… No matter what timeline Hal always has his darkest moment. I guess what was wrote in the book of destiny The Great Black Lantern, He’s no longer good, he’s can’t be Green.
A few (many) thoughts and mild spolier: John having PTSD from the war is was good and sometimes annoying, sometimes he could overcome it with ease, and others he would be frozen in fear, I know some people who suffer of it have the same issues but man, he flip flopped sooo much Green Arrow was more of a Green Lantern (both the knowledge and the hero will power) than John that I was wondering why the ring didn't jumped to him as soon as possible They tried to set up both of John's romantic relationships from Justice League cartoon, and failed miserably on both. Glad to see Adam Strange, even when as soon as the talk about the Zeta beam started you could see the writing on the wall from him. The whole Sinestro thing was so weird, he was the big band and then he was a lackey, then he was a disciple..... such a weird characterization, not to mention being bested by John who's a rookie and he was once the best GL to ever Lantern
Yeah when the mentioned that Adam had a meta gene that attracted the zeta beam to him I immediately knew what was going to happen with the weapon. This was really a disappointing movie.
My biggest issue with this movie is the lack of commitment in writing. The entire movie the writers were trying to show a parallel experience of soldier PTSD: John Stewart as ex military and Hal with Green Lantern Core PTSD. They maintained that narrative comparison for 80% of the movie then completely threw it away with the "twist" at the end of the movie. It made no sense to make Hal the villan when in reality Hal and John are both victims of the call of a soldier's duty.
You did a great job outlining a lot of my problems with this movie. I think the thing that bothers me the most is that the film decided to explore why John was worthy of Hal's ring rather than why he was worthy of a ring at all. There was so little exploration of John, his willpower, and his ability to overcome fear, which is the reason the rings choose who they choose. John's fear never became an obstacle for him to overcome. It was there, but it didn't affect him very much. I think it would've helped if he actually struggled using the ring because of his fear, and he had to overcome that.
This was great. As a film enthusiast myself I always love checking out the adaptations. And as someone with a degree in film studies, I love critiquing and analyzing them. I know you've mentioned in the past that you don't have much interest in adaptations. But I do hope to see more of this sort of content from you in the future.
The Adam strange plot line was actually introduced in a dc showcase short that was included in the apokolips war movie. So that’s why it might seem out of nowhere, it’s kinda jumping off from there.
When I heard this film was being made and John was the lead, I was psyched. Then I saw it and… so many problems. Too many. John comes off SUPER boring, Hal is ruined for some of the worst reasons, Shayera is just ‘I AM WARRIOR’, Adam Strange was the most interesting but he came out of nowhere and just… died out of nowhere and Green Arrow… holy fuck he was so weird and out of place and I really like green arrow in a GL story! The Sinestro Corps is wasted, the green lantern corps is wasted, the justice league are just not allowed to really be introduced, this film wants to run but not really think ahead. The ending alone just really irks me as a whole where John and Oliver murder Hal and then act uncaring if it at all. Plus This really… bad implication that if Hal is around, you can’t have John. I love the entire GL corps and I don’t think we need Hal to override John, John overide Hal… and can ALAN AND KYLE GET A DAMN STORY?! Great vid BTW, you are super cool and this is my first one of yours, I plan to watch way more!
I've personally never really liked John Stewart and Hawkgirl as a couple. Thought he always had better chemistry with Vixen. The focus on them also led to them disrespecting Hawkman, which made me very upset because he was my favorite superhero going into to Justice League unlimited animated series.
I mean, the hawkman in JL was a sociopath and the hawkman in JLU only appeared for season 3. But I like both couples, especially in the DCAU, but I lend myself more to john and vixen.
Hawkman honestly kind of gets screwed in every appearance outside of the comics. I swear Hawkman has more appearances where he dies than Batman's parents have had.
@@ChaosZero1031 wow, that's a bit exaggerated, don't ya think? I'd say he's died more times than supermans parents (jor-el and lara lor-van, also jonathan.)
I think it was okay in the JLU because they were mostly doing their own story, but they shouldn't have done that here, not specially since on the previous JSA movie, Hawkman wanted to reunite with Hawkgirl in another life, so it feels pretty weird in retrospective
I do wish they played more into his architect side since that's one of my favourite concepts concerning him and I disagree to on that "the colour yellow" line change coming off a lot less stronger than what originally was intended. As for Hal his whole involvement definitely felt it took a lot away from John in this movie and I'd rather they just omitted him completely. As for Parallax itself I like both origins so a blend here at least I still liked.
I get fans each have their own favorite Green Lanterns, but why is it always written that must all the green lanterns compete with each other and mishmash their origins, why can’t they all just get along? Also I like John Stewart being noble and cool, but so often they make him so noble it comes off like he’s non-emotive and too much of a blank slate. I hope it is next adaptation we really see why he loves being an architect or something unique like that.
I swear I’m not just saying this out of bias towards my boy Hal but I can’t be the only one who would want a like, 25-30 minute showcase for Hal Jordan, to show his time as the ‘greatest GL in the universe’ a bit more and also perhaps further his friendship with Ollie too. They did this with Adam Strange I believe
you’re not the only one, im tired of seeing hal being disrespected on dc movies, i wish we could have a cool hal movie without writers downplaying his character, even some old writers put dirt on his name 😭
Thank you kindly for explaining what they were going for with the Apocalypse Now parallel. It kind of feels like they merged two different movies together, but didn't do so seamlessly.
I saw it in the store the other day and thought "John Stewart got his own movie?! Cool!" I didn't buy it, thinking it would be on the HBO app (it isn't.). One thing that bothers me is that a lot of this isn't so much about John as it is EVERYONE ELSE. At this point, Hal Jordan has had 4 or 5 movies of his own, in which the stories were very much Hal Jordan stories. But this movie... there's a Hal/Ollie story, an Adam Strange story, a Hal Jordan story just ...everyone but John. It's sad, really.
John Stewart isn’t the character to use for a comparison movie. Kyle, Guy, Simon, and Jessica are all far more appropriate for the “You aren’t as good as” trope. John is a commanding, tactical, capable, and confident guy. I really don’t like seeing him get sloppy seconds in his own animated movie.
Guy is too arrogant, so he would have the need to be humbled about Also He is also capable The Green Lantern Animated Serie depiction of him for make an example & Technically you could say the same for Kyle (as he was able to master all Rings & become a White) Jessica is the perfect one Specially if you keep her origin as Power Ring
I really like the movie as is, but I would've changed serval things. I would make it a buddy cop movie between hal and john, with johns origin being the same only he's ex-US marines, this being a sequel to Green Lantern: first flight and emerald knights. They would be sent to mosiac world, a patchwork of cities from multiple planets, the second act would have them fighting of strange beasts and find adam strange imprisoned, with hal growing distrustful of the guardians for not giving all the details. They then find Appa Ali Apsa, a guardian who had gone insane and created this world, who teamed up with sinestro and gave him a new yellow ring. They fight, with sinestro flies off, and john stops hal from killing appa. John tells him that there's no need for killing anymore, but hal flies off to earth in a rage, and adam strange asks john what he's gonna do next, with john replying he'll try to make good use of this world, and adam strange flies of. Then we cut to earth, where hal's city is destroyed, as sinestro suggests that this was the guardians fault, with it ending on hal being possessed by parallax.
I'm tired of seeing Hal Jordan discarded or dragged through the mud to make way for at best, mediocre stories. The GL franchise is a diluted shambles currently.
My instant feeling upon viewing was that this thing sucked. Your dissection explains why I felt it sucked. Nicely done. But changing Johns origin and removing his style of making energy ring constructs destroyed the foundation for the story. Then they added a whole bunch of different stories from different points/eras in GL history. And he's continuously over shadowed. Sorry, it's not up to the level of "Aggressively Mediocre". It just sucked.
The movie really could have been about John as an already established but relatively new back up green lantern. He isn’t super active as a lantern and only really puts on the ring when needed, but then he is called upon by the guardians to investigate the disappearance of Hal Jordan in the midst of the Thanagarian and Ranian war. He goes to meet the justice league because through their many adventures have come into contact with Hawkgirl who occasionally works with the League on their intergalactic missions. John Stewart meets with league members Martian manhunter, vixen and Green arrow and similar to how it is in the movie, he teams up with Ollie to try and find Hal by first locating Hawkgirl whom is of course in the outer reaches of space and while not easy to get a hold of, the league does have a lead on her location. Interesting beats of the story, the guardians are clearly keeping things from John, more specifically their failure to properly mediate peace between the two worlds as their closer relation to the more civilized Raniansmakw it difficult to remain neutral in the conflict. As John finds and grows closer to Hawkgirl he must also battle any biases he might have about this conflict so he can properly mediate its resolution. This mission is the most active John has ever been as a green lantern/superhero and so he kind of has to discover his place in a world where he has to step up as both earth’s green lantern and potentially a more regular superhero. This can be explored in the time he spends with green arrow, who being Hal’s best friend and a veteran superhero is experienced with both. John’s unique history as a soldier and his desire to fight for the people and for peace rather than just simply following orders will further be tested by his involvement in this war. Adam strange can later be introduced as he was to give a balanced take on the war. Ultimately what I want is for John to be focused on some what resolving this conflict peacefully. As for Hal, I kind want his disappearance to be due to Sinestro’s involvement with the Thanagarians. Like a big part of this conflict needs to be that while Thanagarians are distinctly superior warriors, they struggle to compete against the more superior technology of the Ranians. So while Jordan was overseeing the safe passage of a civilian ship, he is attacked by the sinestro corp, who defeat Hal because of his focus on civilian safety. Hal is then possessed by parallax and used as purely a weapon devoid of his humanity by Sinestro and the Thanagarians. Hal is a casualty of war, being almost irreversibly possessed and turned into this weapon, killing green lanterns and taking rings maybe The Thanagarians don’t care as they view the guardians as being somewhat biased so they are totally for a green lantern super weapon. Hawkgirl who has worked with Hal and the league in the past is absolutely horrified by this idea of using Hal as a weapon and begins to see what her blind loyalty to her people in this war can bring And yeah that’s kind of how I would approach this kinda . Sinestro doesn’t play both sides only one Hal isn’t an evil bad guy, just a weapon. You could explore the idea of him becoming parallax later as he won’t just magically cured by the end of this And John has to find his place as hero and lantern with Ollie as his mentor and a growing relationship with Hawkgirl
I didn't think that much of it. I didn't know half these heroes it but it felt so disjointed that I could barely hold empathy for it. John has PTSD, shows it for 5 seconds and then has no real impact. John complains about racial profiling, movie doesn't show it to establish it's an obstacle to overcome. John is hesitant to kill, but there's no establishment that he's purposefully killing to go "you know, I'm going to stop killing now" since it was never shown to be a problem in the first place, just back story that you're told to feel but never shown. First few minutes is just John, but as time goes on there's a new team mate, then another team mate, then another team mate, and it never really felt like any were the star because soon you'd meet somebody new and they'd steal the spotlight. I never really got the "yeah, war is good, can't you see? That's why there's a healthy parallel between views" when really it's all a one sided "War is evil, but never necessary, it's evil and anybody who thinks it's useful is wrong". One sided arguments, all of them, that there's no room for thought or depth. The planet scale war was a nice visual spectacle, but that's all I really remember from this which felt very forgettable. I didn't know half the history that you brought up, or felt it warranted more than a 10 min review.
Thanks for including Jon Stewart so prominently among your green thing reviews. My bias leans towards Silver age green things, please let me list a few of my favorites which I'd love to see reviewed on your Channel. First by far would be my favorite Green Lantern story, prisoner of the lantern, from GL 147, April 2002. This for me is the definitive John Stewart retcon and retelling of the origin. Next would be GL 87, partially reviewed here, the introduction of John Stewart, followed by GL 59, the introduction of Guy Gardner. Finally I would love to see your take on JLA number 4 which was the original first meeting of Green Arrow and Green lantern.
i'd say for a better motivation just steal what hal tries to do in zero hour and say coast city got destroyed and he's after power to fix everything like there
From what I’ve seen in the clips and from other peoples reviews of this movie it seemed like this movie was just establishing the galactic side of the universe that this new animated DC universe rather than focusing on a Green Lantern story. The other weird part for me was the inclusion of Adam Strange, not because it was a random plot they plopped in, but because his story in this movie is basically a continuation from an animated short DC released not to long ago which made that short canon to this universe, he even had the same design he had in this movie.
Not only is "To escape the jungle, you must return to it," not the thesis of Apocalypse Now, but _as_ a thesis it's false and potentially damaging. People don't recover from trauma by reliving it. Processing your trauma, sure, but that's about carefully working through how the traumatic event affected you, not physically putting yourself through the literal trauma a second time. Veterans with PTSD don't get better by serving more tours. This guy's ideas aren't just silly, they're dangerous.
Kyle's ring in his origin may also be Hal's, and in the Zero Hour issue of Green Lantern (you know, #0) Kyle has to fight Hal in the remains of Oa. So they didn't just steal part of Kyle's origin, they also stole his Parallax battle.
28:05 - the film is cut down to a shorter runtime, but still 85 minutes. DC needs to recognize that their longer movies are better, for the most part. That's why I look forward to Deluxe Editions. The Death and Return of Superman, for example. They need to stop with these 60 to 80 minute movies. From now on, nothing shorter than 90 minutes. Additional: I know it's more in the execution than the time length. Mask of the Phantasm is less than 80 minutes, and it's perfect.
@@cashomnitrix yup. I'm looking forward to it. I watched both parts 1 & 2 back to back. I enjoyed it overall. I had criticisms, different from the criticisms I had for the original comic. But I think I give them both a 7/10
I know you like to dunk on "Hard Travelling Heroes." And from the perspective of a modern reader looking backwards it can often come across as heavy handed and awkward. But, as someone from that era, the whole series was revolutionary. Back then issues like the Vietnam War, Nixon, and hippies were all part of our day to day lives. One of the most popular shows on television was "All in the Family" - which focused on the clash of viewpoints that often happened between conservatives and liberals. And as a comic book series it was a major influence - leading to the transition from the Silver Age to the Bronze. It was the first superhero comic to explore social issues. And it helped bring more realism, maturity, and depth to comics. Comics no longer were all about supervillains in colorful tights trying to take over the world with a death ray. It certainly defined the character and relationships of Green Lantern, Green Arrow, and Black Canary that last to this day. Before this they were pretty much two-dimensional stock characters. Remember that early JLA story where all the heroes (with the exception of Wonder Woman) change places with each other. And at first no one notices because they all look and act alike. The depiction of Speedy as an addict was certainly both shocking and radical. This was a well-established character who had been around since the 40's, And who had always been portrayed and as a clean cut and upstanding hero figure. I also think that story overall was better than the Spider-Man anti-drug comics that came out around the same time. This directly led to the CCA being updated. It may seem strange that both Green Arrow and Green Lantern can sometimes treat each other so badly. But the idea was that different people from different backgrounds with different views can disagree passionately with each other. But in the end they can still be friends. That was an uplifting message for such turbulent times.
OMG! THANK YOU Sasha! You're explanation was SPOT ON! I never read "Hard Traveling Heroes" Reading that book should Not have been a requirement for understanding this movie. And why is Hal wearing a mask if everyone knows his name. So much for his secret identity. D'OH! And yeah giving a hero someone else's origin is a Major Pet Peeve of mine. If their original origin was good enough for comic fans it's good enough for non comic fans and new comers.
I liked this movie a lot. Flaws and all. However I never have liked Parallax Hal Jordan or his fall from grace in general. I accept it because it's older work that is simply cemented into his history. But DC has moved on from it. Hal's my dude! Favorite character in all of fiction. Period. To see him as Parallax is always painful to me even if he did look well visually. That said, the family and I had fun with this movie overall. Just hoping Hal gets some kind of Cinematic Redemption eventually.
I watched the movie on HBO this morning and yes I still have cable. I find John Stewart's personality really mute and overshadowed by Green Arrow. I thought that the movie was trying to do too much within 90 minutes. That Hal Jordan storyline needs it's own movie.
I grew up with Hal Jordan and Guy Gardener and later came to like Kyle Rayner because of his amazing resistance to corruptibility even in the face of godlike power. But I didn't start to like John till he screwed up so badly that an entire world died just due to his arrogance. I think it was only then that he because a good Green Lantern. This story and this version of John doesn't really interest me.
Is there a video with your thoughts on Razer and/or Aya from "Green Lantern: The Animated Series", I know it's been a while and it's a cancelled series, but there was a lot of unexplored potential in those characters that I think is worth discussing, especially Aya's characterization.
I haven't seen this yet and I still plan to but I'm already seeing an all too common problem. They are attempting to tell way too many stories in this one movie. A sort of origin that isn't really John's origin. Hard traveling heroes but not really daring enough. Rann Thannagar a d the horrors of war. What it means to be a soldier and come out the other side. The Sinestro Corps. Paralax. There's just too much.
I would have gone with Loki's "Yeah, real sad... Anyway!", but Jeremy Clarkson still worked 👍 Also, I agree; if the line would have been about a "color barrier" it would have been more powerful. What they did instead feels like they didn't have the courage to commit. And aside from all that; it's curious how you could call her either Hawk-Girl or Hawt-girl and always be right, search your feelings, you know it to be true 😉😉
@@ProjektTaku my dude, if I ever go full blown Dr. Doom, in one hand I promise health, housing and education will be considered human rights in every territory under my iron fist control; but in the other, dissing on glorious Power Girl, she's who is truth in full splendor, would be punished with 1200 hours of community service. Maximum 6 hours a day, with 30 minutes rest after the first three hours of every shift, hydration guaranteed and provided by the State, but no energy bars. Sweet granola and raisings are a privilege reserved for those able to recognize what a top tier best girl is. This would be the rules, and I would not be sorry.
You know who did this Heart of darkness /apocalypse Now vibe well the Legends Novel Shatterpoint by Mathew Stover. Sorry just wanted to add that I'll get back o watching this awsome review. Your videos brighten up my dull work day 😄
I’m not going too comment on the Movie until I actually see it ( waiting for it to stream on HBOMAX) , But Your “ Because At the start this movie appears to be Aggressively Fellating Hal Jordon, Riding Him Harder than Guy Gardener’s Fiancé “ Sasha You are Fearless, & I Luv it 😍 Keep Up The Outstanding Work 🤷🏾♂️
the producer of Green Lantern the animated series said he planned to have john and hal team up and work together for season 2 if the show never got cancelled
*"Look how they Massacred my boy"* Make stories straightforward, you can't adapt stories without knowing why they work or at the very least the *Theme*
Right before I watched this, I was wondering about and was going to ask why Adam Strange hasn't been seen in DC in so long...I haven't seen him since the 80s. Them BAM!! there he is! Thank you.
![ร้อยพ่อพันแม่ - WanMai [Official MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/XY2pNYASEbg/mqdefault.jpg)
It frustrated me that they went with the military hard-ass version of John Stewart rather than the architect from the comics. The fact that he's an architect with a sharp, analytical mind who creates complex energy constructs instead of big goofy fists was a large part of his character. And it was the primary focus of the Mosaic series, where he used his understanding of systems and stressors to help create and maintain order when many disparate, conflicting species were forced to cohabitate.
Isn't he both? I've always prefered him being a military guy who became an architect. Both add to his skill set especially if he's leading the Corps
@@pickedceasar1216 in the comics he wasn’t a marine veteran until after he was given that backstory in the DCAU.
@@SeanHobenAlkaidswrath ah, I figured it was something like that. But still I prefer him with both. It just adds to his character and badassery
I don't think anyone remembers Mosaic any more sadly. John Stewart was the first human Guardian, I don't think anybody remembers that either.
@@pickedceasar1216 he was giving that in the animated show them they added it into the comics
Poor Hal. He just wanted to be remembered for the planes he flew.
69 noice
Lol
I’ve always hated this obsession with giving other Green Lanterns Hal’s origin. It happened with Kyle on Superman TAS, and now it’s happening again. It’s not just lanterns, the same thing happened to Wally in Justice League, having Barry’s origin and job. I wish the people in charge of making external media were more confident in legacy characters standing on their own.
Outside media love to combine Barry and Wally, since for decades Barry didn't have a strong personality, but Wally's origin is reliant on Barry already existing so to get around it they give whatever Flash they're using Wally's personality and Barry's everything else. Then they just flip a coin to decide the character's name/hair color.
Yeah like how Aussie said, for Barry and wally is more of a difference case since you really need one of them established for the other to exist, but with green lantern is different, they can stand fully on their own if the writer wants, so they don't need to copy origins
I guess, but I wish they’d just use Barry if they were going to put so much of Barry in him anyway. Or they could just say that Barry existed in the past. Being Kid Flash was an important part of Wally, and there’s like, next to nothing outside of comics that does that.
this isn't hal's origin tho.
@@AussieDragoon lol, that's the funniest idea of how they make a flash.
But wally did have barry's origin originally.
It really feels like Hal's become the Justice League equivalent of Nightwing in these animated movies. Constantly getting sidelined, or in the case of this version, turn evil against his will(?) and then die for it. And the DCAMU version of the character got killed in a slideshow.
Hal's gonna need at least a few more dunkings if he wants to even approach Dick's level of getting crapped on. Dick "One Good Outing" Grayson is untouchable in that regard right now.
Yeah, he's my favorite Green Lantern so it sucks seeing what they're doing to him. Especially since there are so many cool stories to tell with Hal.
It happened in the comics being corrupted
Feels a lot like that in the comics at the moment too. He’s back in Dark Crisis at the minute though so fingers crossed.
you know who's the actual definition of sidelined? Kyle Rayner. That man is nowhere to be found. This man can't even have his origin story. This movie is basically a Kyle Rayner story, and single handedly took down 2 characters down (Hal and Kyle) to elevate John.
Was there ever a more appropriate time to ask, "Why would Hal Jordan do this?"
Yes, anytime you can ask "Why would Hal Jordan do this?"
Because he is parallax.
The fear entity possessed him which turned him into parallax
Do you mean “why would he do this again?”
@@Foniofinesse. I heard in the comics, it took mongul decimating the entirity of coast city for him to snap!
Sinestro loves chaos ? Sinestro is obsessed with order, but his concept of order is like a dictatorship, this is just wrong.
My issue with Hal as a villain has always been that, well, Sinestro exists. You have a “fallen angel/Darth Vader” style Green Lantern villain.
But that doesn't work as much as Hal does. We actually saw Hal as a hero. we saw his triumphs. Thus, when we see him breaking down it actually has gravitas, unlike with Sinestro who we always saw as a villain from the get go until someone said he once was a hero. Hal having enough after always cleaning up behind the guardians while always getting left behind to fight on his own when he needs help makes a lot of sense, and I actually got behind that reasoning why he decided to become Paralax in the first place.
I will admit though that his characterisation in Emerald twilight is shaky at best, they only started to nail it down in Zero Hour.
@@EnerKaizer then how about introduce sinestro as a hero before becoming a villain
Right?? Like it's the same reason why I hate the "evil Superman" trope considering Zod exists
@@MiguelGonzalez-du8de All Superman villains by default are evil Superman. Extremely powerful beings who can do so much great but choose to cause destruction in some way. Even the giant gorilla
@@MiguelGonzalez-du8de zod is so far removed from clark tho and superman aside from his powers.
My usual problem with super hero movies is shown here. They try to take too many comic stories and tell them in one story. Each story gets weaker as they try to fit more themes in. Eventually, the entire whole loses all meaning and semblance to the source material.
I hqve noticed that problem with certain comic book IP films like the X-Men, Justice League and especially Green Lantern, as the Green Lantern mytho's are comprised of so much fascinating lore and stories that it could make up an entire saga of films, byt the problem is that they keep jumping the hun with all the stories and try to combine them without proper focus and long term direction... sometimes for something to be great, it takes time to grow and flourish rather than rush something thaat vould be beautiful, and that goes for Green Lantern. That's why I think Green Lantern: First Flight, Green Lantern: Emerald Knights and Green Lantern: The Animated Series are some of the best GL media we've seen as for the most part they take their time with the mytho's and were all setting things up for something bigger, but we're never given a chance.
@@milkiassamuel780 Ironically other heroes seem to have the opposite problem. Like Batman where he’s always reset to 0 in adaptions, isn’t allowed 80% of the batfamily, and gets the same stories adapted.
@@vullord666 lol yeah.
Really would like to see dick, jason, tim etc
@@vullord666 thats because characters like batman and spider man are rebooted all the time with diferent actors and directors,batman and robin burned the batfamily for mainstream aldiences and modern directors , batman adaptions almost never are a 1 to 1 adaptation
@@asura7915 The Batfamily is also one of those things it's hard to do faithfully in adaptation. The ages of the Robins is the obvious problem, but the size is another. Cassandra Cain needs an entire movie to have her origin, and that's just the second Batgirl. The best ways to do an entire Batfamily in film would be either to just already have them all there and give only a bit of time for each (which would suck) or else make an entire MCU number of films just building the Batfamily. You'd need entire phases just for Robins. Barbara almost got her own movie which could have let Cassandra get a film one day but so much for that.
Felt no one came out of this looking good. John Stewart came off as a “Mary Sue.” Hal Jordan came off as nothing more than a plot device to make John look better. Shayera was obtuse. Adam Strange was just “there.” Also, many aspects of the plot don’t hold up to strict scrutiny. John, with almost no training, being able to hold his own against a corrupted Hal Jordan, who’s wielding +10 rings. Hal Jordan callously murdering baddies who, ultimately were following his lead. The war immediately deflating once the guilty parties had been identified.
Thank you! The newbie Green Lantern ( John) beating the greatest “Green Lantern in the universe” didn’t make sense. Even if Hal was corrupted- he had ten rings!!!
I know they were tying to make it a “big moment” but it would have been better if they has Hal fighting back against the parasite and in a moment of clarity of mind telling Ollie to take the shot to end the threat.
I would have bought that!
It's really hard to combine all the elements they put in the casserole in just 1 movie. They should have just made his origin, he's the focus with 1 villain.
@@Leadeshipcoach maybe all five of four of rag team are able to get John one Lucky punch in which snaps back to his senses
@@Press_X_to_doubtit could've had so much potential as a 3-part series, but the writers were impatient and thought they could cram every detail into one movie and in the end it was a mess.
@@Leadeshipcoach This makes it much more plausible, but a) they want Hal to die "evil" (no moment of clarity, no redemption whatsoever), and b) they wanted John to beat him (which makes no sense whatsoever - what the f--- weak-ass threat was Hal if a newbie GL could take him.
This movie was weak and had a clear agenda to remove Hal entirely. They didn't even bury or mourn him. His dead body is still in space???
To take Hal out, Olly should have just pulled out a bar of soap. Hal would have knocked himself out. He could have been taken into custody, the parasite could have been removed or something and Olly wouldn't have had to kill his best friend.
One of my hangups with this film was the voice acting. Not the actual quality, (It was solid) but the fact that my brain refuses to register anyone who isn't Phil LaMarr as John, and the fact that Hal's voice is the same as Superman's voice in Young Justice so my brain just thinks of that voice as Superman.
Phil LaMarr is a gem he's so good. Samurai Jack!
@@CasuallyComics Also a random Robin hood like character in a Fosters Home for Imaginary Friends tv movie or special or something
Reminds me of when they did like a trilogy of Justice League films, and Hal was CLEARLY written for Nathan Fillion, but he was replaced by Wash/K2-SO… I can’t remember the actor’s name but it’s literally like the other guy who is always with Nathan Fillion except in Castle… they even had a podcast together, I think… and the dude is great as K2-SO. Literally the only character I tend to remember from Rogue One. We should be getting a K2 series, not an Andor one… but he’s not Nathan Fillion. He’s even really funny. He’s great as Wash and bouncing off Nathan Fillion! But he’s not NF. And he shouldn’t have played Hal.
OG Static Shock
@@Paradox-es3bl you were thinking of Alan Tudyk
Am I the only one who sadly wants Hal Jordan to have not turned evil.
Nope. You are
not the only one
They're wasting him atp
No he's one of my favorites and it's so sad that they keep wasting him like that
Trust and believe, so many people wished this movie was done better than it was, and almost everyone can agree Hal was done dirty here.
@@borderlands10 its been him being done shitty for decades
"Riding him harder than Guy Gardner's fiancee!"
Wait. Did that happen in the comics? Damn, Hal, you are a villain.
I was really annoyed at how the movie treated Hal. First they make it seem like he's dead, then he's alive, then he's evil, then he says he's evil because Sinstero implanted a creature inside him and instead of trying to remove it and save him, they just kill him. Ollie just shoots him in the back, doesn't try and stun him (doesn't he carry stun arrows) or something so they can try and use John's ring to remove the creatue? No, just murder him.
It was also annoying, in the accompanying material, totally run down Hal to push up John rather than let John stand on his own. Very disrespectful, when they could easily have brought John in and passed the ring on without running Hal down or murdering him.
Meh.
In my opinion, they really shouldn’t have killed Hal. Just trapped him and tried to figure out how to free him of the parasite inside him
They should've used a zeta beam to send him deep into Space far from any known Galaxy and have him begin to fly back.
I feel like the whole thing about not focusing on the titular character has been a huge problem in these Tomorrowverse movies. The same thing happened in the Justice Society movie, where you're expecting to see JSA members have the spotlight but instead it just focuses on Barry Allen and Earth 2 Wonder Woman, and it becomes distracting because you know these characters could have movies on their own in the future, so seeing them here feels like they're just robbing the spotlight from other less known JSA members.
It’s so weird how they didn’t even make a justice league origin for this continuity, like at the end of the long Halloween movie felt forced to have GA and Barry into it.
I think they’d be better served just doing movies this time around instead of the “everything is connected” because they’re current moves are destroying a lot of potential in this verse
My favorite Green Lantern has always been Hal Jordan. Don't really like what they did with him here.
Literally, I was waiting for Oliver to snap Hal out of the thing, I hate that they killed him, honestly I thought there was gonna be a post Credit scene that in it we see Hal getting up
@@Kyraaa7 should have happened but I always thought green arrow killing paralax was ridiculous even in the comic but at least then the specter had helped
@@Dinoman-mo7mt I mean given their background, it is. Like if you found out you’re best friend has done horrible things but then found out it wasn’t their own choice and something was controlling them would you kill them or like find a solution to save them? (Btw finding a solution might not be easy but it is possible, Oliver is a superhero after all and he can even ask for the others help especially Barry)
@@Kyraaa7 my problem isn't that he does cause hal is the biggest threat to to universe as paralax but rather that he can yes the unstoppable fear entity that beat the spector and how is he killed green arrow shot him I mean come on he is using a normal bow and arrow
@@Dinoman-mo7mt yeah, it doesn't make sense
This sounds like what I call "dev head" in videogame circles. One can become so familiar with a fictional universe that you have to work really hard to see the work from the perspective of an outsider and a fan, to the point at which some things are so obvious to you that you don't even consider explaining or contextualizing them. But in any case this doesn't feel like John's origin, just the origin of his code against killing. The movie had a lot of good ideas but did not seem to have enough focus on any of them. I think your suggestions are good.
I do like the mystery of John becoming a GL by simply having Hal's ring show up (after all if Hal is "dead" (from a certain point of view), the ring needs a new wielder. I don't like him being unable to remove it, It makes sense for John to try to solve the mystery by contacting the League and most of the rest of things begins to fall into place from there. If Parallax actually kills Hal it then explains his behavior (except spreading fear by threatening the universe not actually destroying it) and sets him up for later appearances as the Spectre or being brought back.
On the other hand, if the point is Apocalypse Now and simply deciding to be a god of a planet or something... I can't even stretch the darkest interpretation of Hal that far, at least not without the whole "no you can't use the ring to resurrect loved ones"" bit.
"dev head" sounds about right.
I don't know if that would apply to this. To a theatrical movie courting a wider audience beyond the fanbase, sure. But, this is a direct-to-video movie with a lower budget not really intended for an audience beyond comic fans.
In that context, I think that you should go in assuming that the people who want to seek out this movie and watch it are at least familiar with the basics. Like, they should have a vague idea of his origin story, OA, Sinestro, and Parallax, but they might not know anything beyond those things.
I thought it was cool to see Adam Strange in this movie, but only because it was a call back to his appearance in his DC Showcase segment. I think if Sinestro had been the main villain, and Hal was kept in the shadows, the movie would have worked a little better. It would have been cool to show Parallax at the end of the movie to open up a sequel.
So many of bits referenced to the showcase Adam Strange short and I’m curious why. It’s great but it’s so close it’s almost like a prequel for this if you want to understand what his deal is,
@@michaelmitchell1933 Maybe this started as an Adam Strange movie, but since he is not a popular character, they included John Steward Green Lantern. It could explain why John seems like more of a support character. No idea though.
@@argar6174 agreed. This movie could have been handled much better.
And the idea that it was a movie intended for someone else, with John shoehorned into it, makes sense. Unfortunately
Agreed. This movie is already having the audience needing knowledge of events outside the story like the importance of guardians and the Ran / Thanigar War and Adam strange. Having a more established villian like Sinestro be main bad guy. Also I did not like how they limited the character of Hawkgirl and put in a variety of characters felt like lazy writing compared to a tight more dangerous group supporting Sinestro.
The recent JSA movie also gives a conclusion to the Kamandi short it came with in the Blu-Ray version.
I liked JLU John for those little things like him not having a mask, being loved in his neighborhood. I also loved that he was never overshadowed by the rest of the Corps.
In contrast, here he is copying someone else's origin, is barely a blip on Earth, and is a bit of a side character to more experienced heroes and a larger mystery he wasn't really involved in.
“Aggressively mediocre”… I Agree 💯! I watched this movie twice so I could say that I gave it a fair shot. I tried to like it… I didn’t. I wish they’d given John Stewart his own origin story for this movie instead of a reimagined, cut-and-paste, mashup of Hal Jordan’s origin, Emerald Twilight & Emerald Dawn stories. It wound up doing a disservice to both characters.
It seem to me that this movie’s Green Lantern should have been Kyle Rainer given the origin story is his.
Well said
And suddenly I feel the need of never stop apologizing the late Joel Schumacher because until this "movie" happened I never knew that I was being too heartless with him
@@nestorsifuentesaguirre2722 To be fair I feel like Joel Schumacher’s Batman films are overhated similar to the Adam West’s Batman ‘66, first Fantastic Four movies, Spider-man 3, and Nick Cage’s Ghost Rider. Yes there is some flaws, but they’re at least fun as hell.
@@SuperEasywalker I say it again this is the reason I feel the need of apologizing these directors if I were ever needlessly cruel to them
1:45 - "it's actually trying to emulate another film" - that's interesting to me for comparisons sake, because I feel that the best Green Lantern movie thus far is Green Lantern First Flight, which was clearly emulating Training Day, and it worked wonderfully.
I couldn't agree more. I very much loved the idea of the film taking inspiration from Training Day but in space, having Hal as Ethan Hawke's Jake Hoyt and Sinestro as Denzel Washington's Alonzo Harris, both reflecting different viewpoints about authority and translating said characteristics effectively to Hal and Sinestro, giving them a fascinating dynamic as both enemies and once as partners, that is almost a kin to say Obi-Wan and Anakin's friendship turned rivalry, but in swapped around. Green Lantern: First Flight still to this day might be the best Green Lantern film, and one of the best DC animated films in general.
@@milkiassamuel780 I absolutely wholeheartedly agree with your statements
@@orinanime Thanks, I appreciate that, and you do make some great points comparing GL: First Flight and Training Day.
I do wish to Beware My Power though could've done a better job at presenting John Stewart's character as well as portraying Hal's turn into villainy with a lot more subtlety and nuance. Although I didn't mind them killing the entire GL Corps I do still wish they could've had some interactions among fellow GLs, as I think Green Lantern works as an intergalactic hero because of all the alien worlds, and interactions between said Lanterns and new species, thus making the GL Corps so much more interesting when utilised effectively, and instead of being a generic alien police force, the GL Corps should feel like a brotherhood/sisterhood of beings from countless sectors uniting to guard the universe. Aside from that, I didn't hate the film, but I wouldn't say it's one of my favourite DC animated films.
@@milkiassamuel780 I don't have any hate for Beware My Power either.
But of the nearly 50 animated DC movies released thus far... It's not even in the top 25 for me
@@orinanime Perfectly said. Although now I am a bit concerned about how other films in the Tomorrow-verse will be written.
Btw, nearly 50 animated films! Wow seriously?
I took John knowing about Hal like this:
Hal is Air Force and known as a great pilot. Even if retried, John was Marines and most likely still has friends in service. It's natural that he either heard of Ace Pilot Jordan when in the Corps, or from friends.
Fun Fact: Hal and John actually met, before becoming Green Lantern's, back in their youth when they were both in training and got into a bar fight brawl by accident between air force cadets and marine cadets. Neither knowing the two would be good friends in the future.
Would have been fun if he had dunked on Hal the way a marine would. The military branches love dunking on each other.
Imagine if John had been sent on a mission to retrieve this crazy pilot who cratered his plane to save lives. John and Hal have a whole Behind Enemy Lines episode before they're even Lanterns.
This whole thing was a vehicle to take the shine away from Hal Jordan as the Big hero.
Let's keep it all the way real. You know now it's popular to be hating on the straight white heroes.
It wasn't just about John Stewart, it was also totally made to turn Hal into a VILLAIN and get rid of him for good.
And goodness overall it was just boring
Well, he's also one of the most popular superheroes in the world. Like it was odd that they had Jon seemingly not knowing who the Justice League were. How would he not know that when even kids do?
Sasha plus Green Lantern equals me waiting for Hal Jordan ribbing, even if Hal isn't the lantern in question
I found a panel of Hal being attacked by a banana, you know I used it lol
@@CasuallyComics Casually Comics Comedy Gold lol
Comedy gold? Oh no that’s yellow! Quick we have to-
It feels like everyone's character got assassinated. I really want John to get his movie and shine. Definitely agree that the Apocalypse Now interpretation was a swing and a very wide miss. Why are people that don't understand subtext getting writing jobs? Like, I am a regular dude with no formal writing education or training but even I get subtext and concepts like show, don't tell. Are movies being made by dumb people or for dumb people?
Movies are being made by folks who understand these things from a fan perspective, basically. Art used to be made by folks who had inspiration, and did a lot of things mostly intuitively, because current stories are written by folks who reduce stories to tropes etc and then think that's what makes them good.
@@blanktrigger8863seems even fans understand these characters and how they work better than the writers who were given free reign over them, it's embarrassing to see, honestly.
@@borderlands10. That's also dependant on the company making these things, you know! Batman the brave and the bold's staff we're not only intimately familliar with the silver age, but had enough story telling know how, to bring it on screen accurately as possible, all the while adding onto it! For example,"the super Batman of planet X"!
I was very surprised when you mentioned this was only 85 minutes! It sounded like between John's origin story, Hard Traveling Heroes, the Rann-Thanagar War, and Emerald Twilight this movie had a lot to balance and I have no idea how they managed to fit all of that into 85 minutes. Any of those stories could be a full-length movie on its own, I have to imagine they watered everything down a lot to put it all in a single movie.
everything is watered down, parallax origin in the movie is just cop out to have john as a focus while john's origin isn't actuallyused but instead just slot John in Kyle's origin...in the end, the movie is full on disappointment even on a standpoint of new watchers who don't know who hal or any of these character was.
That Sinestro's death scene is so weird. The "You gave me no choice" line makes it sound that he regrets it, but he did it on purpose.
Honestly, it has Semper problem from Spider-Man TAS. Plotlines just don't jam together and the end result is just weird.
Really I think John did really well in Spider-Man TAS and I hope he can do good stories here. But if they cut a lot of scenes then yeah that will be a problem especially if they need to cut down on core story just to fit in action.
I feels like they took so much from other lanterns to try and make him interesting. Kyle’s origin as the only Lantern and Hal’s ptsd from New Frontier or Jessica Cruz’s ptsd. It doesn’t really feel liked they pulled anything from John’s actual stories for the character. I get that he’s the lantern that a lot of people recognize from the JL cartoon but was he really that many people’s favorite character in the show? He didn’t really shine too much in that show compared to everyone else. It just seems weird that they want to make John the main GL in this story but don’t seem to think there’s anything interesting enough about him besides his relationship with Shayera and his stoic military man personality from the cartoon.
You cap asf and sound like a hater cuz a lot of ppl fucked with John from the show
If I had quarter for every time an actor for Deadpool played Green Lantern, I’d have two, which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice.
You can take that 50 cents to the bank lol
In my opinion every green lantern can be great in their own way.Each of them have different personalities and a backstory that shape how they use the rings.I think there's something to at least appreciate about each and of them.
I JUST watched this yesterday and one of my first thoughts was, why does John Stewart have like the least amount of lines as the "main character". Honestly even counting the mumbles under his breath!
I honestly think they took cues from Rambo First Blood to go with the PTSD thing
If we already knew these versions of the other characters and Hal was starting to be a little unhinged after going through the ringer in another movie we could have had far more focus on John's journey and maybe parallel it with Hal's fall to serve the positive spin on Apocalypse Now that the creators sound like they were going for.
18:28 - “Aggressively fellating” is not a term I expected to hear from Sasha 😅
21:37 - Sinestro forcing Parallax down Hal’s throat while the latter was unclothed and defenseless… sheesh. I didn’t even think about that when I first watched it.
When she first started taking about “Hal Jordan would be better off dead”, I just sighed and thought “they’re gonna bring in Parallax, aren’t they?”
Ugh…..
I first read Emerald Twilight when it came out. I remember liking it at the time, but I was an edgelord 90’s teenager. A complete idiot.
It did give us Kyle, though. He was always my GL.
Thank the gods for Geoff Johns’ retcon of that mess. It wasn’t perfect , but a distinct improvement.
As someone who got into Green Lantern BECAUSE of the War Of Light era.... so glad for Geoff Johns elevating GL into mainstream. How many ppl, even comic fans, cared about Green Lantern b4 that (especially Hal since he had been gone a while)
I like the Sasha's version of the movie better. And I have issues of making the limiting the runtime to 90 minutes or less for kids attention, if you get their interest, kids will watch a 120 minute film.
I am sure Hal actually slipped on a yellow roller-skate while in a kabob restaurant and fell into a black hole and this is really a clone of Hal that has concussion brain damage.
Spoiler: I would have given Hal's ring much more presence, the ring left Hal because of what Hal was doing and was not willing to keep killing. I would not have Hal killed but imprisoned by his own ring. You can always sequel bait with the fact that Hal's ring is not acting like the other rings and may have the real soul of Hal.
This movie was ok but it could’ve been so much better tho I’m still excited to see more about this new continuity
Is there any mention of a follow-up ?
I’m also excited for more of this universe just not anything to do with GL though
@@ooklalemok245
At Comic Con they announced they're making a Justice League movie for it
With WB murdering so much animated content I wouldn't be too optimistic about any form of follow-up.
I love how Hal's ring is like "Dude, you were knocked out by a bar of soap. I'm getting a replacement." LOL
Terrible writing lol. How do these ppl get hired by dc 😂
that's kinda funny.
This makes the ring seem like an person who left for someone better, and has is a jealous ex.
Dang… No matter what timeline Hal always has his darkest moment. I guess what was wrote in the book of destiny
The Great Black Lantern, He’s no longer good, he’s can’t be Green.
Until it gets retconned to some extend and everyone just forgets that hal comited a genocide
A few (many) thoughts and mild spolier:
John having PTSD from the war is was good and sometimes annoying, sometimes he could overcome it with ease, and others he would be frozen in fear, I know some people who suffer of it have the same issues but man, he flip flopped sooo much
Green Arrow was more of a Green Lantern (both the knowledge and the hero will power) than John that I was wondering why the ring didn't jumped to him as soon as possible
They tried to set up both of John's romantic relationships from Justice League cartoon, and failed miserably on both.
Glad to see Adam Strange, even when as soon as the talk about the Zeta beam started you could see the writing on the wall from him.
The whole Sinestro thing was so weird, he was the big band and then he was a lackey, then he was a disciple..... such a weird characterization, not to mention being bested by John who's a rookie and he was once the best GL to ever Lantern
Yeah when the mentioned that Adam had a meta gene that attracted the zeta beam to him I immediately knew what was going to happen with the weapon.
This was really a disappointing movie.
My biggest issue with this movie is the lack of commitment in writing. The entire movie the writers were trying to show a parallel experience of soldier PTSD: John Stewart as ex military and Hal with Green Lantern Core PTSD. They maintained that narrative comparison for 80% of the movie then completely threw it away with the "twist" at the end of the movie. It made no sense to make Hal the villan when in reality Hal and John are both victims of the call of a soldier's duty.
You did a great job outlining a lot of my problems with this movie. I think the thing that bothers me the most is that the film decided to explore why John was worthy of Hal's ring rather than why he was worthy of a ring at all. There was so little exploration of John, his willpower, and his ability to overcome fear, which is the reason the rings choose who they choose. John's fear never became an obstacle for him to overcome. It was there, but it didn't affect him very much. I think it would've helped if he actually struggled using the ring because of his fear, and he had to overcome that.
That's a really great way to phrase the dynamic that occurred with John getting Hal's ring.
Everyone's talking about the bad depiction of Hal, but Sinestro went out like a little wimper
This was great. As a film enthusiast myself I always love checking out the adaptations. And as someone with a degree in film studies, I love critiquing and analyzing them.
I know you've mentioned in the past that you don't have much interest in adaptations. But I do hope to see more of this sort of content from you in the future.
The Adam strange plot line was actually introduced in a dc showcase short that was included in the apokolips war movie. So that’s why it might seem out of nowhere, it’s kinda jumping off from there.
When I heard this film was being made and John was the lead, I was psyched.
Then I saw it and… so many problems. Too many. John comes off SUPER boring, Hal is ruined for some of the worst reasons, Shayera is just ‘I AM WARRIOR’, Adam Strange was the most interesting but he came out of nowhere and just… died out of nowhere and Green Arrow… holy fuck he was so weird and out of place and I really like green arrow in a GL story!
The Sinestro Corps is wasted, the green lantern corps is wasted, the justice league are just not allowed to really be introduced, this film wants to run but not really think ahead. The ending alone just really irks me as a whole where John and Oliver murder Hal and then act uncaring if it at all. Plus This really… bad implication that if Hal is around, you can’t have John.
I love the entire GL corps and I don’t think we need Hal to override John, John overide Hal… and can ALAN AND KYLE GET A DAMN STORY?!
Great vid BTW, you are super cool and this is my first one of yours, I plan to watch way more!
I've personally never really liked John Stewart and Hawkgirl as a couple. Thought he always had better chemistry with Vixen. The focus on them also led to them disrespecting Hawkman, which made me very upset because he was my favorite superhero going into to Justice League unlimited animated series.
I mean, the hawkman in JL was a sociopath and the hawkman in JLU only appeared for season 3.
But I like both couples, especially in the DCAU, but I lend myself more to john and vixen.
Hawkman honestly kind of gets screwed in every appearance outside of the comics.
I swear Hawkman has more appearances where he dies than Batman's parents have had.
@@ChaosZero1031 wow, that's a bit exaggerated, don't ya think?
I'd say he's died more times than supermans parents (jor-el and lara lor-van, also jonathan.)
I think it was okay in the JLU because they were mostly doing their own story, but they shouldn't have done that here, not specially since on the previous JSA movie, Hawkman wanted to reunite with Hawkgirl in another life, so it feels pretty weird in retrospective
@@ChaosZero1031 the only shows where he got respect was in The Batman show and Batman: The Brave and the Bold. Love both those shows.
I do wish they played more into his architect side since that's one of my favourite concepts concerning him and I disagree to on that "the colour yellow" line change coming off a lot less stronger than what originally was intended. As for Hal his whole involvement definitely felt it took a lot away from John in this movie and I'd rather they just omitted him completely. As for Parallax itself I like both origins so a blend here at least I still liked.
I get fans each have their own favorite Green Lanterns, but why is it always written that must all the green lanterns compete with each other and mishmash their origins, why can’t they all just get along?
Also I like John Stewart being noble and cool, but so often they make him so noble it comes off like he’s non-emotive and too much of a blank slate. I hope it is next adaptation we really see why he loves being an architect or something unique like that.
I only have really three hang ups killing off Sinestro, Making Hal Paralax, and and John stealing Kyles origin
I swear I’m not just saying this out of bias towards my boy Hal but I can’t be the only one who would want a like, 25-30 minute showcase for Hal Jordan, to show his time as the ‘greatest GL in the universe’ a bit more and also perhaps further his friendship with Ollie too.
They did this with Adam Strange I believe
you’re not the only one, im tired of seeing hal being disrespected on dc movies, i wish we could have a cool hal movie without writers downplaying his character, even some old writers put dirt on his name 😭
Thank you kindly for explaining what they were going for with the Apocalypse Now parallel. It kind of feels like they merged two different movies together, but didn't do so seamlessly.
I saw it in the store the other day and thought "John Stewart got his own movie?! Cool!" I didn't buy it, thinking it would be on the HBO app (it isn't.). One thing that bothers me is that a lot of this isn't so much about John as it is EVERYONE ELSE. At this point, Hal Jordan has had 4 or 5 movies of his own, in which the stories were very much Hal Jordan stories. But this movie... there's a Hal/Ollie story, an Adam Strange story, a Hal Jordan story just
...everyone but John. It's sad, really.
There was a point in the comics where Hal and John fought. Green Lantern: Mosaic #8. John kicked his ass!
Wow! Someone else read MOSAIC!!!
John Stewart isn’t the character to use for a comparison movie. Kyle, Guy, Simon, and Jessica are all far more appropriate for the “You aren’t as good as” trope. John is a commanding, tactical, capable, and confident guy. I really don’t like seeing him get sloppy seconds in his own animated movie.
Guy is too arrogant, so he would have the need to be humbled about
Also He is also capable
The Green Lantern Animated Serie depiction of him for make an example
& Technically you could say the same for Kyle (as he was able to master all Rings & become a White)
Jessica is the perfect one
Specially if you keep her origin as Power Ring
I really like the movie as is, but I would've changed serval things.
I would make it a buddy cop movie between hal and john, with johns origin being the same only he's ex-US marines, this being a sequel to Green Lantern: first flight and emerald knights. They would be sent to mosiac world, a patchwork of cities from multiple planets, the second act would have them fighting of strange beasts and find adam strange imprisoned, with hal growing distrustful of the guardians for not giving all the details.
They then find Appa Ali Apsa, a guardian who had gone insane and created this world, who teamed up with sinestro and gave him a new yellow ring. They fight, with sinestro flies off, and john stops hal from killing appa. John tells him that there's no need for killing anymore, but hal flies off to earth in a rage, and adam strange asks john what he's gonna do next, with john replying he'll try to make good use of this world, and adam strange flies of.
Then we cut to earth, where hal's city is destroyed, as sinestro suggests that this was the guardians fault, with it ending on hal being possessed by parallax.
21:00 I like that they gave Hal his iconic brown eyes. It made him stand out from all the blue eyed characters from the founding seven league members.
I'm tired of seeing Hal Jordan discarded or dragged through the mud to make way for at best, mediocre stories. The GL franchise is a diluted shambles currently.
Great great analysis, love that you actually broke down why the movie fumbles, especially in regard to Hal.
The beast GL cartoon representation remains the 2 part Green Loontern episode in Duck Dodgers, which contains the greatest rendition of the oath ever.
As a fan of Green Lantern I can say that this movie is so wrong in several elements that it disappoints.
My instant feeling upon viewing was that this thing sucked. Your dissection explains why I felt it sucked. Nicely done. But changing Johns origin and removing his style of making energy ring constructs destroyed the foundation for the story. Then they added a whole bunch of different stories from different points/eras in GL history. And he's continuously over shadowed. Sorry, it's not up to the level of "Aggressively Mediocre". It just sucked.
It’s a very 80’s comic looking movie with a more modern story telling. A very your mileage may vary experience.
The movie really could have been about John as an already established but relatively new back up green lantern. He isn’t super active as a lantern and only really puts on the ring when needed, but then he is called upon by the guardians to investigate the disappearance of Hal Jordan in the midst of the Thanagarian and Ranian war. He goes to meet the justice league because through their many adventures have come into contact with Hawkgirl who occasionally works with the League on their intergalactic missions. John Stewart meets with league members Martian manhunter, vixen and Green arrow and similar to how it is in the movie, he teams up with Ollie to try and find Hal by first locating Hawkgirl whom is of course in the outer reaches of space and while not easy to get a hold of, the league does have a lead on her location. Interesting beats of the story, the guardians are clearly keeping things from John, more specifically their failure to properly mediate peace between the two worlds as their closer relation to the more civilized Raniansmakw it difficult to remain neutral in the conflict. As John finds and grows closer to Hawkgirl he must also battle any biases he might have about this conflict so he can properly mediate its resolution. This mission is the most active John has ever been as a green lantern/superhero and so he kind of has to discover his place in a world where he has to step up as both earth’s green lantern and potentially a more regular superhero. This can be explored in the time he spends with green arrow, who being Hal’s best friend and a veteran superhero is experienced with both. John’s unique history as a soldier and his desire to fight for the people and for peace rather than just simply following orders will further be tested by his involvement in this war.
Adam strange can later be introduced as he was to give a balanced take on the war.
Ultimately what I want is for John to be focused on some what resolving this conflict peacefully.
As for Hal, I kind want his disappearance to be due to Sinestro’s involvement with the Thanagarians. Like a big part of this conflict needs to be that while Thanagarians are distinctly superior warriors, they struggle to compete against the more superior technology of the Ranians. So while Jordan was overseeing the safe passage of a civilian ship, he is attacked by the sinestro corp, who defeat Hal because of his focus on civilian safety. Hal is then possessed by parallax and used as purely a weapon devoid of his humanity by Sinestro and the Thanagarians.
Hal is a casualty of war, being almost irreversibly possessed and turned into this weapon, killing green lanterns and taking rings maybe
The Thanagarians don’t care as they view the guardians as being somewhat biased so they are totally for a green lantern super weapon.
Hawkgirl who has worked with Hal and the league in the past is absolutely horrified by this idea of using Hal as a weapon and begins to see what her blind loyalty to her people in this war can bring
And yeah that’s kind of how I would approach this kinda .
Sinestro doesn’t play both sides only one
Hal isn’t an evil bad guy, just a weapon. You could explore the idea of him becoming parallax later as he won’t just magically cured by the end of this
And John has to find his place as hero and lantern with Ollie as his mentor and a growing relationship with Hawkgirl
I didn't think that much of it. I didn't know half these heroes it but it felt so disjointed that I could barely hold empathy for it.
John has PTSD, shows it for 5 seconds and then has no real impact. John complains about racial profiling, movie doesn't show it to establish it's an obstacle to overcome. John is hesitant to kill, but there's no establishment that he's purposefully killing to go "you know, I'm going to stop killing now" since it was never shown to be a problem in the first place, just back story that you're told to feel but never shown. First few minutes is just John, but as time goes on there's a new team mate, then another team mate, then another team mate, and it never really felt like any were the star because soon you'd meet somebody new and they'd steal the spotlight. I never really got the "yeah, war is good, can't you see? That's why there's a healthy parallel between views" when really it's all a one sided "War is evil, but never necessary, it's evil and anybody who thinks it's useful is wrong". One sided arguments, all of them, that there's no room for thought or depth.
The planet scale war was a nice visual spectacle, but that's all I really remember from this which felt very forgettable. I didn't know half the history that you brought up, or felt it warranted more than a 10 min review.
Thanks for including Jon Stewart so prominently among your green thing reviews. My bias leans towards Silver age green things, please let me list a few of my favorites which I'd love to see reviewed on your Channel. First by far would be my favorite Green Lantern story, prisoner of the lantern, from GL 147, April 2002. This for me is the definitive John Stewart retcon and retelling of the origin. Next would be GL 87, partially reviewed here, the introduction of John Stewart, followed by GL 59, the introduction of Guy Gardner. Finally I would love to see your take on JLA number 4 which was the original first meeting of Green Arrow and Green lantern.
Sasha!!
18:28 - Agressively Felating Hal???
Did I Mishear?
love
Steve Holliday
i'd say for a better motivation just steal what hal tries to do in zero hour and say coast city got destroyed and he's after power to fix everything like there
Maybe the *John Stewart/Huckleberry Hound film* will improve what this film was missing.
From what I’ve seen in the clips and from other peoples reviews of this movie it seemed like this movie was just establishing the galactic side of the universe that this new animated DC universe rather than focusing on a Green Lantern story. The other weird part for me was the inclusion of Adam Strange, not because it was a random plot they plopped in, but because his story in this movie is basically a continuation from an animated short DC released not to long ago which made that short canon to this universe, he even had the same design he had in this movie.
The strangest part for me, was when the thugs tried to light a homeless man on fire at the beginning. I was like WTF
When I think of Apocalypse Now I think about the scene in Hot Shots part Deux.
“ I loved you in Wall Street!”
Not only is "To escape the jungle, you must return to it," not the thesis of Apocalypse Now, but _as_ a thesis it's false and potentially damaging. People don't recover from trauma by reliving it. Processing your trauma, sure, but that's about carefully working through how the traumatic event affected you, not physically putting yourself through the literal trauma a second time. Veterans with PTSD don't get better by serving more tours. This guy's ideas aren't just silly, they're dangerous.
See, the movie would’ve been far better of it was about the best Green Lantern, G’nort.
OMG am I seeing this right? G’nort getting the praise he deserves ✨
Kyle's ring in his origin may also be Hal's, and in the Zero Hour issue of Green Lantern (you know, #0) Kyle has to fight Hal in the remains of Oa. So they didn't just steal part of Kyle's origin, they also stole his Parallax battle.
But did you know... Kyle Rainer is a freelance artist?!
John Stewart seems shoehorned into his own movie. I kept thinking that the later events in the movie would have suited Kyle Rayner more.
28:05 - the film is cut down to a shorter runtime, but still 85 minutes.
DC needs to recognize that their longer movies are better, for the most part. That's why I look forward to Deluxe Editions.
The Death and Return of Superman, for example.
They need to stop with these 60 to 80 minute movies.
From now on, nothing shorter than 90 minutes.
Additional: I know it's more in the execution than the time length. Mask of the Phantasm is less than 80 minutes, and it's perfect.
We’re also getting a deluxe edition of ‘The Long Halloween’ which is also set in this new universe (Tomorrowverse)
@@cashomnitrix yup. I'm looking forward to it. I watched both parts 1 & 2 back to back.
I enjoyed it overall.
I had criticisms, different from the criticisms I had for the original comic.
But I think I give them both a 7/10
"cocoon under the ocean"😂 I needed more salt on my fries... thanks.
I know you like to dunk on "Hard Travelling Heroes." And from the perspective of a modern reader looking backwards it can often come across as heavy handed and awkward. But, as someone from that era, the whole series was revolutionary.
Back then issues like the Vietnam War, Nixon, and hippies were all part of our day to day lives. One of the most popular shows on television was "All in the Family" - which focused on the clash of viewpoints that often happened between conservatives and liberals.
And as a comic book series it was a major influence - leading to the transition from the Silver Age to the Bronze. It was the first superhero comic to explore social issues. And it helped bring more realism, maturity, and depth to comics. Comics no longer were all about supervillains in colorful tights trying to take over the world with a death ray.
It certainly defined the character and relationships of Green Lantern, Green Arrow, and Black Canary that last to this day. Before this they were pretty much two-dimensional stock characters. Remember that early JLA story where all the heroes (with the exception of Wonder Woman) change places with each other. And at first no one notices because they all look and act alike.
The depiction of Speedy as an addict was certainly both shocking and radical. This was a well-established character who had been around since the 40's, And who had always been portrayed and as a clean cut and upstanding hero figure. I also think that story overall was better than the Spider-Man anti-drug comics that came out around the same time. This directly led to the CCA being updated.
It may seem strange that both Green Arrow and Green Lantern can sometimes treat each other so badly. But the idea was that different people from different backgrounds with different views can disagree passionately with each other. But in the end they can still be friends. That was an uplifting message for such turbulent times.
OMG! THANK YOU Sasha! You're explanation was SPOT ON! I never read "Hard Traveling Heroes" Reading that book should Not have been a requirement for understanding this movie. And why is Hal wearing a mask if everyone knows his name. So much for his secret identity. D'OH! And yeah giving a hero someone else's origin is a Major Pet Peeve of mine. If their original origin was good enough for comic fans it's good enough for non comic fans and new comers.
I liked this movie a lot. Flaws and all.
However I never have liked Parallax Hal Jordan or his fall from grace in general. I accept it because it's older work that is simply cemented into his history. But DC has moved on from it.
Hal's my dude! Favorite character in all of fiction. Period.
To see him as Parallax is always painful to me even if he did look well visually.
That said, the family and I had fun with this movie overall.
Just hoping Hal gets some kind of Cinematic Redemption eventually.
yeah, but I think it works.
The fall from grace of the greatest green lantern is meant be a painful and sorrow one
I watched the movie on HBO this morning and yes I still have cable. I find John Stewart's personality really mute and overshadowed by Green Arrow. I thought that the movie was trying to do too much within 90 minutes. That Hal Jordan storyline needs it's own movie.
I grew up with Hal Jordan and Guy Gardener and later came to like Kyle Rayner because of his amazing resistance to corruptibility even in the face of godlike power. But I didn't start to like John till he screwed up so badly that an entire world died just due to his arrogance. I think it was only then that he because a good Green Lantern. This story and this version of John doesn't really interest me.
This vids hair choice reminds me of my favorite childhood bubbalicious bubble gum 'cotton Candy's.
Is there a video with your thoughts on Razer and/or Aya from "Green Lantern: The Animated Series", I know it's been a while and it's a cancelled series, but there was a lot of unexplored potential in those characters that I think is worth discussing, especially Aya's characterization.
The homeless man that John save Is actually John Constantine.
I haven't seen this yet and I still plan to but I'm already seeing an all too common problem. They are attempting to tell way too many stories in this one movie. A sort of origin that isn't really John's origin. Hard traveling heroes but not really daring enough. Rann Thannagar a d the horrors of war. What it means to be a soldier and come out the other side. The Sinestro Corps. Paralax. There's just too much.
If they want evil Hal, they should really do Emerald Twilight as a movie. It could literally be a whole movie series.
I would have gone with Loki's "Yeah, real sad... Anyway!", but Jeremy Clarkson still worked 👍
Also, I agree; if the line would have been about a "color barrier" it would have been more powerful. What they did instead feels like they didn't have the courage to commit.
And aside from all that; it's curious how you could call her either Hawk-Girl or Hawt-girl and always be right, search your feelings, you know it to be true 😉😉
lol, I prefer vixen over hawk-girl, and power girl.
@@ProjektTaku my dude, if I ever go full blown Dr. Doom, in one hand I promise health, housing and education will be considered human rights in every territory under my iron fist control; but in the other, dissing on glorious Power Girl, she's who is truth in full splendor, would be punished with 1200 hours of community service. Maximum 6 hours a day, with 30 minutes rest after the first three hours of every shift, hydration guaranteed and provided by the State, but no energy bars. Sweet granola and raisings are a privilege reserved for those able to recognize what a top tier best girl is. This would be the rules, and I would not be sorry.
@@nishidohellhillsruler6731 damn, that actually sounds pretty reasonable and good.
And tbh...I would do the same.
The first Green Lanturn I ever saw was John Stewart in Static Shock(still top five fav super heros).
You know who did this Heart of darkness /apocalypse Now vibe well the Legends Novel Shatterpoint by Mathew Stover. Sorry just wanted to add that I'll get back o watching this awsome review. Your videos brighten up my dull work day 😄
I’m not going too comment on the Movie until I actually see it ( waiting for it to stream on HBOMAX) , But Your “ Because At the start this movie appears to be Aggressively Fellating Hal Jordon, Riding Him Harder than Guy Gardener’s Fiancé “ Sasha You are Fearless, & I Luv it 😍 Keep Up The Outstanding Work 🤷🏾♂️
I'm REALLY tired of the either/or dichotomy of Hal or John. I'd love to see a movie about them teaming up against a common enemy.
the producer of Green Lantern the animated series said he planned to have john and hal team up and work together for season 2 if the show never got cancelled
@@fartnutte1724 noooo, I would have payed good money to see that
The hero's and villains get killed ridiculously easy.
*"Look how they Massacred my boy"* Make stories straightforward, you can't adapt stories without knowing why they work or at the very least the *Theme*
That's my reaction to all superhero movies now.
"it's a movie....."
This begs the question. Why would Hal Jordan do this?
I love your deep dive into these stories. You make this comic book geek so happy.
"Riding him harder than Guy Gardner's fiance"
I'm in shock
Right before I watched this, I was wondering about and was going to ask why Adam Strange hasn't been seen in DC in so long...I haven't seen him since the 80s. Them BAM!! there he is! Thank you.