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Green Lantern: Beware My Power 4K UHD Review

‘Green Lantern: Beware My Power’ is overstuffed but still entertaining. 

‘Green Lantern: Beware My Power’ revolves around John Stewart (a former Marine with some PTSD). Stewart’s life is turned upside down when he encounters a Guardian who crashlands on Earth. Stewart finds himself being bestowed a Green Lantern Power Ring, but he wants nothing to do with it. In fact, he wants to get rid of it. He confronts Green Arrow, Martian Manhunter and Vixen about what to do and then finds himself embarking on a trip to Oa with Green Arrow. It is here that matters become increasingly complicated as John Stewart and Green Arrow now find themselves in the middle of a Thanagar and Rann war. Adam Strange and Hawkgirl soon aid them in their journey as they attempt to find answers as to who is really orchestrating the war and what happened to the previous ring owner Hal Jordan. 

Given that there are a fair amount of Batman and Superman DC animated features, it’s refreshing to see a different character get the spotlight for a change with John Stewart’s Green Lantern. Directed by Jeff Wamester and scripted by John Semper and Ernie Altbacker, ‘Green Lantern: Beware My Power’ is constructed as an origin story for John Stewart but that element becomes overshadowed as the story unfolds. There’s a lot going on here storywise involving John Stewart accepting his new role, the mysterious Thanagar v Rann conflict, Hal Jordan, and, as the cover shows, Sinestro (no spoilers as to how he plays into the story). One could argue too much happens, but, to me, it’s satisfying to see a story without a dull moment. Should it have been more focused on John Stewart and contained more characterization? Sure, but there’s something enjoyable about seeing this galactic road trip adventure that gets more chaotic as it goes along. The unlikely pairing of John Stewart, Green Arrow, Adam Strange and Hawkgirl proves to be a fun dynamic that the writers clearly enjoyed playing around with.

Where this animated feature falls short is with the characters of Hal Jordan and Sinestro. Without spoiling what happens, it was a bit puzzling to see how flippant the writers were in handling these characters. There was a real opportunity to create deep character arcs for both, but their actions feel more like basic cliches. The treatment of Hal in particular feels particularly rushed and unsatisfactory. 

Thankfully, the animation work is first rate. The character models are crisp and the explosive action (especially in space) was detailed and exciting.

The voice acting was a bit hit-and-miss. Aldis Hodge and Jamie Gray Hyder were strangely stiff as John Stewart and Hawkgirl respectively. The 2 best performances come from the scene stealing Jimmi Simpson as Green Arrow and Brian Bloom as the heroic Adam Strange.

Video/Audio:

Presentation: 1.78:1 2160p. How does it look? In comparing the 4K disc to the Blu-ray, the 4K transfer clearly has sharper colors and an overall better picture quality.

Audio Track: 5.1 DTS-HD MA. How does it sound? The 5.1 track packs a punch.

Extras (on the Blu-ray):
* Blu-ray copy
* The “Justice League” animated series 2 parter “In Blackest Night.”
* Trailers for “The Death Of Superman” and “Batman: Bad Blood.”
* “John Stewart: The Power And The Glory”- A 31 minute featurette on the history of the John Stewart character in the comics.

July 26, 2022 - Posted by nicklyons1 | 4K UHD Review | Adam Strange, DC Animated Movie, Green Arrow, Green Lantern, Green Lantern Animated Movie, Green Lantern: Beware My Power 4K UHD Review, Hawkgirl, John Stewart