Green Lantern: First Flight


La-La Land Records (826924110621)
Movie | Released: 2009 | Format: CD
Limited edition: 1500 copies
 

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# Track   Duration
1.Green Lantern: First Flight Main Title2:05
2.The Ring Chooses Hal4:42
3.Hal Meets The Lanterns/TheFlight to Oa3:45
4.Labella's Club3:30
5.Going After Cuch3:03
6.The Way I Heard It2:22
7.Bugs in the Baggage4:16
8.Teleport Pursuit2:29
9.Brutal Attack/The Fate of Kanjar Ro3:53
10.Relinquishing The Ring1:19
11.Back From the Dead/Boodikka Turns5:54
12.The Weaponers/Siniestro Transforms4:29
13.The New Power Arrives2:37
14.The Corps Fights Siniestro2:47
15.The Corps Falls1:39
16.Revival of the Green Lantern2:30
17.Asteroid Battle2:50
18.Ring Against Ring3:05
19.The Green Lantern Pledge1:02
20.Green Lantern-Closing Credits3:05
 61:22
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Green Lantern: First Flight - 08/10 - Review of Oscar Flores, submitted at (English)
From the vaults of DC comics comes yet another Warner Bros. direct-to-video animated film showcasing a respected superhero. This time it's pilot Hal Jordan, a man who after witnessing the death of an alien (Green Lantern) is entrusted with a ring that will help him keep the order of life beyond the solar system. Interestingly, he becomes the first human to form part of such a distinguished order. Guided by the Guardians, the Green Lanterns' mission is to look for the well-being of living creatures in different sectors across the galaxies. Hal Jordan quickly learns that this is no easy task, and as expected, conflicts between Green Lanterns start to arise. Ultimately, Lantern Siniestro — Hal Jordan's mentor and admired officer — puts the whole livelihood of the Green Lanterns and Guardians in danger, and it's up to Hal to try to protect the philosophy and safety of this alliance. Make no mistake, this is not a film geared towards children: the action sequences are intense and the level of violence is quite brutal at times. The film moves at a fast pace, but the animation, voiceover, storyline, and music interact incredibly well, thus producing a very nice animated feature.

Robert J. Kral, an Australian composer with other Warner Bros. Animation credits under his belt, including (Batman: Gotham Knight and Superman: Doomsday), provides a well-orchestrated score that attentively follows the narrative of the movie. Understandably, some listeners will notice the similarities between Kral's compositions and those from the Dynamic Music Partners — Lolita Ritmanis, Kristopher Carter and Michael McCuistion —arguably the most respected group of animation composers working today, but in the end, Kral's work stands on its own by offering a nice dose of powerful themes, heart-pounding rhythm sequences, and engaging melodies.


Heroic and powerful, the main title to Green Lantern: First Flight projects musical dynamism at its best. The seven note motif is comprised of dominant executions by the brass and sci-fi effects — most notably a laser sounding component — reminiscent of those heard during the 60's. In fact, Kral himself confessed to being inspired by retro sounds like the ones heard in the Dr. Who series. This theme of force and grandeur will accompany Hal Jordan throughout the film; later on becoming even more intense and superhuman. The synth elements and rhythms present in this first track represent an important accompaniment that will be better appreciated in 'The Ring Chooses Hal.' Kral develops an instant mix between the orchestral and electronic elements that yields a beautifully-sounding modern tech score that never overpowers the listener with one single musical artifact.

In 'Hal Meets/The Flight,' at about 1:45 minutes into the track, Kral introduces a rising motif that underscores Lantern Siniestro's character. From his drawing, any reasonable viewer will notice his devil-like face, hence inferring that he will most likely play the villain in the film. More importantly, however, by also listening closely to the score, the harmonies presented will show signs of the internal conflict between Siniestro's integrity as an admired Lantern and his desire to dismantle the organization. The Siniestro motif gradually develops and expands, eventually achieving a more sinister tonality in 'Teleport Pursuit' and a more condensed nature in 'The Corps Fight Siniestro.'

'Labella's Club,' although not a dance track, incorporates rhythmic elements from the genre and other mysterious textures and sounds, basically creating a very fitting underscore for the nightclub scene. It is in this sequence that we see the underlying nature of Lantern Siniestro: brutality, violence and disregard for the Lantern's philosophy. Not surprisingly, the piece also serves well within the context of the nightclub, even though the dissonant, distorted and off-tempo elements always maintain a level of musical and character incongruity that could not have been achieved with a simple Techno track.

Tracks like 'Teleport Pursuit' and 'Brutal Attack/ Fate of Kanjar' contain the usual aggressive hits and crescendos now so familiar to modern audiences. These tracks are primarily aimed at unsettling the listener and contain a few variations from the main themes. The problem with these tracks, however, is the obvious use of sampled orchestral instruments. Surely the budget for the score was limited, so this is acceptable, but one wonders how much better the music would have sounded with a large orchestra. Admittedly, there are times when it is hard to know whether Kral incorporated a few live performances — by real instruments, that is — but again, in these particular tracks, the prominence of the electronic samples is undoubtedly noticeable.


After a series of tracks focusing on the overall battle between the defenders of the green element and Siniestro, who by now carries the clashing yellow element, the score regains its focus on Hal Jordan at the end of 'Revival Of the Green Lantern.' Hal, of course, fighting against the formidable opponent that is Siniestro, becomes a super-charged Green Lantern, reflected by the adrenaline-inducing score. These final tracks will once again exhibit more of the thematic and harmonic aspects seen in the first tracks, in contrast to the more generic action-packed, movie trailer type of progressions heard after 'Bugs in the Baggage.' The closing credits, similar to the opening music,' build on Hal Jordan's theme while also integrating the short version of Siniestro's motif.


Green Lantern: First Flight provides both memorable and bold themes that are sadly not fused into all of the tracks. The MIDI orchestrations are exceptional to say the least, but that is not to say that listeners will not perceive the use of orchestral samples. In fact, this proves to be one of the few weaknesses of this recording. And while the initial and final tracks are outstanding, some of the middle portions of the score are quite generic and very mechanical. In the end, Robert Kral delivers a very enjoyable score that will surely please fans of DC comics and fans of his previous work.
Presenting the original music score to the premiere DC Universe Animated Original Movie GREEN LANTERN: FIRST FLIGHT. Composer Robert J. Kral (SUPERMAN DOOMSDAY, BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHT, THE HAUNTING IN CONNECTICUT, TV’s ANGEL) returns to the super-hero genre with another rousing, heroic score to this acclaimed new animated feature, which chronicles test pilot Hal Jordon’s recruitment into the Green Lantern Corps and his battle to maintain order and justice in the universe. CD booklet features comments from the composer. This is a limited edition release of 1500 units.
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