Okay, so it’s not often that you get a review from me of something that has just finished, so count yourselves lucky here. When the original slate of the DCU was announced, I was very excited for some of the projects, and this show was definitely one of those, so let’s get into it!
‘Lanterns’ Season 1 introduces us to John Stewart, a former Marine, who is vying for the job of Green Lantern of Earth. The only problem is, there already is a Green Lantern: Hal Jordan. The story initially takes place 10 years ago, when Jordan and Stewart are called to a town in Nebraska called Rushville. They discover a mystery that has been occurring here, with the presence of aliens and a local population that is extremely hostile to those aliens. They meet the sheriff of the town, whose father-in-law owns a large ranch which the two heroes are convinced may be the hub of anti-alien weapons. However, it appears that there is tension between the two protagonists. John is technically a trainee and thinks that he is next in line to become Earth’s Green Lantern, whereas Hal is very reluctant to let John anywhere near the ring. Whilst investigating, the two also find out that the town is harbouring a Manhunter, an alien who has extreme destructive powers and a desire to destroy life. Can these two put their differences aside to save the world? Will John ever get the chance to be Green Lantern? And just where is Hal sneaking off to in the middle of this mission?
I’m going to start with the supporting cast first. Kelly Macdonald plays Sheriff Kerry Kane. I completely forgot that Macdonald was Scottish, and her accent was on point. Her ability to portray a rather frustrated law enforcement officer who clearly is out of her depth was fantastic. Playing her in-laws were Garret Dillahunt and Poorna Jagannathan, as Will and Zoe Macon. Dillahunt was just unnerving enough to be threatening, and the entire time, you’re left wondering just what his role in the show was. I really enjoyed his performance, to be honest. Then we have Zoe, who is this enigmatic character, always in the wrong place at the right time, and I felt that Poorna’s portrayal just needed a little more oomph. Nathan Fillon makes a small appearance as Guy Gardner. Guy is the douche we all know, so no surprises there. But I know what you guys are here for. Let’s talk about our protagonists. Aaron Pierre plays John Stewart, and his performance goes from strength to strength with each episode that goes by. By the end of the season, I was thoroughly impressed. However, for me, the standout performance was Kyle Chandler as Hal Jordan. We’ve seen Jordan be portrayed once before, by Ryan Reynolds, but Chandler brings his own to the role, and it is by far the most definitive version of the character we’ve seen. He was funny, sarcastic, and a badass and was perfect for the role. I would love to see more of him!
Now, one of the things that you may not know about me is that one of the first ever comic books I read when I was 18 was a Green Lantern novel, and I have a deep love for the characters and lore. I was extremely excited when this project was announced because I’ve honestly felt that this was a corner of the DC Universe that has been underutilised. Given that ‘Lanterns’ followed on from ‘Superman’ and ‘Supergirl’, I thought oh, that’s a lot of extraterrestrial action early in the DCU, but Season 1 of the show managed to keep it on Earth, and even more impressively, to one town in Nebraska. The show is grounded, but not in a terribly boring way, and given that there were comparisons between this and the first season of ’True Detective’, I can see what the vision was. That being said, I definitely would have liked a little more space action and perhaps more involvement of the greater Green Lantern community. But that’s me just being Larfleeze, honestly. Haha! I think the character development was phenomenal with both Hal and John growing on me in ways that I didn’t expect, and by the end, I was like, wow, these guys are my favourite characters in this new DCU. Let’s see if it continues!
Naturally, the show was produced for HBO, which means a decent budget. Although the cinematography of the show was good, there were certain places where it fell flat. The first was Hal’s costume. It looked like a poor cosplay, and maybe going forward, we’ll get the kind of suits we’re expecting, but I’d have liked more quality there. The amount of ring action we got was also a little sparse, and given what we’ve seen Guy being able to do in the ‘Superman’ film, I might have expected that. The music used during the season was really good, and that final song, “Hero” by Michael Kiwanuka, has been stuck in my head. Overall, I really enjoyed this first season of ‘Lanterns’. I think the casting was on point, and I’m just super excited to see where this goes!
Rating:
Story: ★★★½
Acting: ★★★★
Filmography: ★★★½
Integral vs Filler Episodes: ★★★½
Enjoyability: ★★★★