Green Lantern: Beware My Power Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.0

Green Lantern: Beware My Power Blu-ray Movie Review

Put a ring on it.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III August 1, 2022

The ever-evolving legacy of DC's Green Lantern is nothing if not a reflection of America's changing times since 1940, with the character's mantel being passed or shared between a multitude of races during the past eight decades. (That notion of "races" includes not just cultural boundaries between humans on Earth, but creatures from far-away galaxies as well.) Yet few candidates were as welcome as John Stewart, a black Detroit architect later retconned to be a U.S. Marine, who stood as a rare example of diversity in a genre which was, at the time, not known for it. He's the primary Green Lantern at the heart of Warner Bros.' new feature-length animated film Beware My Power, a well-meaning but somewhat uneven tale that tries to balance Stewart's newfound identity with a complex intergalactic war.

Things start off well enough from a narrative standpoint, as war-weary veteran Stewart (Aldis Hodge, taking over for Phil LaMarr) struggles to cope with the violent flashbacks that haunt his everyday life. Fate steps in one night when an alien spacecraft crash-lands a few hundred feet from his humble home -- strangely, no one else bothers to investigate despite it the presence of police sirens in the distance -- and the ship's only occupant, a guardian of the planet Oa, leaves a green ring with him just before dying. Against his wishes, the ring whisks John to Justice League Watchtower where Green Arrow (Jimmi Simpson), Martian Manhunter (Ike Amandi), and Vixen (Keesha Sharp) are skeptical of his worthiness. After learning John's ring was the same one worn by legendary Green Lantern Hal Jordan, John and Green Arrow must travel to Oa where they find themselves in the middle of a war that also involves the Thanagarian people. Also along for the ride is fierce warrior Hawkgirl (Jamie Gray Hyder) and at least one character previously thought to be dead... but don't get your hopes up too high, because the rest of the story is kind of a mess.

What began as a somewhat generic but still decently entertaining tale of an ordinary man's sudden turn of fate quickly balloons into a story in which he's routinely overshadowed by more interesting characters and increasingly questionable twists. The end result is nothing if not at least crisply paced, with our growing band of heroes hopping from one distant place to another while meeting no shortage of colorful opponents. But yep, this is another case where a DCAU character is outshined by the supporting cast, and it's not hard to see why: John's got little more emotional depth than a veteran suffering from PTSD, and his newfound powers amount to more or less mashing the "attack" button in a fighting game. John Stewart makes almost no impact in a story he supposedly stars in, and when he does step to the forefront it feels kind of forced. Even so, Beware My Power is enjoyable on the surface and, while I'd imagine that long-time fans of characters like Hal Jordan and Sinestro won't like certain parts of the story, it's at least light entertainment for those newer to the GL universe and features simple but reliably attractive visual design for a direct-to-video film.

Warner Bros. offers Beware My Power in two separate options: this Blu-ray only version and a 4K/Blu-ray combo pack that unsurprisingly offers a more smooth and polished visual presentation.

Green Lantern: Beware My Power Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

As expected, Warner Bros.' Blu-ray presentation of Beware My Power offers a serviceable presentation of its largely undemanding source material but still falls short of its 4K counterpart. Its simple character designs and backgrounds don't require a high bit rate to run efficiently, and even on a single-layered disc it runs smoothly with only a few nagging signs of color banding and light compression artifacts. Color saturation, fine detail, black levels, and all other fundamentals are all good to great, with a smooth and dense overall appearance that looks quite pleasing for a direct-to-video production. Even so, once you see the 4K's 2160p, HDR-enhanced transfer it'll be hard to go backwards, as that disc smooths over the compression issues and serves up a stronger dynamic range with better color depth that only improves an already solid visual presentation. But those limited to Blu-ray will still find this to be a largely pleasing presentation that falls in line with other recent DCAU productions done in this particular style.

Green Lantern: Beware My Power Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Not surprisingly, this intergalactic adventure features a decent amount of big-screen spectacle for a direct-to-video production, from spacecraft fly-bys to intense action scenes, the low hum of engines, and quick bursts of dueling superpowers. Dialogue is typically anchored right up front in the center channel, occasionally popping into the left, right, and surround channels in more cavernous or crowded locations, with the original score providing a light blanket that occasionally envelops the listener while rarely overpowering the on-screen action. Discrete effects are usually reserved for weaponry, atmospheric touches such as far-off explosions and weather-related events, and other distant background noises. So while Beware My Power doesn't necessarily carve out new sonic territory or take many stylish detours, this capable DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mix certainly carries a torch that feels right at move in the DCAU cinematic universe. Multiple dubs are included in lossless Dolby Digital 5.1 and, though obviously more compressed (read: less dynamic) in direct comparison, are at least encoded at a higher bitrate than most of this type.

Optional subtitles (including English SDH) are offered during the main feature and all extras.

Green Lantern: Beware My Power Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a dual-hubbed keepcase with a matching slipcover and a Digital Copy redemption slip. Bonus features are somewhat slim but worth watching.

• John Stewart: The Power and the Glory (31:02) - The lone new extra, this featurette covers the history and cultural impact of the first black Green Lantern. Panels of comic book artwork and clips from various DC shows and other media are shared here, as are lots of comments from industry veterans such as writer/artist Dave Gibbons, artist Joe Staton, writer Geoff Johns, screenwriter John Semper, DC honcho Jim Lee, comic creator David F. Walker, writer Christopher Priest, voice actors Phil LaMarr and Aldis Hodge, and others.

• Justice League Animated Shorts - Two early episodes from the short-lived but warmly remembered animated series' first season (available on Blu-ray from Warner Bros.) that originally aired in November 2001 in two parts; appropriately enough, both star Green Lantern John Stewart and Green Arrow in a galactic adventure.

• "In Blackest Night, Part 1" (21:39)
• "In Blackest Night, Part 2" (22:30)

• Preview of "The Death of Superman" (7:04) - A behind-the-scenes featurette promoting the then-upcoming 2018 animated film which is recycled from an earlier DCAU disc. In short, a crummy commercial.

• Preview of "Batman: Bad Blood" (11:45) - Ditto, except it's for this film.

Green Lantern: Beware My Power Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

DC's latest animated effort, Green Lantern: Beware My Power, has good intentions for a potentially worthy character, but a relatively thin story and seemingly random characters/events eventually flatten out what begins as a promising story of newfound superpowers. Luckily the film's attractive visual design and mostly brisk pace make up for some of its shortcomings, affording new and established franchise fans at least a decently entertaining surface-level adventure. Warner Bros.' stand-alone Blu-ray edition falls short of the 4K combo pack's superior visuals but still looks good and is otherwise identical, from the solid audio mix to the bonus features and even its cover art. I'd recommend that release if you're currently set up for 4K (or plan to be soon), but this one is just fine for casual fans.