J.P.’s Take:
“The Green Hornet” actually goes back as far as the 1930’s and has existed as a radio and comic book series of that era. Among the many comic books and TV series that are being turned into movies these days, the very short lived 60’s television series now gets a fresh facelift. Those of you who grew up with the series may remember Britt Reid as a suave debonair crime sleuth, who always found the opportunity to capitalize on his bounty. This time around Seth Rogen is the co-writer and executive producer of the film and helms the title character with adolescent results. Even though the film basically follows the same architecture of the series; however, what set this film apart are bouts of ridiculous tongue and cheek humor.
I’ll start with the problems of the movie. As I mentioned above the script is co-written by none other than the star himself, the other half is by Evan Goldberg, Rogen’s partner in “Knocked Up,” ”Superbad,” “Pineapple Express,” and “Funny People.” The unfortunate thing is most of the dialogue is a complete waste of time and lacked substance. Rogen as Reid comes off as the rich bratty egotist type, as a result of his deprived childhood. After his father’s death, he never really grows up and basically has no real responsibilities except for haphazardly running his dear old dad’s (Tom Wilkinson) newspaper publishing company. You can tell by his partying ways and teenage speech pattern, he’s not a guy with much depth. Some plot points, in my opinion, felt contrived even in the comical sense. Along side Reid is his trusty sidekick Kato, a martial arts expert, mechanic and shall we say a serious …“Barista” (yeah, he makes an excellent cup of coffee and kicks butt at the same time). Kato and Reid concoct a reason to become superheroes. The way they went about it seems like they were cooking up a plan to build a tree house in his back yard. It all came out pretty cheesy, none the less. Also the comedy lacked some punch towards the latter half of the movie causing the film to run out of steam in that department.
Now for the parts I did like. I did like the child like playfulness of the characters to an extent. The storyline was a little unusual as it involves coming up with a way to break the mold for the origins of a superhero. The action scenes are what really stole the show, thanks to Chou as Kato. The filmmaker provided Kato with a keen sense of sight for which he is able to project on his enemies like a tracking device. When he executes his “Matrix” like fighting skills, it’s like watching a ballet. Chou is swift and sharp with similar movies to the master who donned the character before him, Bruce Lee in the TV series.
I loved his car, “The Black Beauty,” it looked great on film (I got a chance to see the car and ride in it during a recent San Francisco promo tour). A cool car is something all masked crusaders have to drive and, out of all the super vehicles, I’d rather drive the Black Beauty.
As for the cast, Edward James Olmos, Cameron Diaz, Christoph Waltz, Edward Furlong and David Harbour round off the stable of stars. A brief appearance by James Franco in the beginning of the movie, who I thought was snappy and funny, plays a rival drug dealer to Chudnofsky.
The funny thing is with a great all-star cast, these actors almost seem useless. The worst is Diaz, who plays Lenore Case, the secretary in waiting. She tries her best to be bubbly and cheery, but instead she’s more like air headed. Personally, I can only stand her for short periods of time in this character.
Some highlights are Waltz and Furlong. Waltz is the villain, Benjamin Chudnofsky a.k.a. “Bloodnofsky,” and with a silly name like that, you know he’s only about as threatening as a bee sting. However, I did like the way he portrayed the Green Hornet’s nemesis with a laughable swagger. When someone pokes fun at him, he breaks down into rhetoric about the characteristics of other villains and compares himself to them. Furlong, best known for his stellar role as John Connor in “Terminator 2: Judgment Day,” has been quietly working under the radar. With several works in the making for 2011, he’s made himself known once again in this movie as Tupper, the meth dealer.
Over all, the new “Green Hornet” served the purpose of making the audience laugh, as well pumping them up with some nice choreographed action sequences. I can’t say that I’m entirely impressed with this version though; however, I wasn’t totally disappointed either. As a whole, it’s rather a spoofy silly hodgepodge. There is an equal balance of action to comedy. So to be honest, I was straddling the fence as I exited the theater.
Hardcore fans of the old character may feel that the comical approach is a dumbed-down cop-out of a retreat, but fans will be treated to a surprise with a situation ripped right out of the TV series itself, only slightly modified.
I brought along my aunt to the screening and, by her honest opinion, she felt it deserves at least a B-. I’m sticking with my original grade I gave it after it was all over: a C.