'Hornet's buzz is all wrong, but enjoyable
Kato (Jay Chou), left, and Britt (Seth Rogen) fighting crime their way.
(Columbia Pictures)
The Green Hornet
Running time: 108 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13 (violent action, language, sensuality and drug content)
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I got a kick out of "The Green Hornet" for the very reason fanboy comic book geeks and devotees of the former radio drama, serial feature and TV series won't.
In the hands of Seth Rogen, a formerly chubby big screen comic schlub who stars and co-wrote the script, the "Hornet" aims its stinger primarily at the funny bone.
I'm pretty sure that if offbeat French director Michel Gondry ("Human Nature," "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind") didn't pull back on the creative reins at times, Britt Reid (Rogen) and his gadget guru/weapons creator/coffee chef Kato (Jay Chou) might just hang around the Los Angeles mansion and read comic books about themselves much of the time.
As it is, Britt, who inherits his recently and mysteriously deceased dad's (Tom Wilkinson) newspaper, is a playboy lout stunned into crime fighting as a way to get back at his old man.
Once Britt decides to fight crime, he has no idea what The Green Hornet should do. So while he's hanging around his late dad's newspaper, Britt hires a new secretary (Cameron Diaz, who keeps hanging in there). She thinks she's doing research, but actually she's calling Hornet shots.
Rogen and Chou, an Asian pop music star, play off each other well. The reason many of the fanboys even care about this big-screen adaptation of "The Green Hornet" is that chop-socky hero Bruce Lee played Kato during its one-season run on ABC in 1966/'67.
Chou, a singer not a martial arts guy, recreates Lee's cool demeanor. From this aisle seat, though, Chou's lack of English language command dilutes some of the rhythmn of scenes.
The twist here is that Britt and Kato want their own niche for The Green Hornet and his unnamed sidekick. So they pretend to be bad guys, irritating both the local authorities and L.A.'s unofficial crime lord, a dapper little ruthless guy named Benjamin Chudnofsky portrayed by Christoph Waltz.
If you're anything like me, you'll have to push Waltz's marvelous, Oscar-winning performance in Quentin Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds" in '09 to the far reaches of the memory bank to enjoy what's going on here (pretty silly stuff).
You should also know that although much is being hyped about "The Green Hornet" being presented in 3-D, that decision was made after principal photography was already in the can. So the 3-D, with the exception of a fiery explosion or two, is no big whoop.
I may be all alone on this, but I like Rogen's laid-back, goofball turn as the title character. In a stand-off between The Green Hornet, Batman and Spider-Man, the bat and the spider dude would probably laugh so hard they'd wet their spandex just looking at this masked avenger.
Don't go expecting a superhero flick you will reverently admire. Go for a film that looks a lot like what a comic book-to-big screen conversion should usually look and feel like.
Just not this time, Seth. Not that I mind, but the tight-lipped fanboys won't appreciate going for the gags.
In the hands of Seth Rogen, a formerly chubby big screen comic schlub who stars and co-wrote the script, the "Hornet" aims its stinger primarily at the funny bone.
I'm pretty sure that if offbeat French director Michel Gondry ("Human Nature," "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind") didn't pull back on the creative reins at times, Britt Reid (Rogen) and his gadget guru/weapons creator/coffee chef Kato (Jay Chou) might just hang around the Los Angeles mansion and read comic books about themselves much of the time.
As it is, Britt, who inherits his recently and mysteriously deceased dad's (Tom Wilkinson) newspaper, is a playboy lout stunned into crime fighting as a way to get back at his old man.
Once Britt decides to fight crime, he has no idea what The Green Hornet should do. So while he's hanging around his late dad's newspaper, Britt hires a new secretary (Cameron Diaz, who keeps hanging in there). She thinks she's doing research, but actually she's calling Hornet shots.
Rogen and Chou, an Asian pop music star, play off each other well. The reason many of the fanboys even care about this big-screen adaptation of "The Green Hornet" is that chop-socky hero Bruce Lee played Kato during its one-season run on ABC in 1966/'67.
Chou, a singer not a martial arts guy, recreates Lee's cool demeanor. From this aisle seat, though, Chou's lack of English language command dilutes some of the rhythmn of scenes.
The twist here is that Britt and Kato want their own niche for The Green Hornet and his unnamed sidekick. So they pretend to be bad guys, irritating both the local authorities and L.A.'s unofficial crime lord, a dapper little ruthless guy named Benjamin Chudnofsky portrayed by Christoph Waltz.
If you're anything like me, you'll have to push Waltz's marvelous, Oscar-winning performance in Quentin Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds" in '09 to the far reaches of the memory bank to enjoy what's going on here (pretty silly stuff).
You should also know that although much is being hyped about "The Green Hornet" being presented in 3-D, that decision was made after principal photography was already in the can. So the 3-D, with the exception of a fiery explosion or two, is no big whoop.
I may be all alone on this, but I like Rogen's laid-back, goofball turn as the title character. In a stand-off between The Green Hornet, Batman and Spider-Man, the bat and the spider dude would probably laugh so hard they'd wet their spandex just looking at this masked avenger.
Don't go expecting a superhero flick you will reverently admire. Go for a film that looks a lot like what a comic book-to-big screen conversion should usually look and feel like.
Just not this time, Seth. Not that I mind, but the tight-lipped fanboys won't appreciate going for the gags.
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