Movie Review - The Green Hornet

This is one hornet you might want to be stung by

Director Michel Gondry (Be Kind, Rewind) and actor Seth Rogen (Superbad, Knocked Up) deliver an
above-average action/comdey flick, based on the Fran Striker character from the radio program of the same name in the 1930.  Having not been alive to hear those broadcasts, nor having seen the old television show as well, I went into the theater with little prior knowledge of the characters, let alone a bias. 

Jay Chou (left) as Kato and Seth  Rogen (right) as the Green Hornet

I can safely say that I enjoyed The Green Hornet, mainly due to Seth Rogen as the titular character and his trusty "side-kick" Kato.  The rapport between the two heroes are fun to watch, as they deal with each others' personalities and traits, not to mention moonlighting as masked vigilantes by night.  Rogen, having some stake in this film, since he not only acted in it but also wrote some of the screenplay, and heavily pushed the film to be made in the first place.  He does a serviceable as Brett Reid, a.k.a. the Green Hornet.  His character goes through the usual transformation process, where at the beginning he is a selfish jerk who parties all the time, but finally after the death of his father, wants to start doing something with his life.  I felt Rogen, while having nailed the "lazy part guy" character in his past movies, doesn't work as well at the beginning of the film.  I felt like I have seen that performance, multiple times, in the past.  Rogen is also known for his extensive improv skills in past movies, but here, it seemed to detract from the film, and didn't really fit as well as the filmmakers were hoping for, with a lot of hit-or-miss jokes thrown in.  Maybe he should reel it in a little, use the script a little more.  Jay Chou as Kato, for me, stole the show.  He was great to watch, despite mangling some of the dialogue to the point where I was wondering what he just said.  But that didn't matter, because he was fun to watch, especially trading quips with  Rogen, and par-taking in some kick-ass fight scenes.  Definitely a blast to watch.  Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds) plays a villain going through a mid-life crisis of sorts.  He seemed to be having fun with the role, and I enjoyed seeing his character freak out at little things, like people making fun of his suits.  I just wish he could have channeled a little more of the sinister character he played in Inglourious Basterds.  I totally forgot Cameron Diaz was in the movie until she appeared on screen, where she plays a reporter researching the Green Hornet.  She's fine, never really bringing anything of substance to the table, just giving our heroes some ideas on what to do next.

The Black Beauty

The effects were well done for the most part, with definite praise going to the designers of the Black Beauty, the Green Hornet's car.  Stocked with missiles, machine guns, and other fun gadgets, it was cool to see the car in action, especially during the films car chase sequence, which was one of the better one's I've seen lately.  "Kato-Vision", where Kato seems to slow down time and dispatch his enemies, was well done and definitely a highlight of the fight scenes.  Some of the CG with the car was questionable at best, with a couple scenes looking pretty noticeable.  The screenplay by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg was enough to get the film going, with some dialogue issues, mainly from Rogen's character.  The film overall was pretty funny, and I liked how they incorporated that humor into the action scenes.  The film was pretty predictable for the most part, showing the character turn into "the man he was supposed to be", as well as the cliche breakup of the heroes before fighting the main villain.

In the end, what mattered most was how much I enjoyed the film.  It was fun to watch, and Rogen and Chou are a great duo, giving some funny comedic scenes, as well as some well-choreographed fight sequences.  Despite some hiccups here and there, I am looking forward to seeing this Green Hornet again.

4 out of 5 Stars