Geekscape Reviews The Green Hornet
The Green Hornet stars Seth Rogen as perpetual party-boy Britt Reid, the son of powerful and respected newspaper publisher James Reid (Tom Wilkinson). When the elder Reid is found dead, his irresponsible son begrudgingly steps up to fill his shoes, and soon fails miserably. In a fit of self indulgence, he discovers his father’s talented mechanic and Barista extraordinaire, Kato, who shares common feelings of unresolved anger with his father. After bonding over a deliciously prepared espresso, a bright idea forms that they should team up and become super heroes (or at least get into some trouble together).
With a banging sound track including The White Stripes, Coolio, The Rolling Stones and the film’s own Jay Chau plus some never before seen special effects described as “Kato 3D”, The Green Hornet peals out of the garage, paving the way for a more hip super hero. Think less dark and flawed, and more lost and self indulgent.
Rather than follow the success of recent super hero story lines, the writers (Seth Rogen and Evan Goldman) and director, Michel Gondry (Be Kind Rewind) chose to take Britt and Kato in a comedic direction while exploring the relationship of hero and sidekick.
The result is a mix of camp and action that portrays Britt as a thoughtless playboy whose unmatched skills in partying play par to Kato’s kick ass moves. The relationship works well as both take part in each others strengths and weaknesses in overall storyline and acting. Some could compare it to Batman and Robin, with George Clooney and Chris O’Donell, except that where that film failed horribly, The Green Hornet succeeds in giving the film just enough depth and charm.
The film includes many notable Rogen one-liners and action-comedy scenes with Rogen bringing his charisma from past roles to his Britt Reid rendition. Alas, after 108 minutes, he still comes across as the character we’ve seen him play in other movies like Pineapple Express and Super Bad. Rogen missed an opportunity to show us something new. Instead, we just see more of the guy from Knocked Up – but with lots of money and a friend that moves like Bruce Lee. Thankfully the film wasn’t being carried entirely on his acting (or writing (which isn’t bad although the second act does drag a bit)). And in retrospect, seeing the character from Knocked Up falling into superheroic situations is a pretty cool narrative experiment and it’s fun to watch play out.
Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds) plays Chudnofsky, the campy bad guy with low self esteem hellbent on controlling the LA underworld, who sees himself in need of an image makeover to be a more convincing bad guy. Waltz’s performance is the strongest part of the film. He creates different personas, outlandish weapons and stylish duds to compete with perceived rival, The Green Hornet. His character is over the top, but not so much that you become inundated with unnecessary props or dialogue. His character is the smartest and most entertaining of the film and helps carry the movie when it lags a little or over steps the “limits” of impossibility.
Originally when the film was in casting, the villain role was offered to Nic Cage, who insisted he wanted to play it with a Jamaican accent. This brings to mind images of Nic Cage wearing a purple cape dressed as Superman from a Tim Burton project that was never thankfully green lit. I don’t exactly know why they went with Waltz (not any substantiated gossip to share), but after seeing his performance, it’s hard to imagine anyone else, let alone Cage portraying “The Chud.”
Cameron Diaz plays the love interest, Lenore Case, who is hired to help as a temp secretary but unknowingly helps Rogen and Chau figure out how to plan their new super hero lives. Predictably Britt has the hots for her, but she’s not interested. Instead, she’s possibly digging Kato and a rivalry soon ensues, creating tension between the two. A fight scene between the two breaks out, bringing the hilariously destructive fight scene in Pineapple Express to mind.
Diaz’s performance is over-shadowed, or should I say wrinkled, by her mismatched appearance during her scenes in the film. She appears to be aged and almost haggard in her first few scenes, and mysteriously, by her fourth one, every wrinkle on her face (there was a shocking amount) disappears. She goes from 45 to 32 in a matter of three minutes. I found myself looking for her missing wrinkles more than focusing on her performance… which is shallow, I know. I hate to say it, but they needed a younger person (and probably an unknown) to play the role. I chalk this up to another missed opportunity to incorporate a stronger, more appropriate actor.
The Kato character played by Jay Chau was originally performed by Bruce Lee in the TV show from the late 1960s. Chau cites that one of his motivations to play Kato came from seeing Bruce Lee on the TV show. Like all versions of The Green Hornet, Kato does most of the fighting. He also creates super hip gadgets that are as important to the film as any character. He makes a beautiful cup of coffee from his customized coffee maker, and has a talent for creating weapons.He builds the ultimate super hero car, nick-named Black Beauty, with all sorts of technological savvy apparatuses that include ejector seats, guns, rockets, and even a fax.
Please note that I viewed this film in 2D but it will be offered in 3D. I had an opportunity to see scenes from it in 3D last year at the San Diego Comic Con, and was sorry to miss out. With so many films incorporating worthless 3D, I imagine that this film will play well in 3D and will be worth the few extra bucks (for once).
I anticipate that most fans will walk away with a smile on their face, and plenty of one-liners to share with their friends. I found it humorous and enjoyed the action scenes as well as the many gadgets Kato dreamed up that never really fell into deus ex machina territory. They were characters in and of themselves. Maybe I’m getting old, as the music was seriously LOUD; but that may be a good thing. Green Hornet is a fun, fresh popcorn pulp movie best enjoyed while cranked to 11.
