The Second Opinion: The Green Hornet

The Green Hornet makes his feature film debut and introduces the masked avenger to a new generation of fans. Seth Rogen wrote the screenplay with his partner, Evan Goldberg, an actor, writer and producer. This is not their first film together as writing partners, they have also written Pineapple Express and Superbad. The Green Hornet is presented in 3D, a decision that I don’t think is needed to fit perfectly into the story that Michel Gondry is telling. For those who didn’t know, he was the guy, who invented the ‘Matrix Time,’ he did it in a Smirnoff commercial years before they used the same technique in The Matrix. Gondry uses every tool, every trick of the camera, CGI, everything, to tell the story.

Gondry saw a way to take the framework of this big Hollywood movie and bring his original voice, look, and sound. I like to have people portrayed on the screen that have flaws, a sense of humor, maybe a bit of a loser at times. That’s what was appealing about this movie. When I go to see a movie, I want to see something I’ve never seen before, and if there’s a dude who’s come up with a lot of stuff I’ve never seen before, it’s Gondry.

Gondry shows the audience how Kato sees things through Kato-Vision. This point of view perspective would allow the audience to see how Kato’s brain takes in a threatening situation as it unfolds. When Kato‘s heart starts beating fast, time slows down for him and he assesses the danger.  Ever have the feeling in that moment between sleep and waking that you’ve suddenly solved the most complex problems in the world? That’s called hypnotic hallucination, and Kato can make himself go into that state at critical moments. The objects he’ll need in the fight are highlighted, and every character he’s going to take out is projected. He also has a special memory; he can recall immense amounts of data and map it all in his brain. Kato’s fighting is pretty impressive because he knows where everything is and he is going to use it. What’s more, when time slows down, Kato moves at super human speeds, quickly taking on multiple bad guys in the same frame in which they move in slow-motion. Kato-Vision adds to the audience experience by giving them the full impact of a fight sequence as well as the melodic beauty of martial arts. Sometimes you want to see everything happen in real time and see how good the person is. Other times you appreciate the movements, because you can see the reactions and how hard people are getting hit or falling in slow motion.

The whole of that Britt is an irresponsible idiot who’s trying to get his life together to do something worthwhile, and as an irresponsible idiot, Seth Rogen is quite good. He’s has perfected that role, so the Academy needs to reward him with the Oscar for Best Idiot in a Motion Picture. With the Green Hornet himself cast, the filmmaker turned to casting Kato. For that pivotal role, they turned to Asian pop star Jay Chou. Chou is one of Asia’s biggest stars, the King of Asian Pop, according to Time Magazine. Some Americans may not know his name yet, but they will. He has a star quality when he’s on screen that makes you think I want to watch this guy. The Green Hornet is the hero, but it’s Kato who does everything. That’s a great twist on the hero-sidekick thing, the sidekick is the real hero, but he gets no credit. They are from different backgrounds, but they are like brothers. Britt is the funny one; Kato is a little bit more serious.

Cameron Diaz brought the updated character of Britt Reid’s secretary, Lenore Case, to life. In the 1930s, Lenore Case was a woman ahead of her times. In 2011, Lenore is a woman of her times. She’s smarter than both Britt and Kato put together. Lenore is passionate about journalism and she’s obsessed with criminology and forensics. The only thing Lenore doesn’t know is that she’s the brains of the Green Hornet operation. She’s doing the research for Britt and Kato, feeding them information. The thing of the role is that Diaz is fine with what she’s given in this film, but they could have gotten any other woman to play this ‘great’ role.

 To play the Green Hornet’s nemesis, Chudnofsky, the filmmakers brought in Christoph Waltz, who had astonished everyone with his performance as Col. Hans Landa in Inglourious Basterds, a role which earned the actor an Academy Award.

In the “Green Hornet” television series, Bruce Lee made both himself and Kato international stars. Because of that, the filmmakers were aware that there would be certain expectations for Kato’s fight sequences. To me, the present day Kato had to follow Bruce Lee, but be better than Bruce Lee, or as good. In Jay Chou, the filmmakers found someone who understands body mechanics and he can captivate the screen. He’s got a great presence. In “The Green Hornet” movie, a lot of comedy is physical, and they approached the physical comedy by using things in the environment for things other than their intention. For example, in the Britt and Kato fight, they got a lot of physical comedy in there by using everyday item’s that are in Britt’s bungalow. I think that’s my favorite thing, the fight is gritty and mean, but funny at the same time. It’s very well orchestrated; they use everything in the room. It flies in every direction but it’s still very realistic. They maintain a good level of comedy during the action. Even when everything is blowing up around them, it’s fun to watch. But the story always comes first. The action, just like the comedy, must serve the story and the characters. You have to control how the fight escalates and how it tapers off so that in doing all this physical action, it still tells a story, just the same as dialogue. 

As far as my history of The Green Hornet, I’ll admit it’s not very strong. For all you newcomers out there don’t be ashamed of not knowing anything about The Green Hornet, because I’ll be learning and sharing with you a brief history of The Green Hornet. It first started off as a radio show in 1936, which lasted until 1952. Fourteen years later came the television show that I heard about, but never saw. But The Green Hornet I do know about is the Kevin Smith’s version, which was presented as a comic book. His take on The Green Hornet was not liked by the film company. Even though I enjoyed it more then the film that is out now, I’m not saying it’s a bad film.

If you have not seen Rogen and Goldberg other works, then be sure to check out this film. Think of this film as the 1960s Batman campy humor infused with incredible action scenes. 

But I’ll save you the time and money, with the fact that much of the movie was shot in 2D and then enhanced with 3D, so I see no reason to watch a movie in what I like to call ‘bullshit 3D.’ I’m not saying to not see the movie, I’m just telling you to save your $3-$5, depending where you live and use them on the extra pounds you’ll be getting from the snacks you buy.