Filed under: Reviews
Prior to its film release, the only thing famously associated with 'The Green Hornet' was the fact that the legendary martial arts expert Bruce Lee played Kato, Hornet's trusted sidekick.
More than decades later, Sony Pictures has decided to do a big screen adaptation with Michel Gondry directing Seth Rogen as Britt Reid/ Green Hornet and Jay Chou as Kato.
While Rogen may not have been the ideal choice to play the masked avenger he does provide a good chuck of action scenes and comic relief to make the film surprisingly enjoyable.
Written by Rogen and his writing partner Evan Goldberg, Britt Reid (played by Rogen) is your average spoiler rich kid brat who hasn't lived up to any of his father's expectations. James Reid (played by Tom Wilkinson) is the publishing magnate of a daily newspaper who dies mysteriously at home, leaving Britt to assume to the top of the throne. The problem is that Britt has no clue how to run a business or even his life without the guidance of an authority figure.
With his father's mechanic and coffeemaker Kato, Britt enlists his skills to help him do something meaningful and rid the city of vagrants. When the reports of their efforts make them out to look like the criminals they are after, Britt uses his newfound power to his advantage. This greatly angers the true criminal at-large, Chudnofksy (played by Oscar winner Christoph Waltz), who refuses to acknowledge that the Green Hornet is putting a dent in his business.
With newly hired assistant Lenore (played by Cameron Diaz) beefing up the Green Hornet's profile, Britt and Kato try to find out exactly why crime is disregarded in their city and try to stop Chudnofksy's business without getting themselves killed.
Seth Rogen and Jay Chou will have you have laughing the minute the film starts. I went in with low expectations, but I was actually surprised by how funny and action packed this film is.
The cars, or rather the Black Beauty, looked amazing. Gondry has a flare for visuals, and the split camera scenes are his specialty.
One of the few drawbacks is the casting of Cameron Diaz, who looked lost. This is beneath her. From doing 'Knight and Day' with Tom Cruise and then taking a back seat in TGH' with Seth Rogen, it's time to switch agencies!! She should have done this when right after she did 'The Mask,' back in '94.
The 3D isn't as eye-popping at 'Alice in Wonderland,' or 'Avatar,' but there are enough humorous moment and clichéd action scenes to keep one entertained.