Synopsis: Saving the world their own way.

Britt Reid (Seth Rogen) is a slacker by day, party animal by night…until he finds a serious career that’s seriously cool: crime-fighting action hero. As the Green Hornet, he teams up with gadget wiz and martial arts master Kato (Jay Chou) to take down LA’s underworld. Even Britt’s assistant Lenore (Cameron Diaz), doesn’t suspect this mismatched pair is the masked duo busting the city’s toughest thugs led by Chudnofsky (Academy Award winner Christoph Waltz, 2010, Supporting Actor, Inglourious Basterds). With style, swagger and an arsenal of awesome gear, the Green Hornet and Kato are doing justice their way, making every mission a mix of over-the-top action and outrageous comedy.
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The Green Hornet 6.5

You know, I had never wanted to see this film. From the moment that they decided to bring it to the big screen, I wondered: “Why would they bother? I mean, seriously… The Green Hornet?”

Aside from the fact that the TV series is notable for introducing Bruce Lee to North American audiences, who cares about The Green Hornet anymore? Sure, there may have been an audience for this 50 years ago, when the radio show was still fresh in fans’ minds, but why now? Big screen adaptations of similar ‘30s icons ‘The Shadow’ and ‘The Phantom’ were dismal failures, so what were they thinking?

(and, seriously, who really thinks that reviving ‘The Lone Ranger’ is a good idea? Anyone? Other than Johnny Depp, I mean?)

The casting for ‘The Green Hornet’ also put me off; I can’t imagine Seth Rogen as a superhero. I just can’t. In my mind, he’s a buffoon (no doubt because that’s usually all he plays!). And then Michel Gondry was selected as the director. I love his work (he’s a creative genius!) but this is really not his area of expertise: he makes artsy fare with little to work with – an über budget in a big ticket movie for a potential franchise just isn’t a good fit.

But I’m watching superhero films, I’ve just seen a batch of Seth Rogen films lately, and I happened to stumble upon it at the library the other. Throw in my iinsatiable curiosity when it comes to music and film, plus the fact that I tend to be a completist, and I guess that it was in the cards after all.

And it wasn’t half bad (well, I guess you could say that it could have been worse)

The bad:

-the story is conventional: there is absolutely nothing that I haven’t seen here before and done better – or, at least, fresher or more exciting. It’s quite alright, but the film leaves you with a clear sense of déjà vu.

– the humour, when present, was weak. Oh, sure, I laughed a few times, but mostly I groaned at the reheats we were served. Or ignored them entirely.

– largely, though, the issue was that Seth Rogen was simply not convincing in this role. He is not a great dramatic actor; he’s a step up over Will Ferrell, but that’s not saying much. Plus which his hapless slacker/douche-bag persona simply didn’t endear him to me, whatsoever; he was not quite annoying, but was definitely tiresome and gave me nothing to root for. Anyway, this Rogen persona made our hero simply unbelievable, contextually (obviously, HUGE Rogen fans won’t care one bit).

The good:

-as with the Bruce Lee incarnation, Kato (the Green Hornet’s sidekick) is the strongest part of the show. In fact, in Hong Kong, the TV show was popularly known as ‘The Kato Show’. Well, while no match for Bruce Lee (no one would expect him to match the master!), Jay Chou is pretty awetastic. I couldn’t understand half of what he was saying, what with his accent, but it didn’t matter ‘cause his character was cool, he played it to perfection and he just ruled his screen time.

-the villain was totally enjoyable (if underwhelming compared to the usual over-the-top, megalomaniacal sorts we usually get). This guy is evil, ruthless and unrelenting, but he has a calm and self-reflective side that is rather amusing to see given the circumstances. And while he harbours some self doubts, he still doesn’t give second chances to anyone who second-guesses him. It was played with perfect nuance by Christoph Waltz, who injects a bit of a Depardieu flair about his character. Nice.

-the best part: the end credits. I’m not being facetious – they really are the most creative and fun part of the film (I don’t know if Gondry made these, but it would be fitting). Obviously, it’s not worth almost 2 hours of one’s time.

Well, if you plan on seeing this film, adjust your expectations accordingly.