When I think of superheroes, the image of a man (or woman) who’s athletically built, always has unnaturally well-kept hair and dons a colorful spandex ensemble comes to mind. What doesn’t come to mind, however, is Seth Rogen in a 1920’s gangster getup, saving defenseless citizens from the perils of urban street crime. But guess what? It works, for the most part.
Before you pass judgment, let me just say I was equally surprised to find that I enjoyed “The Green Hornet.” As a fan of Rogen, I initially thought he was in a tad over his head when he decided going superhero would be his next move. But after learning he had teamed up again with “Superbad” and “Pineapple Express” co-writer Evan Goldberg, I knew this wasn’t going to be a serious take on the hero of radio and TV fame.
Rogen plays Britt Reid, son of a prominent newspaper impresario James Reid (Tom Wilkinson) and heir to the publishing powerhouse known as The Daily Sentinel. But when James unexpectedly dies from a deadly bee sting, Britt is thrust into a position of responsibility faster than he can belly laugh at a fart joke.
Not long after, Britt befriends his father’s mechanic/coffeemaker Kato, played by Taiwanese pop star Jay Chou, after bonding over their mutual dislike for James. As a result of their newfound bromance, the pair runs into trouble during a drunkenly planned prank. Before you know it, martial arts fighting sequences are shown in slow motion, thugs are defeated, Britt is caught on camera, his photo is featured in The Daily Sentinel and thus, The Green Hornet is born.
Equipped with a tricked-out car known as the Black Beauty, Britt becomes The Green Hornet and collectively decides with Kato to pose as “bad guys” in order to cleverly take down the real threat in L.A., the drug lord and insufferably hard to pronounce Chudnofsky, played by “Inglourious Basterds” star Christoph Waltz. With assistance from Britt’s continuously smiling and organized crime aficionado and secretary Lenore Case (Cameron Diaz), The Green Hornet soon becomes a media phenomenon.
If anything, “The Green Hornet” comes off as a parody of superhero movies, whether it intends to or not. Although it’s fight scenes are impressively orchestrated, due in most part to the direction of Michel Gondry, “The Green Hornet” is full of typical Rogen man-child humor, such as Britt and Kato performing a duet to “Gangster’s Paradise” on the job. Unfortunately, Waltz and Diaz get lost in the hubbub of “The Green Hornet’s” not-so-perfect plot, which tends to jump from fight scene to fight scene without making time to develop its characters. With talent wasted and holes in the plot aplenty, the film hinders its opportunity to be more than a silly superhero romp.
But it’s January, a time when many movies aren’t at the top of their game, and “The Green Hornet” delivers an adequate amount of humor and shenanigans to keep me entertained for its allotted two hour running time.
