R W
Posts: 268
Joined: 23/6/2006
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Director: Michel Gondry
Screenwriters: Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg
Starring: Seth Rogen, Jay Chou, Cameron Diaz, Tom Wilkinson, Christoph Waltz
Synopsis
Following the death of his father (Wilkinson), Britt Reid (Rogen) who is the heir to his father's media empire, teams up with his late dad's assistant Kato (Chou) to become a masked crime fighting team.
Review
Last year, came the release of Matthew Vaughn’s Kick-Ass (No. 5 in my top films of 2010), which was essentially a postmodern take on the comic book movie, in which the geek puts on a costume and fight city crime, without any superpowers and with unfortunate results. Well, we get a similar premise in the latest superhero offering, except this guy wears green, accompanied with a cool sidekick and rides in a beautiful car.
Born out of the 1930s radio program by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker, the Green Hornet and his trustee sidekick Kato have had a long and interesting history, in which they have appeared in various medias such as comics and the cult favourite that is the 60s television series starring the late great Bruce Lee. Following the many attempts of bringing the two heroes to the big screen, we finally see the Green Hornet, but in the hands of Seth Rogen (from the Judd Apatow subgenre) and the director of Eternal Sunshine (my… you know).
Following his dysfunctional family documentary The Thorn in the Heart (small art-house release), Michel Gondry makes his first big mainstream film: an action comedy about a superhero duo which is not as popular as Batman or Superman. One might say that this is a bizarre choice for Gondry, although calling any of his work bizarre isn’t anything new, but casting Rogen in the titular role caused a lot of backlash.
However, you not gonna get Batman and Robin, but you’re not going to get Kick-Ass either. On the basis of the script (co-written by Rogen), the postmodernism within the film is not as edgy as it thinks it is, because the tone doesn’t have the surreal element like Kick-Ass has. Also, as an action piece, the film rambles on and doesn’t explore themes of crime and corruption, and so the oddball villain (played by Christoph Waltz) is left dangling, despite a terrific beginning featuring a cameo from James Franco.
On the plus side, the film works as a buddy comedy as all the best and funniest moments are the scenes between Britt Reid and his coffee-making assistant. Although Seth Rogen may have a comedic shoulder and indeed has his funny moments in this, Jay Chou is the star of The Green Hornet. He may not have mastered the English language, but Kato’s attempt at being cool and hip is laugh-out loud funny, while his chemistry with Rogen is top-notch.
Aside from being a film that works more towards comedy than action in terms of its narrative, Michael Gondry has done some well-crafted sequences that go boom-bang. His distinctive visual style will seem off-kilter to a mainstream audience, but a relentless action sequence involving the iconic Black Beauty car will get their intention. Converting the film into 3D is an injustice because it makes Gondry’s direction somewhat flawed, but if Monsieur Gondry makes a film shot in 3D, that would be something.
Verdict
All in all, Gondry’s Green Hornet is an uneven, but entertaining flick that works more as a comedy than as an action piece. Rogen may be funny, but Jay Chou is the one everyone will remember.
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Printable Version
The Green Hornet - 
I was about to type the same thing. I didn't think anyone respected Harry and his minions awful, awful review style. 
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