THE GREEN HORNET
 
STARRING: Seth Rogen, Jay Chou, Cameron
Diaz, Christoph Waltz, Edward James Olmos, David Harbour, Tom Wilkinson
2011, 108 Minutes, Directed by:
Michel Gondry
 The
Green Hornet is a beloved superhero franchise that has carried on
triumphantly through the years on radio, television, and the silver screen. For
its latest cinematic adaptation, the material confronts its greatest challenge:
Seth Rogen. The giggly, goofy actor takes an implausible leap into big screen
heroics; however, his Green Hornet is far from a stone-faced urban savior with a
thirst for justice. Here, Rogen plays the masked avenger as a boob, though a
financially powerful, easily impressed boob. His instincts to turn the role into
comedy serve him well, making his Green Hornet a screwy addition to the parade
of stern superhero releases.
Raised with constant dismissal from his father, newspaper magnate James Reid
(Tom Wilkinson), Britt (Seth Rogen) has grown up to be a lazy, spoiled brat,
incapable of getting his life in order. When James is killed by a bee sting,
Britt is devastated, inheriting a newspaper he doesn’t know how to run.
Finding comfort in a particularly skilled associate named Kato (Jay Chou), Britt
is swiftly emboldened when a simple act of accidental valor is pulled off by the
duo. Branding himself the Green Hornet, Britt takes to the superhero game armed
with Kato’s inventions and protected by Kato’s martial art skills, with special
assistance from Lenore (Cameron Diaz), a secretary with a background in criminal
investigation. Out on the streets, the pair look to bust up baddies, quickly
disturbing oversensitive kingpin Chudnofsky (Christoph Waltz, playing campy
notes with ease), who’s not eager to hand Los Angeles over to the amateur crime
fighters.
Green Hornet is an odd production all around, with directorial duties
handed to French filmmaker Michel Gondry, known more for his abstract absurdity
(Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) than his
way with big-budget anarchy. The choice is unconventional, yet Gondry’s oomph is
primarily why the feature remains in a curiously palatable state, showcasing the
filmmaker taking a few left turns with this established property, shifting Britt
Reid’s fight for justice into a spirited slapstick comedy, tap dancing somewhere
between satire and crooked homage.
A visual ace, Gondry at least beautifies the Green Hornet universe with
phenomenal gadgets and costumes, keeping the film fluid with comic book touches
such as Kato-Vision (the not-so-sidekick’s ability to assess danger
instantaneously) and Chudnofsky’s double-barreled handgun, while enjoying his
time racing around with Black Beauty, the gang’s heavily tricked-out car - their
bulletproof tank that plays records, sprays bullets, and shoots missiles.
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"Purists may end up in tears over this comedy . . ." |
Gondry loves the toys, energetically detailing the little hero machines Kato
constructs, with one device, a gun that shoots green knockout gas, providing a
humorous running gag for the film as Kato looks to keep Britt out of trouble by
arming him with a foolproof weapon of incapacitation. When Green Hornet stays in
the comfort zone of its origin tale, watching the opposites team up without much
of a crime-bustin’ game plan, the picture provides an ample verve that balances
the comedy and the violence admirably, tinkering with Gondryesque special
effects and PG-13 roughhousing (much of it involving testicle trauma) to
satisfying results. Locked in a bubble of cheeky adventuring, the picture feels
confident and remains incredibly entertaining.
Squeezing 110 minutes out of the material (scripted by Rogen and Evan Goldberg),
proves to be a real challenge for everyone involved, with a threadbare story
involving corrupt politicians and Britt’s developing journalistic integrity
suddenly assuming great importance in the final act. A sluggish film to begin
with (Gondry’s incapable of manufacturing a steady pace), Green Hornet
doesn’t do itself any favors by taking matters seriously, with the increased
concentration destroying a few critical gags, including Chudnofsky’s urge to be
feared as a villain, renaming himself Bloodnofsky. My goodness, that joke just
dies onscreen, largely because of its placement in the middle of the script’s
sober stage. For a film that primarily chases laughs, it seems ridiculous to
waste a good chunk of time attempting to tie an uninspired story together.
Green Hornet is most assured with Britt and Kato, exploring the tentative
bond that grows into brotherhood. They delight in their triumphs, compete for
Lenore’s affections, and when they argue, the Reid compound is trashed beyond
recognition. Granted, Rogen isn’t stepping too far away from his established
stoner persona, playing Britt as an arrogant, bewildered guy with a bright idea
he’s completely incapable of pulling off alone, despite his compulsion to assume
credit. Chou’s the real find, making Kato an attentive superman, stylishly
saving the day with his moves and machines. Chou’s English is rough but he has
charisma to spare, with Gondry delighting in his fractured attempts to keep up
with Rogen’s rapid-fire wit.
The Green Hornet is scattershot but amusing, stuffed with enough
idiosyncrasy and visual creativity to keep it trucking along when the story gums
up the works. Purists may end up in tears over this comedy, but those seeking a
lighthearted romp (handed a gratuitous 3D conversion) with some wicked smash
mouth theatrics might welcome this superhero change of pace.
- Brian Orndorf
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