Review: The Green Hornet

In most stories there is a beginning, a middle and an end. The Green Hornet however, is different. There was a something that could be a beginning, some daddy issues, an explosion, some back story, and then they drive a car in a building and out a window. While the action was fun, this movie just failed to impress me.





Seth Rogen, star and co-writer of the film, definitely had a vision of where he wanted to take this film, but seemed to get lost halfway there. Yes, Britt Reid is a party boy, but part of him is supposed to grow as he fights crime. Except for a 30 second thought, we don't see that happen. Instead, we see a spoiled rich kid with a mask fetish. There was the story of a boy who wants to prove to his father that he can make a positive mark on the world, so he enlists the help of his father's mechanic to out beat criminals by "pretending" to be a criminal. What is supposed to be the Green Hornet stopping crime is a bunch of random violence. While Rogen does put out there that they don't know what they are doing, I wish he had used the criminals more effectively in moving the plot from point a to point b.

Jay Chou as Kato was the shining star of this movie. This guy was hysterical and great to watch in a fight scene. Also, I enjoyed his song, Nun-chucks, during the credits. The one thing with him I just didn't get was when he looked at a fight and highlighted weapons in red with his brain. Don't really understand when he became a cyborg but it was really weird and out of place. Perhaps it was only put in for the people who paid extra for 3D.



Cameron Diaz is totally under utilized and only shows up when our heroes need someone to tell them what to do. Basically, she is the Puppet Master. James Edward Olmos was also barely there. He was supposed to be running the paper with Britt and possibly be a father-figure, but he was wasted as a background piece. He basically just looked cranky at Britt, probably because he had almost no dialogue.

I had been looking forward to Christoph Waltz as the villain Chudnofsky, and was sorely disappointed. The character was misused and should have been more influential to the script. But on top of that, I felt that Waltz was boring and held back in this role. It felt like he played a weaker version of Landa from Inglorious Basterds. I know that this guy is talented, but he needed to go full throttle with the absurdity of this character to make it work. On the flip side, I loved his double barrel gun.

I'm sure that there will be another one made, probably by Seth Rogen again. I hope that he explores the plot more and makes sure that there is a full story next time.