The Green Hornet (Review)

Looking at the credits for The Green Hornet, it's obvious that the intention was not to make a run-of-the-mill superhero movie. It was directed by Michel Gondry, who in the past has given us Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Be Kind Rewind. It was written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, who are used to penning R-rated comedies such as Superbad and Pineapple Express. On top of that, Rogen plays the leading man. The Green Hornet is an action movie made by people who have no business making an action movie.

Rogen plays Britt Reid, the hard-partying son of legendary newspaper publisher James Reid (Tom Wilkinson), who suddenly dies after an allergic reaction to a bee sting. This means that Britt suddenly has to take responsibility not only for his father’s newspaper, but his legacy as well. Britt has no interest in such things, but eventually he decides to become a superhero. Only he won’t be like other superheroes. Instead he will do the hero work by pretending to be a new villain: The Green Hornet.

However, Britt does very little of the dirty work, leaving most of it to his valet Kato, played by "international superstar" Jay Chou. Britt is an egomaniac of monumental proportions, insisting on taking all the credit despite doing absolutely nothing. When Cameron Diaz comes in to play his new secretary, he seems intent on sleeping with her, becoming jealous when she develops an interest in Kato (which admittedly makes little sense, but hey.)

The Green Hornet, more often than not, is a fun movie. As with many Rogen and Goldberg scripts, there are moments of genuine humor which feel as if the movie is trying to be a PG-13 version of Pineapple Express. However, the pair does their best writing when dealing with the character of Britt, leaving many other characters with pretty sad dialogue. Comedy is their forte, but creating an interesting action plot is not. The film’s most compelling scene is one of the first, which features Christoph Waltz (of Inglourious Basterds fame) facing off against an uncredited James Franco. Sadly, the film isn’t able to maintain the wit it promises in this scene.

The film’s greatest sin is the 3-D conversion, which quite obviously came after the film was finished. Whenever the camera is still, it’s more than tolerable. However, whenever there’s significant movement, like the action scenes, it’s near impossible to see. In all honesty, I took my 3-D glasses off from time to time, as I found the blurry 2-D image preferable to the 3-D one, which consistently hurt my eyes. If a movie is not shot with the intention of being shown in 3-D, it should not be converted to 3-D after the fact. If they really want to do a service to the consumer, they should charge extra to see The Green Hornet in 2-D. I’m almost positive the experience would be more tolerable.

Besides the 3-D, there are still several things wrong with the film. Many of the supporting actors such as Diaz and Waltz are not used nearly enough. (Diaz, almost insultingly, only exists so Rogen can make misogynistic remarks). Again, the script focuses too greatly on the Rogen character, and the audience can grow tired of him quickly. The performance of Jay Chou is also unconvincing. He was obviously cast to boost the international box office, but his lack of experience with the English language is a legitimate problem. It’s one thing for an actor to have a foreign accent. It’s another thing when an actor doesn’t know a single word he’s saying.

Despite the countless problems, The Green Hornet is still an admirable stab at making an unconventional superhero movie. I laughed when it wanted me to laugh, but I was never overly engaged or excited. Audiences will likely enjoy it more than not, as Rogen is almost able to trick you into liking a pretty despicable person, but the film never commits to a single tone or visual style. Michel Gondry occasionally makes his presence known with a fun CGI gag here or there, but the rest of the movie feels awfully conventional.

The character of The Green Hornet began as a radio series, but over time as appeared in many forms of media, from comic books to television shows. It was only a matter of time before the character got the big-budget Hollywood treatment, even if those behind it are not the usual action movie suspects. However, everyone involved is still very talented, and that talent shines through from time to time despite the many flaws and icky 3-D conversion. As a disposable action film, it’s acceptable enough. Just see it in 2-D, or you’ll be closing your eyes in agony.

Rating:  (out of 4)