2011 must be the year of the superhero. Or at least the year of the superhero that I couldn’t care less about. Nolan’s next Batman doesn’t come out until next year after all. But, I figured I would be remiss without catching at least a few of the genre’s offerings this year and what better place to start than with The Green Hornet, the 3D big-budget film that was released … in January? Weird.
Seth Rogen plays lovable slacker (seems like a stretch for him) Britt Reid, who is the playboy son of widower newspaper mogul, James Reid. His father is constantly disappointed due to his attention- and headline-grabbing antics. When his father dies, Britt meets Kaito (Jay Chou), a coffee-making car aficionado who worked for the family and commiserates with him about how much of a dick his father was. In a drunken act of rebellion, Britt and Kaito set off in bulletproof Chrysler Imperial to deface the recently erected statue of James Reid and foil a robbery nearby thanks to Kaito’s impressive martial arts skills. Britt then decides the two should team up and be superheroes.
While I know that the character of the Green Hornet is based on a 1930s radio program, I don’t know how faithful the script by Rogen and Evan Goldberg is to that concept. If it is faithful, then quite a few superhero tropes since have borrowed from the original radio show. If not, then Rogen and Goldberg were heavily influenced. Regardless, in a world with superhero movies running amuck, having Britt Reid sans parents, or working at a newspaper, or the Green Hornet well armed with super-cool gadgets seems derivative even if it was not originally.
One of the more redeeming qualities of the film was the characters’ self-awareness. Reid lays out rather concisely why they should pose as bad guys to avoid the wrath of the real bad guys like other heroes. And he gets help from the knowledgeable Lenore Case (Cameron Diaz) as how to ascend to the top-tier of the criminal element. Reid even acts as a publicist when the Hornet’s actions start causing defections from the crime syndicate. This does not sit well with the resident bad-ass Chudnofsky (Christoph Waltz) who through a convoluted, yet somewhat predictable, turn has people near Reid who want him dead.
While the plot itself was not earth-shattering, it was enjoyable enough. Also quite entertaining was the film’s numerous action pieces, many set to classical music like the source material. Director Michel Gondry composes car chases, hand-to-hand combat, and shootouts like a pro even if his previous films do not seem in the same realm of filmmaking. Since I saw this on a poor man’s Blu-ray, the 3D stood out like a sore thumb (where does that saying even come from?) but was unimpressive unless you like bottle caps virtually hurled at you.
The cast was good but this is another vehicle for Seth Rogen (who slimmed down significantly for the role) to act childish but also to get into fights with just about everyone else in the movie. Perhaps that is where the screenwriters tried to break from the established superhero norm but having Britt be a baby and lashing out at his partner, his secretary, his father’s most trusted friend, et al. is not beneficial in establishing a likable character. Chou has some fancy moves but his character is more background to the Hornet even though he has 98% of the skills in the group. Waltz is always welcome even though his character popped in and out too much to be an effective villain. And Diaz … well, I’ve address her here.
As it is, Green Hornet will probably be one of the more forgettable tales of heroism this year but it was good enough to at least warrant a viewing. I would potentially be on board with a sequel, provided that we try something new next time.
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