If you don’t know, I am a huge fan of superheroes. I guess that comes from years of reading comics, mainly Batman, and dressing up as one allot in my youth. However, when you’ve seen the same formula used again and again in superhero stories….it can get pretty boring. What i love about The Green Hornet character is that he chooses to play as a villain in order to be the Hero. Always been my favorite quality about The Green Hornet’s world. Doesn’t sound like the typical superhero formula at all. I didn’t know about The Green Hornet until i saw an episode of Batman (1966) where He and Kato guest starred.
I was interested in the character, but never really explored his world. Mainly because he didn’t really have any comics i could find, nor was the show on TV ever. It wasn’t until i heard of Kevin Smith’s involvement in making a new Green Hornet movie that i wanted to know more about the character. However, after learning a few things and seeing a few clips of the show, Kevin Smith was out of the game. Instead he took his story and turned it into a comic book series that i enjoy very much. Then after awhile The Green Hornet movie didn’t seem like it would be made, But one man came in to save the film from falling. One man came in to make sure it became a full length feature film, and that man was…..Seth Rogan?
After a bunch of delays, recasts, and new directors, The Green Hornet is finally in theaters after all this time. Was it all worth it in the end? I’d say so…..for the most part. The Green Hornet stars funny man, with an iconic laugh, Seth Rogan as the titular character. Along for the ride is Taiwanese Singer/Actor Jay Chou as Kato. The story is an origin story where we follow rich party boy Britt Reid. He had a terrible childhood, with his mom dying and his dad being very repressive, which caused him to just want to have fun and forget about the bad times.
It wasn’t until his Dad died of an allergic reaction to a bee sting when Britt realized that he has done nothing with his life. One day he meets an employee of his fathers named Kato. Kato is a multi-talented young lad who shares the same view of Britt’s Father as Britt…They both think he was an Asshole. They get drunk, and decided to take their hatred out on a newly erected statue of Britt’s Dad. They got allot more then they were looking for when Britt and Kato save the lives of a couple from being mugged. Thus The Green Hornet and Kato are Born! Even after Kevin Smith left the project, i was still interested in seeing the movie.
I had read up on the character enough so i was excited. I wasn’t as worried when i heard of Rogan’s involvement as most were. I was more interested to see what he can do. Plus i’m a huge fan of the director, Michel Gondry, who directed Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. This Green Hornet movie was just what i was expecting. A fun action-comedy/superhero movie with great humor and allot of action! I was surprised that the film also incorporated some clever superhero satire, like no one getting the girl and the sidekick being better then the hero.
My favorite character/performance was Jay Chou as Kato. He wasn’t the funniest, but he was definitely the coolest. He pretty much stole the show for me. Kato made all the cool gadgets, kicked the most ass, and was all around just awesome. However, the best part about Kato?……Kato Vision! Seth Rogan was just what you’d expect, but he kicked some butt of his own surprisingly! Other then that he was just Seth Rogan in a mask, and it works for me.
My least favorite from the cast was Cameron Diaz. She didn’t really do anything. She was just there doing nothing to help the plot really. You could call her eye candy, but if thats the case/ purpose they could have picked someone better. don’t get me wrong Cameron Diaz is a fox, but not the foxiest. Every time I saw Christoph Waltz i couldn’t help but think of The Jew Hunter. The role didn’t seem to fit him very well, but in the end he rocked it. My favorite of his scenes features an awesome hilarious cameo.
The story at times was very cliched and not that original, but what made the movie much better was the addition of Michel Gondry. It wasn’t as quirky as you’d expect, mainly because they were going for a more commerical film and not a weird indie movie, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t quirkiness in the movie. In my opinion, if Gondry wasn’t involved the movie would have fell flat on its face.
The movie was converted in 3-D, hence the pushing to a later date, and, as usual, the 3-D wasn’t needed. However It was cool to see Kato Vision in 3-D, but the best thing in 3-D was the credits. Which is kind of sad if you think about it.In the end, i enjoyed this movie for its good direction, hilarious comedy, and awesome action. This was a summerish movie released alittle early in the year. If your expecting The Dark Knight, don’t go see this movie, but if your expecting a fun superhero comedy, then check out this movie. Heres a quick tip though…..2-D is better!
I give The Green Hornet 3.5 Stings out of 5.
(This review is written by Richard L. Purnell from Channel23hahaha on Youtube)