The moment the opening credits roll you immediately sense that the movie totally miss the point. This is very tragic cause everybody knows that the opening scene of every comic book movies are crucial in preparing the viewers expectations. With Superman at the start you could easily sense the magnanimity of the ultimate superhero and with Batman the dark antihero. Here I couldn't believe they opted for something generic. But nevertheless I tried my best to bare the the whole duration of the film with an open mind. I'll give credit Seth Rogan for trying his best to be fit for the role. There are times that I even notice his voice does sound tough enough to to be the Hornet. In fact. I even find his goofiness oftentimes a perfect cover. But as the movie progress this goofiness becomes so distracting. I was really hoping in the end Rogan's character would evolve enough and see the Green Hornet in Seth Rogan. But sadly no. Chou as Kato is decent enough. In fact once again Kato stole the limelight from the Green Hornet.
Back in the 60s I remembered Kato played by Bruce Lee totally also stole the show from the Green Hornet then played by Van Williams. This was understandable because that was freaking Bruce Lee and the western world was being introduced to the awesome concept of Eastern martial arts. But is the Green Hornet(Williams) of the 60s a complete loser. Hell no! Well yes most girls I know who watch Green Hornet totally could not resist Van Williams looks. But for us guys, even for me who is an Asian Van Williams was truly equally deserving of the same respect and admiration as Bruce Lee had. Back then Lee and Williams gave us a convincing show and I believe its way beyond its time. Brit Reid a.k.a. the Green Hornet was the cool and intelligent. He may not have the superior fighting skills but he had the persona, the brains the investigating skills, deductive reasoning. He was eloquent, brave and had enough leadership that convinces even the underworld and us viewers he's a bad-ass criminal. It is this aspect of the Green Hornet I was expecting in this cinematic version to be finally explored. The movie instead focused too much on Britt Reid and Kato relationship and angst that they simply do not really know the source material and just randomly choose a superhero they can tailor fit to Rogan. They obviously failed to make a connection how a party going douche bag suddenly becomes an effective crime-fighter or a hero who is brave enough to put himself in harms way. There is not enough motivation and character development. Let's face it Michael Gondry's Green Hornet is an overblown exploitation of Bruce Lee's Kato's popularity. This movie it self should have been called "The Kato and the Goofball". As we approached the final minutes the Green Hornet's theme is played. Did it made me feel like cheering for the hero? No. Did it at least made me smile. Actually I felt it was more of an added insult to injury. As I saw the credits began to pop up I immediately. stood up to leave. And then I notice how the use comic typeface. I just couldn’t help do the ultimate face -palm.
At the height of Batman's TV show in the 60s the Green Hornet made a guest appearance and fought the dynamic duo to a draw. For many years many fans think of this as the camp versus real deal. Today I couldn't help notice the reversal. Amidst Nolan’s vision for the Dark Knight I could not wonder how writers and director could have missed such a great opportunity. The Green Hornet was almost reducing to a Saturday Live Children show. It has been said that Nicholas Cage walks out form the production due to creative differences. And in his place was Christoph Waltz perhaps for me the only reason why this flick came close to a legit gritty crime-fighting movie it supposes to be. But still I can understand Nick Cage. Cause even if you have an awesome bad guy like Chris Waltz what's a reason to watch such a wimpy crime fighter.
If you are not a fan and know nothing about the Green Hornet then you might find this movie entertaining enough. There are a few scenes that might give you a chuckle or two. You might enjoy the action scenes. But for me its not that special. And watching it in 3D is pointless.
As a final word the Green Hornet is crime fighter whose methods are much more extreme and dangerous than most superhero because he is willing to be aligned and identified with criminals. He is not a superhero and most of his gadget is not at par with the Batman. This makes him more challenging and yet believable. I am passionate about the Green Hornet because he is closest we can get for a superhero. In fact there are Green Hornets in our midst risking their live to fight crime. They are undercover spies and double agents. Perhaps there may be some goofballs like Rogan's version. But if you really want to see the best, the Green Hornet you would really like to cheer then hands down you still have watch Van Williams and Bruce Lee.
For this flick I gave it two and half out of five.