Synopsis:
Britt Reid (Seth Rogen) is the son of LA's most prominent and respected media magnate and perfectly happy to maintain a directionless existence on the party scene – until his father (Tom Wilkinson) mysteriously dies, leaving Britt his vast media empire. Striking an unlikely friendship with one of his father's more industrious and inventive employees, Kato (Jay Chou), they see their chance to do something meaningful for the first time in their lives: fight crime. But in order to do this, they decide to become criminals themselves – protecting the law by breaking it, Britt becomes the vigilante The Green Hornet as he and Kato hit the streets.
Using all his ingenuity and skill, Kato builds the ultimate in advanced retro weaponry, The Black Beauty, an indestructible car equal parts firepower and horsepower. Rolling in a mobile fortress on wheels and striking the bad guys with Kato's clever gadgets, The Green Hornet and Kato quickly start making a name for themselves, and with the help of Britt's new secretary, Lenore Case (Cameron Diaz), they begin hunting down the man who controls LA's gritty underworld: Benjamin Chudnofsky (Christoph Waltz). But Chudnofsky has plans of his own: to swat down The Green Hornet once and for all.
Review:
I will start off by saying that when it comes to
The Green Hornet I have read very few comics and watched very few episodes of the show. I will admit being more familiar with any source might have changed my opinion on the movie. So with that out of the way I present to you my review.
When first cast some fans were(and still are) left with a sour taste in their mouth, I mean would you really think Seth Rogen is the Green Hornet? The answer for most is probably no. At first Rogen plays very much that same character, but we see a progression into a hero. Rogen plays a character that doesn't jump right into becoming a skilled hero, he and his partner Kato struggle to mature into the epic crime fighting duo we know they will become. This maturity as a hero also helps Britt Reid run his fathers news paper.
Kato on the other hand is an entertaining character who out skills the Hornet in everything. Kato is not only the creative genius of the duo, he is also the skilled fighter, leaving the title hero without a true place in the pair. Kato is a character that hates the fact that even though he is better in every way, The Green Hornet still gets the attention.
The thing the Hornet and Kato have in common is a dislike of James Reid played by Tom Wilkinson. The Hornet dislikes him for ignoring him as a child, something that defines who he is as an adult. Kato on the other hand dislikes him for being a mean boss. This dislike bonds the two and ends up becoming the reason they protect crime by committing crime to disguise from crime lords that they are good guys.
The films main villain Benjamin Chudnofsky is played by the Oscar winning villain of
Inglorious Bastards, Christoph Waltz. Chudnofsky is LA's most prominent crime boss with an aim to control all the crime in the city. After being made fun of for not being scary enough by a nightclub manager(played by a surprise guest), Chudnofsky goes through out the entire movie trying to prove he is still scary. When The Green Hornet and Kato start screwing with his turf Chudnofsky goes after them. Chudnofsky is a recklessly crazy and funny character played great by Waltz, who once again steals any scene that has him in the movie.
Lenore Case is the secretary of the Britt Reid Cameron Diaz. She uses her knowledge of past crimes to unknowingly help the Hornet and Kato plan their next move or predict their enemies. Diaz haters(and I know there are plenty of you) it might ease your pain to know she doesn't have all that much screen time. She still plays a pivotal role without much time and the story doesn't stray away from the Green Hornet and Kato.
My final verdict would be that
The Green Hornet is a fun superhero flick that may not be for everyone. Yes it is different from the series from 1966, but it does not ignore those routes so keep your eyes and ears peeled for homages. So for fans of the character it may not be for you but if your looking for some good entertainment, humor, and great action sequences
The Green Hornet is the way to go. The only thing that truly depressed me was that originally Green Hornet is the Great Great Nephew of
The Lone Ranger, which was left out due to different studios owning the rights to each character. Again hardcore fans may not like it but I think it is great for the average movie goer. 3.5 out of 5 stars.
The Green Hornet hits theaters January 14, 2011. Also as a thanks for the tickets check out my uncle's review http://t.co/oGBQEPf