The Green Hornet: Does Anyone Under 40 Have the Right to Care?

The Green Hornet: Does Anyone Under 40 Have the Right to Care?

I saw The Green Hornet on a rerun of Batman when I was twelve, I used to collect the mp3 radio shows from the thirties and forties. Also, I had the Bumblebee ringer on my phone for the better part of five years. That was and remains the extent of my experience with the character.

Editorial Opinion
By canadianturd - Jan 13, 2011 12:01 AM EST
Filed Under: Green Hornet

There's a reason Marvel Comics isn't currently printing or publishing a successful Sub-Mariner comic book.

The reason: Nobody cares unless there's a movie coming out.

If the people online who proclaimed to be Namor fans were actual fans, there would be an outcry for a comic. Would you like to know why there isn't? The fan base doesn't exist until a movie is ready to go into production because without that... nobody cares.



I've been following The Green Hornet movie, watching the likes of Kevin Smith, Greg Kinnear and George Clooney all pass on the film. Once a concrete deal was announced with Seth Rogen and Michel Gondry, I wasn't surprised to hear the many (vastly negative) opinions on the matter. It was the same knee-jerk reaction that I heard several times after Heath Ledger was cast in TDK.

With an innovative filmmaker like Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine, Dave Chappelle's Block Party, Be Kind Rewind) helming the film, that solidified it for me. Gondry has a knack for provoking excellent performances from... most notably, comedians so it makes sense that he and Rogen would make for a great match!



The notion that Seth Rogen won't be able to pull off an action role is ridiculous. First of all, it's Hollywood! If they can make a human torch chase a silver alien on a surboard around New York City or make Ice Cube look bad ass, they could make Seth Rogen into a hero. Not only that, but he co-wrote the script and worked out to get into shape so you know he's taking it seriously. Not to mention, they picked the laziest hero for him to portray. Brit Reid rarely gets his hands dirty while Kato does most of the heavy-lifting and Green Hornet recieves the glory. That dynamic alone has comedic value that I don't think was ever explored in the past.

I don't understand.

Nobody gave a crap about the Green Hornet for the better part of the last fifty years, now everyone and their pets have opinions all because of this movie. I would like to know those of you who hear about a movie coming out, read up everything you can about the character on Wikipedia and then walk around, talking like you've been a fan forever.

Guess what? You're annoying!

Usually when people are passionate, it's because they have some sort of nostalgic feeling they've been harboring for the character since childhood. The Green Hornet fell out of popular culture a long time ago and for the most part, it has stayed out so really, what's the liklihood that anyone under forty really gives a crap who plays the role? Nobody, really. The people complaining are only complaining to hear themselves complain.

Hear that? You're all a bunch of [frick]in' whiners!

I am aware of the irony, myself calling you whiners after I spent whole article whining.



I'll believe you if you say you're a 'huge X-Men fan!'. I'll believe you if you say you're a 'huge Terminator fan!' because they've had consistant relevance within the stratosphere over the last few decades. So forgive me if I call bullsh*t when I hear 'Oh, I'm a huge Green Hornet fan!' I probably won't believe you... that is, until after the movie's out.


P.S. Judging from the trailers, The Green Hornet looks ten times better than Green Lantern.
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PaxD75
PaxD75 - 1/13/2011, 2:48 AM
I can't agree with your reasoning here. Even though I'm well under 40, I have learned enough about the Green Hornet over the years to respect the character. I even saw him (and Kato played by Bruce Lee) in an old episode of Batman.

In fact, just the mere fact that Kato was played by Bruce Lee has kept the short-lived and little known 'franchise' active if not necessarily popular.

So along comes Seth Rogen, a fat comedian with a sarcastic wit who pokes "fun" at the world because of his own short-comings (which is what most comedians do) and right away people think parody or an odd slant on a well-developed character.

You also have Jay Chou (which you completely neglected to mention at all for some odd reason) - a musician playing a part once played by the late GREAT Bruce Lee. Most of the people I talked to about Green Hornet really wanted a true martial artist in this role.

People want to see a cool movie and they hope that it's good enough so that a sequel is considered. When you get a snide Rogen paired with a petite musician, people are going to question whether it's another Hollywood attempt for quick bucks by creating another crappy film that makes the star and producer a couple of bucks but destroys what many consider is (was) a pretty cool team.

Maybe Rogen and Chou will team up to create a fantastic action film and that somehow Hollywood magic will transform Chou into the second coming of Lee. Hopefully they don't screw this up too badly...
Exiles
Exiles - 1/13/2011, 4:19 AM
You forgot the fan out rage when micheal keaton was cast as batman, that was 10 times worse then the ledger incident.
marvel72
marvel72 - 1/13/2011, 4:56 AM
@ gatson

deadpool

no one heard of the character ? his been comics 21 years.

x-men origins wolverine ? no one in their right mind would become a deadpool fan because of how he was portrayed in x-men origins wolverine,true deadpool fans hated it.
CorndogBurglar
CorndogBurglar - 1/13/2011, 5:24 AM
like Gaston said, there IS a Namor comic. And its actually very good. It focuses on him being a mutant, and he's a member of the X-Men.

I don't even like Namor (he's constantly whining and complaining about something or other), but the comic is fantastic.
CorndogBurglar
CorndogBurglar - 1/13/2011, 5:27 AM
@ Marvel

I think Gaston was saying no one who isn't a comic fan knew who Deadpool was, and he would be right.

Deadpool has only recently become a posterboy for Marvel. Whether that has anything to do with the Wolverine movie, I can't really say. But I personally hate it. Deadpool was a MUCH better character before he found out he was a comic character. Now everything he's in (which is just about everything) automatically takes a turn for the idiotic.

They even throw him into miniseries where he has no business being. I'm looking at you DOOM WAR.

anyway, Deadpool is the new Wolverine, and that isn't a good thing.
SmokinIndo
SmokinIndo - 1/13/2011, 7:01 AM
@CorndogBurglar

I know what you mean. I like Deadpool a LOT, but Marvel's been whoring him out lately. I think he has five comics out right now? That's ridiculous. Although I didn't necessarily mind his appearance in DOOM WAR because he had some relevance to the story. Plus it didn't change the tone of the comic at all.

PS: People claiming that the Wolverine movie made him popular are wrong. Actually, it was Deadpool's increasing popularity that prompted FOX to use him.
canadianturd
canadianturd - 1/13/2011, 8:27 AM
@Gaston I did not realize there was a Namor title out. It must be somewhat recent. I only collect trades, so that makes me very interested!

@PaxD The reason I didn't mention Jay Chou is because I'm unfamiliar with his work. I am familiar with Seth Rogan and Michel Gondry.

@Exiles I was 6 when Batman came out, so I never heard the outrage firsthand concerning Michael Keaton.

@Corndog I will check out that Namor comic, thanks for the recommendation and personally, I hated Deadpool in the Wolverine Origin arc.

@indoraptor F FOX
Rhys
Rhys - 1/13/2011, 10:10 AM
I actually AM a big Namor fan, big I don't care that he doesn't have a successful ongoing because 1. I don't read most modern comics, and 2. I prefer when he interacts with other characters, as a villain or a supporting character. He's not as good when everything is about him(and most of Namors supporting characters are lame). So I'm not gonna "have an outcry" because he doesn't have one.

Second, people under 40 should have a right to care. We appreciate good movies as well! I'm not extremely familiar with the Green Hornet character, but if this movie looked even remotely good, I'd want to see and might be interested in the character!(It still could be good, but judging by what I've seen so far, my opinion is it won't be).
George88
George88 - 1/13/2011, 2:19 PM
Completely agree with you. As soon as a comedian is cast everyone is Green Hornet fan who knows who should and shouldn't be cast. I'm a loud and proud Green Hornet and over the weeks were people have been judging this movie and saying its crap, I have always said I would be good. I'm just happy I can see one of my favourite characters brought to the big screen. Think of this movie as an adult Kick-Ass. A comic book movie with action AND comedy but this time the focus is on fully grown adults.
Suzanne
Suzanne - 1/13/2011, 2:58 PM
The Sy Fy Network is re-airing the TV Show on Tuesday all day.
canadianturd
canadianturd - 1/14/2011, 10:18 AM
@Xenix I'm saying people from that era, the people who grew up with The Green Hornet while the character had relevance... those are the people who should care.

We have a ton of people these days who crave nostalgia so much, they'll even fake it. Which is what I'm saying it happening here.
mrcomicguy
mrcomicguy - 1/14/2011, 10:37 AM
As a 50-year-old fan myself, I'm happy to see this film come out. If it makes a halfway decent opening weekend box, I'd be overjoyed! I just wrote my musings on being a GH fan from 1966 on. I marvel at how quickly it fell into the shadow of the much sillier Adam West Batman series.
MrsNamorMcKenzie
MrsNamorMcKenzie - 1/14/2011, 2:33 PM
The author of this article obviously hasn't done shit for research in ways of Namors fan base, nor his current on-going series that there WAS an outcry for. I myself participated in said outcry, because Marvel has long since abandoned him in ways of Pr and it's about time they did something to put him in the spotlight and make it successful. The only reason I wouldn't be behind a Sub-Mariner movie: I don't have the confidence in Hollywood to not completely screw it up like they did Fantastic Four. Also, I'm not looking forward to defending my fandom against the hoard of band wagoners that would no doubt make me lose my mind. However to say that no one is a HUGE fan of Namor is utter bullshit, and I'm only 22, and I absolutely DO have the right to care about him. I don't pretend to be a Green Hornet fan, so no, I don't have the right to care about casting, nor do I whine about it. But I highly resent the implication that he doesn't have a true fan base until a movie is mentioned, because I'm part of that fan base, and no movie is being seriously mentioned. In fact, most of us are outraged at the fact that he doesn't seem to be represented in the Captain America movie (as far as I've heard) even though he's a crucial part of the Invaders. Unless you've actually gone to Namor forums or talked with his fans, you have no right to say that there's no such thing as a true fan! We are few, but we stand proud. That is all :)
canadianturd
canadianturd - 1/15/2011, 3:06 PM
@MrsNamor, I already conceded that I was wrong about the Namor series in the comments section.

Also, I was speaking in general terms. Although there are exceptions to the rule, but you seemed to have missed the whole point anyway.

The Fantastic 4 film rights are owned by Fox and Namor is still owned by Universal and that's why he won't/can't appear in the Captain America movie.

So why don't YOU do your own research?
MrsNamorMcKenzie
MrsNamorMcKenzie - 1/15/2011, 3:50 PM
I KNOW why he's not going to be in it, did I ever say I didn't? No, I said it was annoying. So don't accuse me of needing to do research.
canadianturd
canadianturd - 1/17/2011, 7:07 AM
lol
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