The Green Hornet
Director: Michel Gondry
Cast: Christoph Waltz ,Seth Rogen, Jay Chou, Cameron Diaz
Rated: PG-13
Running time: 110 minutes
Look! Up on the screen! It's a radio play. It's a comic book. It's a TV series. No, it's the 2011 film version of The Green Hornet. Now, sometimes it's hard to go into a movie with a clean slate. The Green Hornet has been around a long time in many incarnations. As well, this movie has been delayed so many years that people were saying "it stinks" long before it was even released.
To be fair, now that it is released, people are still saying it stinks - but for once, I don't agree.
At its core, this is a Seth Rogen movie. And at this time in multiplex history that should properly warn you for what you are about to see. He is his usual sweet yet unnervingly psychotic self, playing a playboy son who decides to give his life some crime-fighting purpose. He teams up with the guy who actually does everything, Kato, played by Jay Chou. Jay's English needs some work but he's still quite good in the role that Bruce Lee held in the original TV series, and those are tough shoes to fill. But the best part in any action film is the villain and here we have someone who is becoming one of my favorites, Christoph Waltz (as seen in Inglourious Basterds).
It helps going into this with low expectations. That said, this is an entertaining buddy action film that never takes itself too seriously. And if you follow that lead you, too, will enjoy this film with a bucket of popcorn.
