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Hor·net: any large, stinging paper wasp.
I went to see "The Green Hornet a few days ago. It was either that or "Tron Legacy" and let me tell ya I'm so glad I saw "The Green Hornet."
"The Green Hornet, " starring Seth Rogen is based on an old,old radio show (I'm talkin' 1930's old!) that became a comic book and, later, a 1966 TV show (which costarred Bruce Lee) - not to be confused now with "The Green Lantern, " the Ryan Reynolds superhero movie that's set to come out in June.
"The Green Hornet" has been struggling to get made for a few years now. The movie was first thought up as being a George Clooney project way back in the '90s!
Director Kevin Smith was linked to it for a while, and then it changed hands again to another director before Seth Rogen and buddy co-writer Evan Goldberg got a hold of it.
Yep, once upon a time "The Green Hornet" was going to be hottie George Clooney and now it's of all people Seth Rogen (you know that goofy-looking guy from "Superbad.") All that change can't be good and certainly spells disaster, and I can just stop here right?
OK, OK I 'll go on. But only because you said please.
For those of you not familiar with "The Green Hornet" (I know I wasn't) the storyline kinda has a little bit of "Batman" mixed with a little bit of "Iron Man." the main character named Britt Reid, is a party animal and heir to the The Daily Sentinel newspaper fortune.
After rich Daddy Warbucks suddenly dies from a bee sting, he teams up with Kato (newcomer Taiwanese singer Jay Chou), the family chauffeur, as well as being a great gadget maker-in fact, Britt calls him a human Swiss Army knife- to fight crime on the streets of Los Angeles. They get under the skin of an big crime boss named Chudnofsky (played by Christoph Waltz, who was amazing in "Inglourious Basterds.")
As you can probably guess, eventually the two get in way over their heads and have to figure out how to save themselves from being killed, but also need to take down Chudnofsky as well.
They spend the rest of the film fighting crime by pretending to be criminals themselves. And they wear masks, just like the ones Lone Ranger. No accident, since George W. Trendle and Fran Striker, who developed The Green Hornet radio show, had done the same for The Lone Ranger.
So what have we learned so far? A masked vigilante and his trusty sidekick (ever notice how all sidekicks are "trusty"?) use their tricked out car and endless bank account to attack the criminal underworld.
"The Green Hornet" is an unlikely movie in many ways. It's one of the last superhero crime fighters left in Hollywood's drawer. It stars Seth Rogen, of all people, as a masked avenger. And it's directed by Michel Gondry, best known for the weirdness of "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind."
But guess what? it worked. It really, really worked.
I'm sure there were plenty of people out there who were kind of hoping it wouldn’t, who simply wrote off the idea of Seth Rogen as a crime fighter in a superhero movie as hogwash.
It’s true that he is not exactly the heroic type, but if you ask me, Rogen is the one who ended up with the last laugh here. Not only is The Green Hornet a decent flick, but it’s actually much better than "Iron Man 2 if you ask me.
(Gasp) Yeah I said it, better than "Iron Man 2"!
Perhaps you need to be in the right frame of mind to appreciate and enjoy it for what it is, a fun time it offers laughs and thrills. In my opinion it’s a breath of fresh air and a great way to start off 2011.
Sure, the storyline is a litle off and sometimes convoluted but no matter!
From almost the first moment of the movie, you know what to expect. The plot is there to push the movie more than to appreciate, and looking too closely at it will reveal the somewhat ridiculous nature of the story. But that’s fine because let's face it, we don't go into these kinds of movies for a deep experience; we want a few laughs and some neat explosions and it brings it.
Even though Seth Rogen is the best known "name" attached to this movie, I really enjoyed watching Jay Chou the one playing the plum role of Kato, the character that helped make Bruce Lee a household name in the 60's TV show.
You've probably never heard of him, but that's about to change. I'll admit that it's obvious that he hasn't mastered the English language all too well but neither has Jackie Chan after all these years! Oh come on! I love Jackie as much as the next guy but c'mon you know I'm right!
Anyway this feels like a breakout role for him.
Oh and then there is Cameron Diaz.
Because superhero movies seem to have to have a "love interest," Cameron Diaz turns up as Lenore Case, Britt’s new secretary at the newspaper.
OK , how do I put this? Diaz sucked. Not badly but she shouldn't have been paired with Seth. They didn't mesh very well together.
And to top off her bland, phoned-in acting they made her a criminal CSI type profiler just wasn't believable and didn't suit her. But I like Cameron Diaz and don't want to bash her so I'll leave it there.
In the end, "The Green Hornet' is both a comedy and an action movie that actually manages to work great as both!
Rated:PG-13 |
Posted by oxyjen on Jan 25, 2011
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