Movies: The Green Hornet

Score: ***1/2 out of *****

Long Story Short: The Green Hornet is an action/comedy that takes the superhero genre to places it usually doesn't go. Rogen makes the main character an interesting, entertaining figure to follow/root for/root against (sometimes all at the same time). The film certainly has its share of flaws, including some disappointing action sequences, but its humor is excellent and it manages to end on a high note (unlike many similar films).

Well, a bit of a delay from my last blog post I'm afraid; and since I've seen this film, too. Life does that to you sometimes. Anyway, The Green Hornet is an action/comedy superhero film directed by Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) and release on January 14. This film obviously does not have high art aspirations, but it achieves its goals quite successfully. On to the plot.

The film starts with a variety of scenes introducing the main character, Britt Reid (Rogen), as the entitled, asshole son of a mega-newpaper (ie: NY Times) owner. It is also made clear that the father and son have a relationship that is frosty at best, and so Britt's attitude shows little change when his father suddenly passes away. However, Britt soon meets his father's former servant, Kato (Chou); after much talking and drinking, the two decide that they would like to pay tribute to the man they have in common. After performing the amusing prank, the two stumble into a robbery/assault, at which time Kato shows his martial arts talents - and Britt shows his eagerness (and ineptitude) for action.

With Kato revealing all kinds of useful skills, Britt proposes that they have "fun" dealing with crime, as opposed to "just" writing about it in the paper like his father did. So they begin terrorizing the criminals themselves, with the help of the Black Beauty, a Batmobile/James Bond car. However, this draws the attention of crime lord Chudnofsky (Waltz), who soon puts a price on the Green Hornet's head. At the same time, Britt grapples with some complications at the newspaper with the help of his new assistant Ms. Case (Diaz). As you might imagine, these threads come together for a rather explosive finale.

Acting is typically secondary at best in this type of movie, but there are some fine performances nonetheless. I was impressed by Seth Rogen, who I have only seen in pure comedies before. While he makes Britt an impressively off-putting character, he balances it with enough unintentionally self-effacing humor to make Britt tolerable and interesting. I'm not too familiar with Jay Chou; I suppose he does a good job as the naive, innocent foreigner but it's only a serviceable performance. Christoph Waltz, unsurprisingly, does a fine job as the villain, and as in Inglourious Basterds, he has a great mix of humor and genuine menace. Diaz does alright, but the scenes she's in shine more because of the way the film cleverly subverts the cliches of the role she's in (ie: Lois Lane, Mary Jane, etc.) than her acting.

Obviously, the action and the comedy are the main courses in this film. There is certainly some neat action in the film, particularly some Matrix-esque scenes and some involving the Black Beauty. However, much of the action is a bit numbing to be honest and sometimes not very imaginative and/or clearly filmed. It's the comedy that works the best here, in my opinion - and much of this takes place during the action. It certainly helps that the main "hero," the Green Hornet whose name everyone in the city comes to know, is in fact just a normal, chubby guy, and it's his partner who does all the heavy lifting. But the film was simply very successful in getting me to smile almost the whole time, whether in general amusement, a brief chuckle, or a laugh out loud shared with the rest of the theater.

***

Again, The Green Hornet is not competing for the Oscars, but it's a well-made film for what it wants to achieve. Yes, the action gets a bit stale here and there, and Britt occasionally seems to spontaneously change his character, among a number of other flaws I'm sure you can find. However, it's a well-paced film that keeps you entertained in a number of ways. And, it does something that a number of movies recently tend to really drop the ball on: it nails the last act. So, if you're looking for a fun time in the middle of the bleak winter, this one is certainly worth your while.