Well, since this is my third superhero movie review of the year, I thought this might be a good time to preface my review by stating that I don't care about comic books. How well these films stay true to their comic book origins does not matter at all to me, and therefore does not go into my reviews. I mainly point this out because a major criticism I've seen of The Green Hornet is how far it strays from its source material. I don't care about that. All I care about is whether or not the film, in my opinion, was good.
Director: Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind)
Starring: Seth Rogen, Jay Chou, Christoph Waltz, Cameron Diaz
On Blu-Ray + DVD: May 3, 2011
I'm not really sure why The Green Hornet got so much of a negative reaction by both critics and moviegoers. Maybe they were expecting something more chaotic and in line with Michel Gondry's previous directorial efforts (including Eternal Sunshine, The Science of Sleep, and Be Kind Rewind). Or maybe they were expecting a more traditional superhero movie, with steroid-laced superheroes and cookie-cutter villains. Regardless of their reasoning, I have to kindly disagree, as I found The Green Hornet to be a light, funny, and entertainingly fresh take on the superhero genre.
The Green Hornet follows the life of millionaire Britt Reid (Rogen) after his father (Tom Wilkinson), a newspaper mogul, is killed by a bee sting. After meeting Kato (Chou), his father's ex-mechanic, and finding out that he hated Britt's father too, they decide to go deface a statue built in his honor. In the midst of this, they come up with the idea to pose as bad guys in the press while doing good deeds behind the scenes. I personally love this concept. The idea of the superhero posing as a bad guy is hinted at in nearly every superhero franchise at some point (The Dark Knight ended with it, Spider-Man 3 sucked because of it, and the X-Men franchise revolves around it), but it was very fun to see one of these films fully embrace the idea and let the characters run with it.
Having said that, The Green Hornet's main problem is its plot development. The characters make important decisions with little to no thought or discussion. For example, when Britt says to Kato that they should become crime fighters, he almost without hesitation agrees and they begin to plan out their strategies. Later, Britt and Kato show up in disguise at Casey's (Diaz) house, who had no idea about their alter egos. After a conversation that lasts probably ten seconds, she believes everything they tell her and actually helps them evade the police. There are far too many instances of this poor storytelling, and it definitely hinders overall quality of the movie.
Luckily, Seth Rogen and Michel Gondry didn't forget to put their personal comedic stamps on The Green Hornet. As the film progresses, it is obvious that Rogen helped write the script, as the dialogue reads in many instances like his previous screenplays, especially Pineapple Express. This may be a negative aspect of the film to some people, but I think that Seth Rogen is very funny, and his comedy is all over The Green Hornet. Gondry's technique comes through here, too. Gondry is well-known for being very visually creative with his films, and he was able to sneak that into The Green Hornet in the fight scenes, which use an interesting pre-planning sequence before the fighting begins a la Sherlock Holmes. These sequences are more funny than inventive, but that's the point, and it's funny to watch Britt fumble through these scenes.
The villainous side of The Green Hornet brings even more hilarity to the film. The film opens on a meeting between the main villain, Benjamin Chudnofsky (Waltz), and Crystal Clear (James Franco). It was one of my favorite scenes of the movie (even with Franco's weird accent), specifically because of the shift in power that occurs halfway through the scene. Waltz's character throughout the film had me laughing. Chudnofsky has image issues; in the opening scene, Clear tells him that he is boring and that he doesn't scare him. This statement resonates with Chudnofsky during the entire film, causing him to murder his own followers and even adopt an alter ego himself, the terribly named Bloodnofsky.
The Green Hornet has taken a lot of criticism, and for its plot, which is a crucial element of the film, it deserved the brunt of it. However, the film should also be remembered for the things that it gets right. Gondry's direction and Rogen's writing make this one of the more unique superhero movies I've ever seen, and the film's comedic elements, especially from Rogen and Waltz, work very well. It's not perfect, but if you're looking for something a bit different, you could do a lot worse than The Green Hornet.
The Green Hornet follows the life of millionaire Britt Reid (Rogen) after his father (Tom Wilkinson), a newspaper mogul, is killed by a bee sting. After meeting Kato (Chou), his father's ex-mechanic, and finding out that he hated Britt's father too, they decide to go deface a statue built in his honor. In the midst of this, they come up with the idea to pose as bad guys in the press while doing good deeds behind the scenes. I personally love this concept. The idea of the superhero posing as a bad guy is hinted at in nearly every superhero franchise at some point (The Dark Knight ended with it, Spider-Man 3 sucked because of it, and the X-Men franchise revolves around it), but it was very fun to see one of these films fully embrace the idea and let the characters run with it.
Having said that, The Green Hornet's main problem is its plot development. The characters make important decisions with little to no thought or discussion. For example, when Britt says to Kato that they should become crime fighters, he almost without hesitation agrees and they begin to plan out their strategies. Later, Britt and Kato show up in disguise at Casey's (Diaz) house, who had no idea about their alter egos. After a conversation that lasts probably ten seconds, she believes everything they tell her and actually helps them evade the police. There are far too many instances of this poor storytelling, and it definitely hinders overall quality of the movie.
Luckily, Seth Rogen and Michel Gondry didn't forget to put their personal comedic stamps on The Green Hornet. As the film progresses, it is obvious that Rogen helped write the script, as the dialogue reads in many instances like his previous screenplays, especially Pineapple Express. This may be a negative aspect of the film to some people, but I think that Seth Rogen is very funny, and his comedy is all over The Green Hornet. Gondry's technique comes through here, too. Gondry is well-known for being very visually creative with his films, and he was able to sneak that into The Green Hornet in the fight scenes, which use an interesting pre-planning sequence before the fighting begins a la Sherlock Holmes. These sequences are more funny than inventive, but that's the point, and it's funny to watch Britt fumble through these scenes.
The villainous side of The Green Hornet brings even more hilarity to the film. The film opens on a meeting between the main villain, Benjamin Chudnofsky (Waltz), and Crystal Clear (James Franco). It was one of my favorite scenes of the movie (even with Franco's weird accent), specifically because of the shift in power that occurs halfway through the scene. Waltz's character throughout the film had me laughing. Chudnofsky has image issues; in the opening scene, Clear tells him that he is boring and that he doesn't scare him. This statement resonates with Chudnofsky during the entire film, causing him to murder his own followers and even adopt an alter ego himself, the terribly named Bloodnofsky.
The Green Hornet has taken a lot of criticism, and for its plot, which is a crucial element of the film, it deserved the brunt of it. However, the film should also be remembered for the things that it gets right. Gondry's direction and Rogen's writing make this one of the more unique superhero movies I've ever seen, and the film's comedic elements, especially from Rogen and Waltz, work very well. It's not perfect, but if you're looking for something a bit different, you could do a lot worse than The Green Hornet.
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