The Green Hornet | C+

The Green Hornet is an action comedy based on the pulp hero of the same name. The Green Hornet has been featured in many forms of media, originally in a radio series and later in TV and comics. What sets this endeavor apart from previous takes on the character—for better or worse— is the humorous slant on the usually more serious vigilante.

Seth Rogen (Knocked Up) stars as Britt Reid, the aimless and irresponsible son of famous publisher James Reid (Tom Wilkinson, Valkyrie). Following his father's death, the immature Britt still struggles with accepting his oncoming responsibilities. After a night of drinking and paternal ridiculing, Britt and Kato (Jay Chou, Initial D), his friend and employee, decide to vandalize James Reid's gravesite. With the head of a decapitated monument in his hands, Britt comes across a group of thugs accosting a young couple. Spurned to take action, he and Kato defeat the thugs but end up being chased by the police themselves. Having finally seen purpose in his life, Britt decides to become a masked hero with expert mechanic and martial artist Kato at his side.

While The Green Hornet is much better than the standard January fare, it still leaves something to be desired. For the most part, Rogen was funny and surprisingly had good chemistry with Chou. Chou himself was one of the highlights of the film, with some well-delivered and hilarious lines throughout the movie. HeChou also does a fantastic job with fight scenes, and while not in the same league as Bruce Lee (who had played Kato in the TV series), he is still a competent martial artist in his own right.

Much like director Guy Ritchie and Sherlock Holmes, the pairing of Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) and The Green Hornet is an unusual one. While he did direct the action scenes well, Gondry's unique style seemed to be a little out of place for this type of movie. Another shortcoming comes in the form of Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg's (Pineapple Express) lackluster script. Even though the plot is somewhat engaging, and the characters of Kato and the Hornet are fairly well-written, the other roles seem to be missing something. Lenore Case (Cameron Diaz, There's Something About Mary), the "love interest" of both Britt and Kato, has very little screen time and overall it doesn't feel like she's a very important character. Also miswritten is the film's antagonist, crime boss Benjamin Chudnofsky (Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds). The script tries to find a balance between goofy and fearsome for the villain, yet the two sides of him almost seem like two completely different characters.

When all's said and done, The Green Hornet is not a terrible film, but it is by no means a great one either. Despite its various flaws and weaknesses, it still manages to be a relatively entertaining popcorn movie.