Film #18 The Green Hornet

I very rarely get surprised by films anymore. Usually my general gut feeling when I see a trailer is the same as when I’m coming out of the film having seen it, be it excited or bored or whatever in between. When I’m wrong, it’s usually because I’m disappointed after having higher hopes than I should have. Imagine my astonishment then that after seeing The Green Hornet, a film I pegged as a standard boring superhero flick with poor casting; I was coming out almost smiling at just how god damn entertaining it was.

   The poor casting I referred to above was that of Seth Rogan, I’m sure I wasn’t alone in thinking he was out stepping his bounds a little with a character like this, and that taking on the role of an action hero was just a little too much to believe. Thankfully, he doesn’t, Rogen (who also wrote the film with Evan Goldberg) has successfully turned the Green Hornet in to the every-day slacker that he plays better than anyone, albeit a very rich one with access to all the equipment he needs to partake on his new endeavour.

   The film follows your standard origin story, Britt Reid (Rogen) is a rich play boy who does nothing with his life but party and spend his father’s (Tom Wilkinson) money. When his father dies though, and he is left in charge of his newspaper, a new social conscience emerges within him. Enlisting the help of his father’s old mechanic Kato (Jay Chou) who is a master of martial arts, engineering and basically anything he takes his hand to, he decides to don the mask of The Green Hornet and take on the cities mob syndicate, led by an overly vain and self-conscious Benjamin Chudnofsky (Christoph Waltz). A man who has single headedly taken charge of all crime in the city, but still writhes over the fact that no one can say his name right.

   With the mix of balls out action, relationship drama, and Seth Rogen’s loud mouth quips, one might accuse the film of having a problem with sticking to a tone. Therefore making it hard to remain engaging; somehow though, it works. The script and Michel Gondry’s direction have created characters likable enough that you should be willing to stick with them regardless. That’s not to say there aren’t any flaws to be picked out. The love triangle sub plot involving the two hero’s and Reid’s assistant Lenore Case (Cameron Diaz), although garners some laughs, feels tacked on and frankly over-done. Diaz is getting a little too old now to be playing characters in their early thirties.

   In the era where superhero flicks have garnered much success with a more gritty and realistic ambience, it’s nice to see someone take one on from a lighter direction and be quite successful. This is perfect Saturday night, popcorn selling fare. Maybe my lack of expectation going in has led to an overly congratulatory review. This may not be the most original film, but between the stunts, the laughs and the James Franco cameo, what’s not to like?

4/5