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In what might go down as the most critically polarized film of January 2011, Seth Rogan, star of such crude charmers as Knocked Up, Funny People, and Observe & Report, busts out the superhero mask in his turn as The Green Hornet. Once a popular television show and, even before that, a radio program, the character has always been one of paper and pulp and never to be ever taken seriously. Thankfully, Rogen and director Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) understand that about this hero and let the subversive roll out as a sunshiny parade of glad tidings that, if you liked Kick-Ass, will get you nodding with approval.
Playboy Britt Reid (Rogen) has to fill the void left in his recently passed on father’s (Tom Wilkenson) shoes in the newspaper business. It’s boring work to the spoiled rich kid and, because of that boredom and a slight realization that he’s wasting his life doing absolutely nothing with his father’s wealth, he begins hanging around a lowly employee named Kato (Jay Chou). Together, the odd couple hatch a plan to use that money and Kato’s smarts to become superheroes and combat the rising crime of the city and, ultimately, face the man who killed his father - Inglourious Basterds' Christoph Waltz, playing a wild-eyed Russian mobster desiring none but the key to the criminal activity in the city.
Slapping the face of damn-near every revered comic book superhero before it, The Green Hornet – written by Rogen and Evan Goldberg - flies into knuckled action swinging a pair of brass balls and a fine sense of humor at the screen. It’s all about its purpose to entertain the masses and it delivers, never taking itself seriously. After all, what could more ridiculous than covering faces with masks and acting on criminal tips provided to you by a journalist – with a degree in criminology - named Lenore Case [Cameron Diaz (in yet another vapid performance)]? Absolutely nothing, if you know your own limitations and, boy, does The Green Hornet turn that phrase. Yet, the two leads work their unlikely partnership, trolling the high end of low-brow with great timing throughout, until the action actually works itself into a surreal fight of hapless lads against squinty-eyed criminals.
There’s a sense of ease to the picture, too. A casualness to the cardio-cool it exposes that will be off-putting for some people, but, hell, when you don’t have to work so hard to be so damn fresh why on earth would you? Take a lesson from Keith Richards and just chill…which is what this film does at times. The Green Hornet, wonderfully visualized by Gondry, is so steely cool at times it practically slips upon its own ice. Sure, it doesn’t completely exploit the genre or even reinvent the superhero wheel; it simply knows that – like Iron Man before it – every step it takes is a wiseass strut across the screen. Is this great art? Probably not, but its knowing pointlessness dares you to take issue with it. For that, I say “BRAVO!” to the team responsible. I mean, think about it, this really is a jerk move by Columbia Pictures to attempt a superhero movie (and potential franchise) with the creators of Superbad.
The Green Hornet is a perfect send-up of the “too cool” comic book formula. Truly a sign that it will annoy a lot of people and critics alike hung up on the “brooding” comic book hero scene. Gotham City this ain’t. So, go ahead Green Hornet, beat the “baddies” up. Make yourself out as a bad man to get the attention of the overlord of crime in the city. Have a blast. Make us laugh while you do it, too, with some pretty inspired riffing between yourself and Kato.
Folks, if you (even marginally) liked the playfulness of The Phantom, The Shadow, and The Rocketeer (which is long overdue for some fabulous fanboy recognition) then The Green Hornet, is the superhero movie for you to relish.
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for sequences of violent action, language, sensuality and drug content.
