(Long Island, N.Y.) Wow, I kinda remember The Green Hornet, a Batman-ish like superhero who uses his wealth and tech to fight underworld criminals. Not the original 1930’s radio serial he debuted in back in the day, however…I’m talking about his guest appearance with his faithful sidekick Kato on an old rerun of the uber-campy 60’s Batman TV show back when I was a kid (he apparently also had a TV show of his own at the time, but I never saw it). Oh, and a record (yes, you remember those, right?) containing some kind of audio play episode of his show or something that someone had given to me when I was little. I remember thinking the back story (complete with pictures of the Hornet’s neat-o crime fighting gadgets) written on the back of the album were cool.
Little did I know that Kato, his Asian martial arts expert manservant was actually played by the late, great Bruce Lee, a fact that would eventually eclipse the very shadow of the Hornet himself…after all, it IS Bruce Lee! Who cares about some white dude in a stuffy green business suit?
Anyway, most people don’t know who the heck The Green Hornet is these days, but, as is the case with everything else, it’s being remade by Hollywood. But in this instance, I don’t think it’s a bad thing, given TGH’s relative obscurity to modern audiences. Of course, if you told me that pot-bellied comedian Seth Rogen would be playing Britt Reid, the Hornet’s alter-ego, I never would have believed you, but it is indeed the case. Rogen laid off the Twinkies and Ho-Hos for a few months, maybe hit the treadmill a little, and while he’s not going to be posing on the cover of Muscle and Fitness anytime soon, he’s actually somewhat believable in the role now. At least, when he’s not incessantly playing it for laughs.
Oh, yeah, first and foremost, this version of The Green Hornet is a comedy. Yeah, there’s action and some drama, sure, but it’s played for laughs the most, which is in rather sharp contrast to the original, more serious depiction. Does it work? Well, yeah, it does, actually.
Britt Reid (Rogen) is the son of wealthy newspaper publisher James Reid (Tom Wilkinson). He just wants to party, party, party, but after daddy dies he inherits his media empire and takes stock of his life. Deciding to become a superhero, he recruits Kato (Jay Chou, who is officially awesome and, quite frankly, the real star of this movie), a martial arts master who also possesses the tech skills to come up with all the gadgets and weapons the duo will it need in their war on crime.
Their foe? A crazy Russian gangster named Benjamin Chudnofsky, played by the awesome Christoph Waltz (of Inglorious Basterds fame). He has a fun little sub-plot where he thinks he’s not bad-ass enough to be running a gang, so he’s always paranoid and trying to overcompensate. He’s also planning on uniting all the gangs in the city under his leadership. Hey, that sounds pretty bad-ass to me.
Oh, and Cameron Diaz is randomly thrown into the movie as the usual love interest for the hero. Her role pretty much amounts to nothing, and wouldn’t be missed if edited out. But still, she’s aging well (but could hit the wall any day now), so who’s going to complain about a little eye candy? Not me.
Overall, The Green Hornet is basically a buddy film about Reid and Kato, two completely different people, getting to know each other and eventually becoming friends. Rogen and Chou actually have good chemistry together, with Chou’s cool and dry personality acting as a great foil for Rogan’s overall goofball antics. While Rogan manages to carry his end of the movie when it comes to the action (which is a surprise), this is truly a break-out role for Chou, who I found very entertaining, and a worthy heir to Bruce Lee’s turn in the part. Alas, this will mean nothing for the talented Taiwanese actor, as there are no roles for Asians in Hollywood that don’t involve Karate-chopping bricks in half or working in a rice paddy. It’s a shame.
As a comedy, The Green Hornet delivers its share of the laughs, but at times they can seem a bit forced, with all the rampant pop-culture references and all. But when it comes to action…whoa. Now THAT is The Green Hornet’s strong point. There are several fight scenes that really impress, including one between The Hornet and Kato which almost serves as a “bonding” experience between the two. Overall, while the comedy and action doesn’t always mix well (as was done to near-perfection in Iron Man), it works more often than not.
So, is The Green Hornet Hollywood’s next big superhero franchise? Maybe. Along with last year’s flick Kick-Ass, it fills a void left between the super-serious Batman and the light-hearted Spider-Man with its combo of humor, fisticuffs, and explosions, and it’s well worth your time if you enjoy those kinds of things. Go for it.
