Those fearing the worst about “The Green Hornet” will find their suspicions justified within the first few minutes of the movie.
That doesn’t tell the whole story.
Sure, “The Green Hornet” is sloppy, unfocused and incoherent in its final scenes. But the movie’s shaggy dog comedy isn’t easily dismissed. It’s so self-aware of the genre in question that tallying its flaws seems mean spirited.
The film’s gleeful anarchy almost makes it worth recommending. Almost.
Seth Rogen, who co-wrote “Hornet,” plays Britt Reid, a playboy living off his father’s newspaper riches. Who knew owning a newspaper didn’t involve gallons of red ink?
Dear ol’ Daddy (Tom Wilkinson) expires shortly after the opening credits roll, leaving Britt emotionally adrift. He finds a sense of purpose when he takes over his father’s publishing company with the goal of reducing crime in Los Angeles with some bare knuckle journalism.
Good luck with that.
Britt bonds with his late father’s mechanic (Jay Chou as Kato), a bona fide genius who makes super weapons in his spare time. The pair embark on a late-night prank and end up saving a couple from a savage beating. The incident gives Britt an idea. Why don’t they use Kato’s weaponry skills and cooler than cool wheels to fight crime? And, even though it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, they’ll pretend they’re bad guys while they’re at it.
Dum da da dum! The Green Hornet is born! And just in time, given the crime wave started by the evil Chudnofsky (Christoph Waltz), a supervillain obsessed with his shaky self image.
This “Hornet” isn’t your average superhero romp, and let’s all drink that in for a moment. Rogen is far more interested in tweaking the genre’s trappings, from the silly way superhero names are coined to the speed in which the local media pounce on their exploits. The film rushes through the character’s “origin story” at breakneck speed and mocks the unsteady dynamic between the hero and his trusty sidekick.
Rogen remains a better screenwriter than actor, and the incidental jokes floating around the narrative often deliver the biggest laughs. Consider a scene where Britt interviews a new temp, played by an underused Cameron Diaz. Britt mocks her for being in her late 30s and applying for such a menial role. The sequence is bizarre, to say the least, but at least it’s one we haven’t seen before.
The banter between Rogen and Chou can be priceless, and even though Chou’s English is crude he’s got a sly charm that makes his pronunciations forgivable. But after a while we’re left the the film’s plot, which gets bogged down in political corruption and a prolonged fist fight between Britt and Kato.
It’s here where Rogen’s screenwriting chops fall away, revealing him as an overgrown kid who probably thought breaking a whole lotta stuff up would make for grand entertainment. The film’s final 20 minutes only get worse, as a clunky romantic triangle trips over the heroes’ attempt to end Chudnofsky’s reign of terror.
Waltz looks slightly embarrassed here, as if the role were a booby prize instead of the spoils of a richly deserved Oscar win for “Inglourious Basterds.”
Director Michel Gondry (“Be Kind Rewind,” “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”) doesn’t leave a very big mark on the film. It’s Rogen’s creation – he’s the mad auteur behind his misbegotten attempt at Superhero Films 101. The 3-D effects aren’t awful. A few scenes benefit from the sense of depth supplied by those funky glasses, but it’s hard to say viewers won’t get the same entertainment value by skipping on the third dimension surcharge.
“The Green Hornet” blazes its own knuckleheaded trail, and for a while it’s enough to make us forget about the bad buzz which stung the project early on. But even when “Hornet” flies high the thought of it becoming the latest film franchise is the biggest laugh of all.
(Photo: Seth Rogen and Jay Chou play masked crime fighters with some pretty sweet wheels in “Green Hornet.” Columbia Pictures)
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