Dir. Michel Gondry, USA , 119mins, 2011
Cast: Seth Rogen, Jay Chou, Cameron Diaz, Christoph Waltz, Tom Wilkinson
Review by Matthew Rodgers
The Green Hornet is a property that, much liked its masked vigilante, has been enigmatically whispered about for the last two decades as a potential franchise. But there was perhaps a reluctance to gamble on what is a truly cult comic book superhero, until the likes of Iron Man had paved the way for “lesser” known men in tights/suits to succeed.
Now the studio that kicked off the comic-book revival with the blockbusting and block-swinging Spider-Man has aimed a little more left-field in bringing to life what was originally a serialised 1930′s radio show, then a kitsch 70′s TV show starring none other than Bruce Lee, and now an actioner from Superbad script writers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. And strangest of all, they have hired Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind director Michel Gondry to bring it to life.
Ticking all of the boxes when it comes to comic book clichés, volume 1 is the story of millionaire playboy Britt Reid (Seth Rogen), a loud, obnoxious, excessive chauvinist, who experiences an epiphany when he inherits his late father’s newspaper empire. Now he wants to save people and kick some ass whilst doing it. Assisting him, or should that be doing all the work, is coffee-maker turned tech genius, Kato (Jay Chou), a nimble footed fighting expert, who shares Reid’s passion for crime fighting. Together they bumble their way though the city’s numerous drug gangs on a collision course with Christoph Waltz’s insecure Kingpin.
Despite setting out to establish its own identity – low key opening credits, a caped action figure having its head unceremoniously ripped off – The Green Hornet is comfortably familiar within its ever expanding cinematic genre. We aren’t treading any new ground here and attempts at superhero deconstruction pale in comparison to Kick-Ass . That being said, it doesn’t prevent Gondry’s slice of retro fused fun from becoming an effortlessly hip genre entry. The biggest surprise is that it’s down to the two elements that generated raised eyebrows when the production was announced; the Gallic director and Rogen.
Not as showy as one would expect, Gondry keeps his tricks up his sleeve for when he really needs them, so action plays out in a very simple but effective manner; car chases, gun fights, on-foot pursuits. It all fits perfectly with the overriding feeling that it’s a film in the mould of the earliest comic book incarnations. When the flourishes do appear they’re fantastic effects that at times make it seem like a moving storyboard; the vehicular seduction scene, Kato’s fight sequence dissections and a truly brilliant split-screen, bad-guy rabble rousing segment.
As for the fanboy baiting Rogen, his “man-child” routine will still grate for those that hate him but his comedic charm does give the movie some fairly decent laughs along the way, mainly thanks to some excellent chemistry with Chou and a couple of classic exchanges with Cameron Diaz as reporter Lenore Case.
Throw in an eclectic soundtrack, a couple of unexpected star cameos and enough gadgets to make Q green with envy and the only real niggling mis-step is Waltz’s wasted pantomime villain.
