Film review: The Green Hornet

Directed by: Michel Gondry

Starring: Seth Rogen, Jay Chou, Christoph Waltz, Cameron Diaz

On at: Cinema City Cotroceni & Sun Plaza, CinemaPro, Hollywood Multiplex, Movieplex Cinema, Patria, Samsung Imax Cotroceni, The Light Cinema

Flying off the comic book pages and onto the big screen faster than a speeding bullet, superheroes are trusty cinematic fodder these days, from the serious and professionals (your Batmen and Supermen) to the endearingly amateur (Kick-Ass). The Green Hornet, based on a 1930s radio series, falls in the latter camp.

The film opens with miserable fat kid Britt Reid getting a dressing down from his bullying father, newspaper tycoon James (Tom Wilkinson), whose career leaves him no time for his chubby kid. Fast-forward to the present day, and Britt (a not-as-fat-as-he-used-to-be Seth Rogen) is a louche-living twenty-something, spending his dad’s money on riotous partying and women.

When Reid Senior expires in mysterious circumstances, leaving his newspaper under the control of his slacker son, Britt bonds with Kato (Jay Chou), an Asian martial arts expert and mechanic, over their shared dislike of James Reid.

Out on the town, the two happen upon a couple getting mugged by a gang of thugs, whom they rescue thanks to Kato’s supernatural fighting prowess. Buoyed by their success, Britt and Kato vow to clean up the city, posing as masked avenger the Green Hornet and his sidekick (with poor Kato relegated to sidekick role despite putting in most of the legwork). The wily mechanic kits them out with fancy weapons and cars, Q from Bond-style, and off they go,

blowing up narco-labs and slaughtering scum, as LA crime lord Benjamin Chudnofsky (Christoph Waltz) swears to dispatch the upstart taking apart his evil empire.

There are 3D thrills and spills a-plenty, and the numerous fight scenes, car chases, explosions and shoot-em-ups afford plenty of opportunity for eye-catching techno-gimmickry.

The main joke is that despite Kato’s skills, the two are fairly clueless superheroes, having to rely on Britt’s criminology student secretary Lenore (Cameron Diaz) to give them an idea of what their caped crusaders might do next, and there are some fairly funny lines (“What is the one insanely stupid thing that every superhero has in common?” “Tights?”).

The performances of the leads are also likeable, with Rogen rolling out

his lovable loser persona and Diaz adding a touch of class to proceedings.

But The Green Hornet is definitely designed to appeal to the eyes rather than the brain.

Debbie Stowe

editorial@business-review.ro

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