The Green Hornet [2011]

The problem with the “The Green Hornet” is that it doesn’t know what it wants to be. It’s silly, it’s corny, and the wonderful Christoph Waltz is completely wasted as the villain. But even when the movie is average at best, Jay Chou was excellent and a lot of fun to watch as The Green Hornet’s sidekick Kato. He literally saves it from being a complete waste of time (and money). And though I’m a huge fan of Seth Rogen (who also co-wrote this with Evan Goldberg), this was far from being his best work,  either in front or behind the camera. His character displays himself as an egomaniac rich boy who has no responsibilties at all. The only reason we’re interested in him is because he is The Green Hornet. That being, he’s not very likable at all. His sidekick Kato does all the work, and he gets credit for it. After a while, it becomes annoying. What’s more, it seems as if the whole movie was written so that the majority of the humour is based on him. Sure that would be fine if he was funny, but he isn’t. He’s arogant, stupid, and as a superhero (or anti-hero in this case), he’s totally useless without his partner.

If you decide to ignore my take on this film and watch it anyway, chances are you don’t mind a “silly” movie every now and then. I don’t blame you. This is a movie that doesn’t take itself too seriously, and it shows. Lower your expectations, and you might get something out of it, otherwise do not bother at all. It has some good moments, but I still wish the people involved in this had made something more original and memorable. And I still can’t figure out what Cameron Diaz is doing in this film (if you can figure this one out, I’m all ears).

Rating: 2/4