REVIEW: The Green Hornet

Quick Take: The Green Hornet isn’t the disaster most were predicting, but there’s still not much worth recommending aside from a few funny lines and a breakthrough performance from newcomer Jay Chou.

On the surface, The Green Hornet had all the makings of a cinematic disaster. The superhero flick has been in the works for over a decade, with potential stars ranging from George Clooney to Vince Vaughn. Kevin Smith was set to direct for a while, and then dropped out. Various screenplays were written, approaching the material from serious and comedic angles.

Most of the development problems stemmed from the character himself: how do you make the Green Hornet relevant when he hasn’t been popular since World War II? The only reason most people recognize the name is because Bruce Lee played his sidekick, Kato, in the short-lived 1960s television series.

Finally, Superbad screenwriters Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg figured it out. You make Kato the real hero and portray his boss as an egomaniac too proud to admit it. Throw in Michel Gondry (who directed Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, one of my all-time favorite films) and it would seem you’ve got a recipe for something special.

Then the movie, originally slated to come out last July, was delayed five months and the disaster talk started up again. Turns out The Green Hornet isn’t a catastrophe at all, just an average superhero tale. I think that’s ultimately more disappointing; a go-for-broke, Gondry-directed action fiasco would’ve been far more interesting.

The film focuses on Britt Reid (Rogen), the spoiled, hard-partying son of publishing giant James Reid (Tom Wilkinson). His father constantly tells him to do something productive with his life, but his advice falls on deaf — more like drunken — ears. After the elder Reid dies due to an allergic reaction to a bee sting (cue ominous music), Britt decides to reassess his station. Well, it actually starts when he wonders why his once-delicious morning cappuccino suddenly tastes so terrible.

Turns out he laid off most of his father’s staff, and former coffeemaker/mechanic Kato (Jay Chou, one of Asia’s biggest stars) was one of the folks let go. Britt rehires him and the two connect in a series of male bonding sessions that end up being the best parts of the movie. Eventually, they decide to use Kato’s considerable martial arts/weapon-making skills and Britt’s…um…enthusiasm to take down the criminals of Los Angeles.

This doesn’t sit well with Chudnofsky (Christoph Waltz), the mastermind behind all the crime in L.A. (That’s right, EVERY crime committed in one of the world’s biggest cities goes through him.) He’s having some self-confidence problems and these new superheroes aren’t helping him get over the fear of losing his scariness.

It’s clear that Gondry and Rogen really wanted to try something different with the superhero genre. The director’s flair for visuals is on display with his unique approach to the action (the “Kato-vision” sequences especially) and Rogen does a good job of creating a truly unlikable and irritating main character. A little too good, in fact — when the inevitable brawl between the Green Hornet and Kato takes place, I was hoping the “sidekick” would cause his boss serious bodily harm.

Unfortunately, there is a constant sneaking suspicion that the studio held the filmmakers back from achieving their true vision. How else do you explain Cameron Diaz being in the movie for no discernable reason? Or casting Waltz, who proved to be an utterly terrifying villain in Inglourious Basterds, and wasting him as a ho-hum bad guy?

The result of these mixed concepts is a bizarre but bland middle ground. The only reason the flick is even slightly worth seeing is Chou’s breakthrough performance. Granted, English is obviously not his strong suit, but his dazzling martial arts skills and unexpected comedic timing more than make up for it. I didn’t laugh much during “The Green Hornet,” but Chou was responsible for most of the times I did.

If the studio ends up making a sequel (and the flick’s $40 million take over the holiday weekend suggests they might), Rogen and Goldberg need to give Kato much, much more to do.

The Green Hornet is rated PG-13 for sequences of violent action, language, sensuality and drug content.

Grade: C+