Lacks any sort of sting.
Released: 2011
Genre(s): Action, Crime, Comedy
I have to be honest: I've never seen any of the original "The Green Hornet" TV episodes or earlier movies, but if they're anything like 2011's cluster-bomb of a superhero flick, then I'd prefer to avoid them. The film isn't the worst thing I've ever seen, boasting enough sleek special effects and quippy dialogue to keep the popcorn crowd at least mildly entertained; however, I'm not going to go as far as calling it a good movie. The goofy dynamic between Seth Rogen and Jay Chou echoes "Rush Hour," without relying on cheap stereotype-based humor to drive the comic repartee that makes up a majority of the character interaction here. This unfortunately - much like many of the initially enjoyable aspects of "The Green Hornet" - wears thin quickly, with Rogen's incessant babbling coming off more like the ramblings of an irritating, drunk idiot as this feature drags on. Christopher Waltz keeps things watchable as a delightfully evil, yet eccentric villain, but his screen time is proportionately minimal to the montage of redundant beatings, CGI explosions, and mundane car chases that comprise most of this film. Balancing this out more may have ironically allowed the villain to save the day (or in this case, the movie). Besides Chou (who portrays easily the coolest character in this film, if only due to his ability to kick massive amounts of ass) and Waltz, the supporting cast is inexplicably topped off by Cameron Diaz, who adds yet another notch to her belt of crappy action flick outings. I can't completely criticize the vision of this movie - it's style, set pieces, and tongue-in-cheek sensibilities are all in place - but the odd hodgepodge of excessive violence, "Knocked Up"-style wit-trading between characters, and unorthodox superhero origin story make this a hard pill to swallow, especially since no one genre is done especially well. It's honestly an adventure where nothing in particular starts it up, nothing in particular happens, and nothing in particular stays with you as the end credits roll. If anything, you'll want to see this film for the badass car - really almost a character by itself. Everything else just buzzes around like an obnoxious bug that would be a waste of time to even swat.
Rating (out of 5): 2
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