By Ciaran Lambert/tr news editor
Photos courtesy Columbia Pictures
Photos courtesy Columbia Pictures
In a world full of dark, realistic superhero movies such as The Dark Knight, Kick-Ass and Watchmen, classic masked vigilantes are sometimes considered outdated.
Seth Rogen uses his new movie to prove that idea false.
The Green Hornet, starring Rogen as the title character, sets out to break the mold of recent superhero films by providing a character that tries to protect the law by breaking it.
The film follows Britt Reid (Rogen), an arrogant billionaire playboy who, when his billionaire newspaper mogul father dies, realizes that he has been wasting his potential and his life. Aided by his father’s mechanic and trusty barista Kato, the duo set out to save Los Angeles from criminals.
They also receive help from Reid’s new secretary, criminology major Lenore “Casey” Case.
Cameron Diaz plays Case, and her interactions with Rogen and Chou provide most of the film’s humor.
No matter how bumbling the hero is, there must always be a villain. Chudnofsky, played beautifully by Christoph Waltz, has successfully united the gangs of Los Angeles yet has issues with people not finding him scary enough or even at all.
When the Green Hornet appears, Chudnofsky sets out to stop him once and for all and even adopts a masked persona himself.
At one point, Chudnofsky holds a drug dealer named Crystal Clear, played by James Franco in an uncredited role, at gunpoint and asks for his opinion on what could make him scarier. Waltz brings his own style of humor and wit and makes the villain one of the film’s most enjoyable characters.
Reid is a rich boy with daddy issues to say the least, but Rogen plays him with such arrogance that it almost makes him obnoxious to watch. He does have his moments, though, that almost make up for the obnoxious behavior.
Rogen’s best scenes usually are with other members of the cast as he can play off someone. Reid comes up with the idea of the Hornet who defeats crime by fooling criminals into believing he is a bad guy, and Rogen plays it off well.
Newcomer Jay Chou, who plays Kato, is one of the most enjoyable parts of the movie. Not only does Kato create amazing cars and gadgets, but he also is a kung fu master who, when his adrenaline starts pumping, turns into a human weapon complete with a targeting system.
Chou brings a style of humor to the role that most would not expect, and he and Rogen work well together.
Scenes involving Black Beauty, Green Hornet’s car, are way too over-the-top, but the car is a star all its own. Played by 1964 Imperial Crown sedans, Beauty is more decked out than Iron Man’s armor and provides great car chases.
Overall, The Green Hornet is a funny superhero movie in a world of overly realistic ones. Rogen tries his hardest to be a hero but ultimately comes off as a joke while Chou provides great action scenes and humor as Kato.
This movie isn’t award-winning, but it is full of humor and action scenes expected from a superhero movie.
