The Green Hornet - (January 14th, 2011): PG-13
Distributor: Columbia Pictures (subsidiary of Sony Pictures Entertainment)
Opening Weekend Box-Office: #1 with $33,526,876
Domestic Box-Office Gross to-date: $45,341,243
Gross Revenue: $58,823,826
Budget: $120 million
Directors: Michael Gondry
When you consider the sheer volume of the different merchandising and promotion materials for The Green Hornet, you would think that Sony was prepping for the highly competitive Summer Movie Season. Leading up to its release, perhaps the most widely recognized promotional tie-in involved that of restaurant chain Carl’s Jr./Hardees, which included everything from the film’s characters appearing in commercials to a contest with a grand prize of an actual Black Beauty car from the film. In addition to this tie-in, Mythbusters hosted a “Green Hornet Special” featuring Seth Rogen while Syfy aired a marathon of the original series…add that to the numerous trailers and billboard promotions, and The Green Hornet was rapidly evolving into a highly-anticipated potential blockbuster. Though there were some definite eyebrows raised at the casting of Seth Rogen as the lead in an action film, perhaps the most mystery revolved around Jay Chou, a newcomer to Hollywood who has a massive international following and is often labeled as the “Justin Timberlake of Asia.” Personally, I was ecstatic that Christoph Waltz had been named the villain, as he more than demonstrated his capacity for evil to audiences in his award-winning role as SS Colonel Hans Landa in Inglorious Basterds. So, even though I wasn’t terribly familiar with this superhero (which is rare for me), I was still excited for this newest action-comedy.
The Green Hornet follows slacker playboy Britt Reid (Seth Rogen), who is named the new publisher of Los Angeles newspaper The Daily Sentinel after his father dies from an allergic reaction to a bee sting. Conflicted over his father’s death, Britt finds comfort in bonding with the housing-staff mechanic, Kato (Jay Chou); the two drunkenly decide to commit an act of vandalism, but in the process they end up saving a couple from being mugged. Though they are mistaken for criminals by the police, the two decide that they like the rush of acting like heroes and hatch a plan to continue posing as criminals in order to attract the attention of local gang leaders. Armed with a fully-equipped Chrysler Imperial dubbed “The Black Beauty” and the unwitting help of new assistant and criminal researcher Lenore Case (Cameron Diaz), Britt and Kato soon become targets of local mobster Benjamin Chudnofsky (Christoph Waltz). With criminal activity increasing and a potential conspiracy unfolding as he is settling into his new role as “The Green Hornet,” Britt must decide if he can truly accept the responsibilities of a hero or if he is simply in over his head.
With Seth Rogen’s propensity for comedy, many feared that The Green Hornet would be labeled as a spoof, but in fact, the best part of the film ends up being that it doesn’t take itself too seriously. Rogen and Chou have an amazing comedic chemistry together, cracking jokes, bickering, and often openly criticizing elements of the superhero genre, all of which provides big laughs. Not to worry though, because there is still plenty of action, as Chou has no problem switching between sidekick and action-hero with dazzling martial arts and a car that could rival the Batmobile. In fact, I have no doubt that a majority of the film’s targeted audience of male teenagers and young-adults will switch into geek-overdrive drooling over “The Black Beauty,” which has everything from machine guns to an ejector seat. As long as you don’t go into The Green Hornet expecting a traditional superhero film or a deep storyline, I have no doubt that you will be thoroughly entertained.
Unfortunately, although I enjoyed the silly moments and big explosions present in The Green Hornet, there are still some pretty big problems that hurt Sony’s newest release. As I said, the film shouldn’t be taken too seriously, but that still doesn’t excuse the overly confusing and uneven plot that is complemented by weak characters. I’m a comic book and superhero geek, but even I don’t buy Britt’s sudden enlightenment and desire to fight crime, let alone his ability to survive massive gunfights or the fact that his idiotic plans often end up working…in the end, the weak and thoroughly unlikable character hurts the film. Other criticisms include the fact that Cameron Diaz’s presence was largely unnecessary, as her romantic subplot often interrupted the flow of the film, but the biggest disappointment by far had to be Christoph Waltz. The antagonist Chudnofsky starts out as menacing, but he soon decides that he needs to adopt a gimmick, shifting the character from credible threat to laughable villain who would better serve in a bad Saturday-morning cartoon; such a shameless waste of Waltz’s talent is easily the worst part The Green Hornet. Given all the potential inherent in this newest attempted franchise, the end result is a little tragic.
Despite the sub-par quality of The Green Hornet, the massive hype surrounding the film clearly paid off, with opening weekend box office receipts totaling over $33 million. While these are definitely not the opening numbers you want to see in relation to a large production budget, The Green Hornet’s performance is still surprisingly strong during the normally lukewarm month of January. Critics are not overtly thrilled, but like I said, the end result is still entertaining. That fact alone will still continue to attract audiences, especially since there aren’t that many movie choices currently available for male moviegoers…at least until Jason Statham’s The Mechanic opens on the 28th. However, if Sony wants to green-light a new sequel and build a successful franchise, the numbers still have to pick up, both domestically and overseas. Simply put, if you’re looking for a cool action-comedy and don’t mind a few weak points, I’d say that The Green Hornet is still worth seeing.
Overall Recommendation: Medium
