Spring 2011 Film Reviews II

The Green Hornet (2011): B+

The Green Hornet is disappointing if one expects a deep, dark, and thrilling Comic book film. It’s not The Dark Knight or Iron Man or even X-Men. The most apt comparison for The Green Hornet is Seth Rogen’s 2008 comedy Pineapple Express or other similar comedies. The Green Hornet is far more concerned with being funny than being serious or believable. That holds The Green Hornet back from being a great film but it makes The Green Hornet a really fun movie to watch.

I can’t imagine The Green Hornet resonating with people that aren’t familiar with and fans of Seth Rogen’s comedy. I’ve loved pretty much everything Rogen has done starting from as far back as Freaks & Geeks. The humor is pretty much in line with what its in a traditional Appatow comedy. The Green Hornet was probably the funniest film I have seen in the last calendar year - which is unexpected considering the genre of the film. The fight scenes are absolutely hilarious and the banter between Kato and Rogen’s character is quite enjoyable. The funniest character in the film by far was Christoph Waltz’s Bloodnofsky.  His character is incredibly violent, cruel and heartless but at the same time self-conscious, attention craving and jealous. Bloodnofsky’s annoyance at not being famous or hated despite being far worse than The Green Hornet is enjoyable to watch.  The Green Hornet’s not really believable always but it’s a really fun ride (much like Kick-Ass).

The film is a bit over the top with violence. Rogen’s character Britt Reid and his sidekick (who does 99% of the work) seek out affiliates of a gang boss early in the film. They find a group of semi-menacing guys on a street corner and kill them before verifying even if they are actual gangsters.  Looking back after the film its confusing and kind of troubling but during the film its fun and humorous. The sheer body count of the film is partially what makes it so funny though. I would estimate the amount of people killed as a result of the heroics of The Green Hornet at well over a hundred.

Rogen does a perfectly acceptable job as Britt Reid in the film and if you think about it there is no reason that every superhero has to fit the same exact mold. Every major superhero is a young, athletic, smart, white man. Rogen is young and white but his character is somewhat fat, not that smart, and not at all athletic. The character of Kato was similarly good but not great. I did love Christoph Waltz as the main villain – a middle aged, eastern European, self-conscious mob boss. James Franco is also terrific in his five minute cameo in the beginning of the film. Also excellent is the actor who plays the District Attorney; the guy was great as a foil to Waltz’s maniac character and to Rogen. Cameron Diaz played a secretary who is also an expert in history and urban crime. Her character was uptight and shrewish and had capabilities that no secretary has ever had. It’s simply ridiculous to think that a Temp worker will be an expert in the fields that the character seems to be. Honestly it felt like the character was just shoehorned into the film so that the film could have another “name” actor. The movie would have been much better off without the Diaz character.

The whole conspiracy with the District Attorney, newspapers, and the Mob was a little hard to believe and all crammed into the final fifteen minutes of the film. I couldn’t understand how one small revelation could get the Reid character to switch his hate of his father to pure adoration. The character starts the film by beheading the statue of his late father and ends with him nearly dying for his father’s ideals. These flaws would be a bigger deal to me if The Green Hornet was a serious dramatic film. I’m willing to deal with minor continuity flaws if the film is consistently funny as The Green Hornet is.  

I understand why The Green Hornet had such middling reviews (46% on Rotten Tomatoes). The humor in The Green Hornet is strictly targeted towards a younger audience – I can’t imagine 62 year olds finding humor in the macabre of The Green Hornet.  Considering the numbers The Green Hornet pulled in at the box office – 98 million in the US and over 225 million globally a sequel would seem to be warranted. After all far worse superhero movies have seen sequels like the Fantastic Four, Hulk, and Ghost Rider. The Green Hornet fits a niche of a superhero movie that is actually funny and not overly sincere. 

The Green Hornet is far from perfect but it is never boring and always funny. To me a film is satisfying if it’s an enjoyable experience on the whole and The Green Hornet was an absolute joy to watch.