My Review of 'The Green Hornet'

I just came back from seeing The Green Hornet, and at present I have mixed feelings about it.

  For the most part, I found myself enjoying the film, chuckling and laughing at the hilarious dynamic of the two heroes and over the top action sequences, yet in spite of all that, I left the movie theater feeling somewhat let down. I remember when I saw the first trailer for this film and thinking "Eh, that looks pretty good" but as the film got closer to it's release, my expectations started to rise, only to have them drop back down to "Eh, that was pretty good".
In this era of comic books turned movies, with juggernaut franchises like Iron Man and The Dark Knight Trilogy, it can be hard to stand out from the crowd. The Green Hornet does it's best to keep that edgy Kick-Ass vibe while staying true to the original source material as possible without feeling out dated, yet somehow, something just doesn't mix.
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Seth Rogen's performance as the title character could be seen as one of the films best highlights or one of it's biggest weaknesses. While Rogen's Hornet is entertaining enough, scrambling about trying to throw punches while his partner, Kato (played by Jay Chou) does all the real work, creating a classic "Funnyman/Straightman" partnership, it can get rather annoying. Now it's true that Kato had always been the one who did the serious fighting, while the Hornet by contrast was less hands on, but if Rogen's Hornet is going to be goofy and a little bit thick headed, it wouldn't hurt to make him a little more handy in a fight or a bit more serious (at least in front of the bad guys) so as to excuse it. Though of course the duo is just starting out their crime fighting career, and  The Hornet could eventually become a much better fighter as time went on, which is evident in the climax of the film.
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Jay Chou's performance as Kato is definitely a show stealer. One of the films main reason for delay was due to the quest to find someone to fill the shoes left by the legendary Bruce Lee. I'd say they picked the right man for the job. Chou is the perfect mixture of reserved dignity and badass hero to guarantee that we'll be seeing plenty of people dressed as Kato at comic conventions this year.  
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Of course no heroes are complete without their villains. Oscar Winner, Chirstoph Waltz plays the films primary antagonist, a somewhat comical gangster, Benjamin Chudnofsky, who goes to great lengths to prove how dangerous he is.  Waltz is funny, shooting underlings who displease him while fuming about how the Green Hornet is trying to muscle in on his territory, but at some point he becomes a little too funny for his own good, going from an interesting and edgy villain, to someone you just can't take seriously. Though one could argue that this is part of his charm, and after all, if it's getting laughs, then the actor must be doing something right.
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The films main problem is that it doesn't know what it wants to be,  the comedic overtones clash with the action story that the movie tries to tell, which almost turns the whole thing into a parody of a comic book movie rather than an adaptation. If you had the mindset that this film was going to be more serious than the trailers lead you to believe, get out of that mindset, it's everything the trailers say it is.

All criticism aside, this film is not bad, the over the top action scenes and wonderful comedy dialogue make for a very entertaining experience. Seth Rogen's bumbling heroics mesh well with Jay Chou's cool collected demeanor, creating a fantastic dynamic that feels real. There are plenty of shout outs to the original TV series and everyone in the film does their part well. This is the type of film that you may leave the theater feeling a bit disappointed by, but later on as you're talking about it, you'll be recounting all the best parts and looking back on it fondly. You'll probably find yourself watching it again at some point and having a much better time because now you know what to expect. I'd say this film is good enough to warrant a sequel that will allow it to smooth down its rough edges.

I give this movie three and a half hornets out of five.