REVIEW: ‘The Green Hornet:’ Super hero or super villain
When I saw the first trailer for “The Green Hornet,” I was not impressed. However, I was pleased to be proven wrong when I saw the feature film.
Britt Reid, played by Seth Rogen, is the irresponsible son of a rich father. He spends his time partying and getting women. His father James, played by Tom Wilkinson, never seems to care about his son, putting his work in the newspaper industry and 700 employees first.
Following James Reid’s tragic death due to a bee sting, Britt decides to vent his built-up anger against his father. Aided by his father’s employee, Kato, he desecrates his father’s grave.
As he runs away from the crime, he tries to stop a gang from killing a couple, but is heavily outnumbered, so he takes off running. Kato sees the trouble and saves Britt with superhuman speed and reflexes.
After their adventures, Britt and Kato get drunk and talk about being heroes every night. The most effective way to bring about justice, they decide, is to pose as villains to minimize the casualties of innocent victims.
Since Britt and Kato are new at the whole superhero thing, they take advantage of the knowledge of Britt’s new secretary, Lenore Case, played by Cameron Diaz. Lenore has a minor in criminology, so she explains to the duo how a criminal thinks and her predictions about what The Green Hornet will do next. Thus begins the adventures of The Green Hornet.
“The Green Hornet” has its roots in a radio program from the 1930s, serial films in the 1940s, a television series in the 1960s and comic books from the 1940s on.
Kato was my favorite character. He is the most talented of the two. In addition to his martial arts talent, he is a skilled mechanic and inventor. Kato’s best creation is Black Beauty, a car with more features than James Bond’s Aston Martin. My favorite part of the movie was seeing the car being designed, built and outfitted.
“The Green Hornet” briefly explores the concept of what it really means to be a superhero. As Britt points out, the problem with the superhero in comic books and (some) movies is that the villain knows exactly who the good guy is.
The movie was designed like a comic book in the fight sequences and the end credits. The extra pop came from the 3D effects, which added to the comic book feel. Due to its comic book heritage, the plot of the movie is predictable, but enjoyable.
In every movie with Seth Rogen that I’ve heard of or seen, he’s never played a serious character. This movie is no different. He did help write the screenplay for the movie, which helped him capture the essence of Britt/The Green Hornet.
This was definitely not Cameron Diaz’s best movie, but she did well in her supporting role as a strong, smart woman who can handle herself.
I enjoyed the soundtrack and the score. James Newton Howard did a great job, as always, in capturing the action and the path of the hero. The songs featured in the movie gave some variety to the music. “The Green Hornet” flies in with a B.
– spencer.palmer@aggiemail.usu.edu