In all honesty, I forgot that this film even existed. I had seen it once when I was a young film enthusiast, looking to watch everything that IMDB could throw my way. When I think back to that era, The Green Hornet turned out to be more entertaining than any of the top-rated films I had seen on those lists.
However, as your taste in films refines, you come to a realization that films such as The Green Hornet are nothing more than quick gratification, harmless fun you watch to kill time. Now that I’ve seen it again, the weaknesses of this film are all too clearly visible.
How to Download The Green Hornet
You can download the film from a digital store. You can also stream it. Click on the Download button at the end of this review and make your choice. If you like superhero comedy films, check out also Shazam!
The Movie Review
This superhero action-comedy snooze-fest follows Britt Reid, the heir to a wealthy newspaper empire. After his father’s death, Britt becomes a lazy playboy with no direction in life. However, after a drunken night out with his mechanic,
Kato, the two stumble upon a mugging and decide to intervene. Inspired by their success, Britt and Kato decide to become masked vigilantes and take down the city’s crime syndicates.
They begin by attacking the operations of the city’s largest crime boss, Benjamin Chudnofsky, who sees them as a threat to his power. As the Green Hornet and Kato continue their crusade against crime, they begin to attract the attention of the police, who view them as dangerous vigilantes.
Meanwhile, Britt struggles to balance his new life as a hero with his responsibilities at the newspaper and his complicated relationship with his assistant, Lenore Case.
Now, this is a comedic take on Batman. Rich orphan turned vigilante, a classic premise for a superhero story. However, despite having an intriguing premise, the execution of the film left a lot to be desired. The pacing was so uneven that it felt like riding a rollercoaster with faulty brakes.
The plot was rushed and directionless, the script and dialogue were forgettable, and the humor was about as subtle as a fart joke in a kindergarten classroom. The movie attempted to be funny through a series of sight gags and one-liners, but they all just fell flat repeatedly.
The actors’ comedic timings were off, and the humor lacked the necessary wit to make any of it memorable.
Seth Rogen seemed as out of place as a cactus in a snowstorm, delivering a performance that lacked the necessary spark and energy. Jay Chou’s portrayal of Kato was really bland, and Cameron Diaz was just a fish out of water in the whole film. I can’t blame them though, they had some of the worst lines to work with.
Character development was at an all-time low, even at the end, Britt Reid was a shallow and uninteresting protagonist, and Kato was a caricature of the “magical Asian” trope. I do have to say though, Christoph Waltz as ‘Chudnofsky’ is simply amazing, this man can make any odd role work to the best of his capabilities.
You’d think that since everything else is so weak, they probably put all of their talent into the action, or the technical side of the film… but NOPE.
The film suffers from a lack of color, and a lack of variety in its camera work and locations; there are horrible action sequences devoid of any intensity or fun, and the stunts are all just regular stuff you’d see in any film out there.
The Music
Lastly, but very importantly, I don’t even remember if the film had a soundtrack. It was so empty and devoid of life personality that the soundtrack just blends into the background to the point you can’t even single it out. It did not elevate the film, it did not add to any of the key moments in the film, and it definitely did not do much to save the film.
Verdict
The Green Hornet is flawed, it’s got weak bones and a poor foundation, and it can barely stand on its own as an individual, original film. It isn’t a product of corporate greed, you can tell that the people who made it were quite passionate about creating this weirdly crude superhero comedy, but nothing really seemed to work too well.
It’s still entertaining at times, I mean, Christoph Waltz is a highlight here, and he makes the film worth watching. Though in general, Seth Rogen should’ve just made Pineapple Express 2 instead of this…
