LOS ANGELES – When Michel Gondry was hired to helm Columbia Pictures’ ‘The Green Hornet’, we became immediately more enthusiastic about the project than we were before. Even after all the publicized production woes, we were sure that his avant-garde aesthetic and bittersweet style of storytelling would put a fresh spin on the standard superhero flick. However, sandwiched between the frat-house comedic sensibilities of Seth Rogen and the energetic guidance of explosion-savvy producer Neal Moritz, there just wasn’t enough room for the artist to conjure his movie magic.
That’s why the film, though not frustratingly formulaic, feels incredibly manufactured: more a product of convenience for its stars and studio than a stand alone piece of entertainment. Perhaps it’s just because superhero cinema is so commonplace today we are beginning to feel jaded about movies like this, but while watching the film one wondered whether or not Rogen and Co. consciously adhered to the tried-and-true checklist of the genre’s conventions. Tragic motives for fighting crime? Check. Maniacal villain? Check. Flipping SUV’s? Check? Predictable plot? Unfortunately, check. Every element of the movie, from jokes to pacing, is easy to foresee, but that doesn’t mean it’s not somewhat entertaining.
Rogen, who co-wrote the picture with his longtime collaborator Evan Goldberg, will continue to amuse audiences with his every-man persona, even when miscast as a billionaire playboy turned masked vigilante. ‘The Green Hornet’ doesn’t sound like anything he has written before; the limitations of language in a broad blockbuster result in less laughs than the raunchy R-rated comedies he’s best known for, but the delivery of the dialogue is his best weapon against tonal conformity. Still, post-modern humor is abundant throughout the film, with plenty of pop-culture references that are good for a grin or two.
The biggest surprise came in the form of Jay Chou. A hugely successful pop singer in his native Taiwan (as well as other Chinese-speaking regions of the world), his charisma transcends language barriers in the iconic role of Kato, created by the legendary Bruce Lee. Though technically the sidekick, Chou displays more depth than Rogen ever has and outshines his co-star in nearly every creative department. Christoph Waltz, as the violent villain Chudnofsky, doesn’t generate the electricity he did in his career-defining role in ‘Inglourious Basterds’, but had significantly lower-brow material to work with. He goes through the motions with a smile on his face that suggests he’s not quite sure how (or why) he got into this picture in the first place. On the other hand, Cameron Diaz knew exactly why she was hired to portray Britt Reid’s sexy secretary Lenore Case. Between her performances in 2010’s ‘Knight and Day’ and this, Ms. Diaz has hit a new career low. The only difference is that her character was central to the story in the Tom Cruise summer vehicle; here she’s nothing more than eye-candy.
