The Green Hornet (Greg)

The popular TV, comic book, and radio series The Green Hornet makes its way to one more medium, and the result is equal parts superhero parody and bromantic comedy. The story follows Britt Reid (Seth Rogen,) a slacker and heir to his father's media empire, and Kato (Jay Chou,) an expert mechanic with a black belt in kicking ass. After a night of debauchery together accidentally turns them into heroes, they decide to use their talents (well, Kato's talents, Reid's money) to fight crime, with Reid taking on the persona of The Green Hornet. The two make an effective team with Reid's undeserved cockiness perfectly balanced by Kato's stoic but deadly nature. The dynamic reminds me a bit of Big Trouble in Little China, which I highly recommend for any fans of this movie.

The scenes that feature Rogen and Chou together are highlights of the movie, especially when Kato gets to show off his martial arts skills or their awesome car is involved. And the casual rivalry between the two is surprisingly funny and never feels fake, even if we've seen it in countless action-comedies before. One scene towards the middle in which the two leads turn on each other made me laugh louder than anything else. There's a disappointing number of jokes that don't fully deliver and feel even more ad-libbed that some of Rogen's other comedies, but it would be a huge stretch to call The Green Hornet unfunny.

Christoph Waltz seems miscast as the criminal overlord Chudnofsky. I think he's trying to channel what made him great in Inglourious Basterds by hiding his destructive capability behind a casual and sometimes comical demeanor. But in this case he doesn't come off as scary or funny. And I can't blame him because the script rarely gives him anything interesting to say or do. In other words, he's like Scar in the second half of The Lion King. Instead of seeing the treachery and cunning that got him where he is, we see him whine and complain as his empire falls apart around him and only occasionally do anything violent.

James Fraco makes a memorable appearance in the beginning of the movie as a minor villain with the right blend of suave and sleazy and some of the movie's best one-liners. After that scene I'm convinced that his character would be a far more fitting antagonist for a lightheardtead action-comedy and a better foil for Rogen's Green Hornet.

Cameron Diaz feels out of place as the love interest that sets our two heroes against each other, and for the most part she seems to be phoning in her performance. Even if she isn't a first-rate actress, I'm used to her performances being breezy, charismatic and fun. Again, I don't know whether to blame her or the bland role she's given, but the scenes with her character seem to drag the most.

At its best, The Green Hornet has great fight scenes, cool car chases, better than average buddy comedy, and a fist-pumping soundtrack. But for the other half of its running time the movie's stuck in neutral going nowhere in particular and wasting opportunities for better jokes and stronger drama. I wouldn't quite call The Green Hornet a disappointment, but it's obvious that this isn't the best they could have done with the talent and  source material involved. If this movie has any killer flaw, though, it's that that the superhero myth has been deconstructed in funnier (Defendor, Mystery Men) ballsier (Kick-Ass) and more clever (Watchmen, The Incredibles) ways before.

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