This past weekend I caught Michel Gondry & Seth Rogen's The Green Hornet. I am going to initially start off with an overall rating of this movie, which will encompass all of it's pieces as a whole. And seeing as I am not sure which direction I want to go in with this blog, in as much as my own rating system is structured, I will place a 6.5 out of 10 upon this film. Overall this is a fun, exciting, popcorn mashing flash bang of a movie.
Yet, and now the fun part, I go into the reasons why The Green Hornet didn't quite do it for me. Firstly I had exponentially higher hopes for this movie considering the director, Michel Gondry, is a visionary and mesmerizing artist. Take a peek at The Science of Sleep, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Be Kind Rewind for a taste of the feats of cinematography and smart storytelling Gondry is capable of. Aside from a few fun and stylized fight scenes, there was little in this movie that could be at all any different from a campy 90's Bruckheimer hero flick.
Seth Rogen did a great job playing, himself. In every scene he was jolly, laughing, dim witted and childish. That must have been the character they were aiming for because there are absolutely no other attempts to play a deep conflicted hero. Now, perhaps that wasn't the direction for the Green Hornet, I will consider it. But, why then be so fulfilled with such a bland and borderline annoying hero? The entire time I was watching Rogen I wanted him merely to act mildly different then every other film I've ever seen him in. I don't want to start a new paragraph for this next individual, for it would warrant far to much effort and her presence was even more annoying than that previously mentioned. I am referring now to Cameron Diaz. She was so entirely forgettable and replaceable that it must have been that she didn't cost much, and she might have had a friend previously signed onto this project. If I ever hear that she won this role over anyone else I would be truly amazed. She was as vapid and again, bland, as our hero Mr. Rogen.
Now for the thrilling emergence of Jay Chou, or Kato the sidekick. I've heard comparisons of Mr. Chou's presence abroad as that of the "Justin Timberlake" of China. He is absolutely the best part of this movie. His comedic timing and all around entertaining value highlights the joke of a role Seth Rogen wrote for himself. Kato is supposed to be awesome, but the ridiculousness of everyone around him frustrated me to no end. He plays the cool and mysterious Kato fantastically. Christoph Waltz, also known as the breakout star of Tarantino's Inglorious Bastards, way to not work too hard! Waltz plays the, not too scary, villain. And in there is a very annoying joke that plagues the entire film as well. The ease with which this script makes caricatures of it's personalities is just about stifling by the time the credits roll. I really wanted to have at least a couple better words about this movie.
It is easy to follow, exciting when it should be and an all around successful action comedy. I had wanted more and was sure the forces that wound up controlling this would produce a better film. Alas, I walked from my seat with a "Meh, can't make amazing cinema out of it all."
Yet, and now the fun part, I go into the reasons why The Green Hornet didn't quite do it for me. Firstly I had exponentially higher hopes for this movie considering the director, Michel Gondry, is a visionary and mesmerizing artist. Take a peek at The Science of Sleep, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Be Kind Rewind for a taste of the feats of cinematography and smart storytelling Gondry is capable of. Aside from a few fun and stylized fight scenes, there was little in this movie that could be at all any different from a campy 90's Bruckheimer hero flick.
Seth Rogen did a great job playing, himself. In every scene he was jolly, laughing, dim witted and childish. That must have been the character they were aiming for because there are absolutely no other attempts to play a deep conflicted hero. Now, perhaps that wasn't the direction for the Green Hornet, I will consider it. But, why then be so fulfilled with such a bland and borderline annoying hero? The entire time I was watching Rogen I wanted him merely to act mildly different then every other film I've ever seen him in. I don't want to start a new paragraph for this next individual, for it would warrant far to much effort and her presence was even more annoying than that previously mentioned. I am referring now to Cameron Diaz. She was so entirely forgettable and replaceable that it must have been that she didn't cost much, and she might have had a friend previously signed onto this project. If I ever hear that she won this role over anyone else I would be truly amazed. She was as vapid and again, bland, as our hero Mr. Rogen.
Now for the thrilling emergence of Jay Chou, or Kato the sidekick. I've heard comparisons of Mr. Chou's presence abroad as that of the "Justin Timberlake" of China. He is absolutely the best part of this movie. His comedic timing and all around entertaining value highlights the joke of a role Seth Rogen wrote for himself. Kato is supposed to be awesome, but the ridiculousness of everyone around him frustrated me to no end. He plays the cool and mysterious Kato fantastically. Christoph Waltz, also known as the breakout star of Tarantino's Inglorious Bastards, way to not work too hard! Waltz plays the, not too scary, villain. And in there is a very annoying joke that plagues the entire film as well. The ease with which this script makes caricatures of it's personalities is just about stifling by the time the credits roll. I really wanted to have at least a couple better words about this movie.
It is easy to follow, exciting when it should be and an all around successful action comedy. I had wanted more and was sure the forces that wound up controlling this would produce a better film. Alas, I walked from my seat with a "Meh, can't make amazing cinema out of it all."
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