Let me warn you in advance that even though I understand very few people have ever seen the TV version of The Green Hornet, I will be comparing the film and the show.
Let me warn you in advance that even though I understand very few people have ever seen the TV version of The Green Hornet, I will be comparing the film and the show.
The television version of Brit Reid was played by the handsome and charming Van Williams who played the role completely straight. The original, Kato, was of course played by Bruce Lee who was, inarguably, the best part of the TV show. The Green Hornet TV show was produced by the same people who made the campy TV Batman but was done without wacky villains or any sense of humor whatsoever. In the end, it wasn’t such a great TV show but it holds place in TV history if only for the crossover episode with Batman as well as Bruce Lee’s awesome karate skills, which required no special effects at all.
Going into the film, I wasn’t convinced that Seth Rogen was the right choice for the role and I had no knowledge of Jay Chou at all. Rogen clearly worked hard to slim down for the role and shed his slacker image but considering he spent most of the movie portraying Brit Reid as a spoiled party boy, it was hard to see anything except the guy from Knocked Up in a three-piece suit. To make matters worse, just when I was about to buy Rogen as The Green Hornet, his Canadian accent reminded me that he grew up nowhere near Los Angeles.
Overall, I was impressed with Jay Chou. For a guy who barely speaks English, he handled the dialogue very well and his fight scenes were amazing to watch. More importantly, I think he played Kato with a quiet coolness that fit the character. If I had one criticism of Kato it would be his need to be an equal to the Hornet.
In the original telling, Kato is the Hornet’s employee from the beginning. While he certainly contributed with his fighting skills and ability to soup up The Black Beauty, he certainly couldn’t do it without Brit Reid’s considerable wealth. It’s more of a Batman/Alfred relationship if, of course, Alfred had kick-ass martial arts skills. I, personally, didn’t think Kato’s need to feel like a partner made sense and the conflict between him and Brit over that need, was boring and uninteresting.
My biggest problem, however, had to be the violence. Much like Rogen’s other film, Pineapple Express, I was surprised by all of the extreme violence. It was hard to continue enjoying Kato’s athleticism after he shoved two wooden planks into the eye sockets of a bad guy. That and the obvious wires that gave Rogen the ability to fly backwards after being kicked by Kato were almost too much to bear.
As for what I did like, I thought James Franco’s cameo was brilliant. It’s just a shame that it came at the beginning of the film. I also enjoyed Christoph Walz even if he was severely underused. I also liked the homage to Bruce Lee in Kato’s sketchbook and, even though, it was far too brief to catch, I appreciated the shout out to The Lone Ranger.
In the end, all I can say about the movie was that it was okay. For his first attempt at an action movie, Director Michael Gondry made an admirable attempt (editor’s note: and admitted in an interview that it really wasn’t his movie) but I’m sure he can do better.
–Paul Goebel
