Green Hornet — Sting or Stink?

I’ve never actually seen any of the old Green Hornet shows. It’s something I want to do one of these days though. What got me interested in the Green Hornet was the NOW Comics series that was published in the 1980s and 90s. I remember picking up the first issue just to see what it was all about and I was hooked. Right now, I’m enjoying the current series that was started by Kevin Smith and published by Dynamite. When I heard there was going to be a new movie, I was excited. When I heard that Seth Rogen was going to play the character, I had my doubts. I learned that he has lost some weight to look the part more which gave me a little more hope but seeing the trailer took that away. Despite it all, I decided I would go see the movie anyway.

I had Monday off to I figured it would be the perfect time to go see the movie. I went to he theatre, gave the attendant the money for my ticket ($10 – more than I expected for a matinee show) and was given a ticket and a plastic wrapped package. I wasn’t sure what the package was but took it and headed to find a seat. I checked out the package and it was glasses. I hadn’t been aware that the movie was 3D. This worried me as I had never been able to see 3D before (my vision is quite bad) but I was used to the old 2 toned lenses and these were a new style so I waited until things started and put on my glasses. I was happy to discover the 3D that was shown in the intro came through clear. And then the movie started.

This movie, despite it’s periods of action, was a comedy. This Brit is a total loser, partier, and messes up all over. (Even worse than any flaws the comic character has had… and this is supposed to be Brit Sr.) The relationship between Brit and Kato is awkward at best and not at all what you’d expect from the team. But, like I said, this is a comedy. (Picture the old Batman TV show but replace the fun campy fun with sometimes annoying prat stunts and you’ll get the idea.) The long and almost slapstick fight between Brit and Kato seemed quite our of place an I found myself wishing for it to end long before it finally did. The bad guy for the movie was as much of a joke (if not more of one) as everything else in the movie. I’m used to reading about a serious Green Hornet, one who was confident, knew what he was doing for the most part, and was serious about his job. Yes, the second generation Green Hornet often had to grow to live up to his father’s reputation but he was still far and beyond a better hero than the one portrayed in this movie. (I think the 4th Batman movie, as bad as it was, gave more respect to Batman than this movie did to the Green Hornet.) The effects weren’t too bad but overall, I was pretty disappointed in the movie. Personally, if you really want to see it, I’d wait for it to be on Netflix or something where you’ve already paid for the service and aren’t paying for the particular movie. Yes, a lot of movies tend to stray from their original subject in some ways, but I didn’t find this a worthwhile reflection of the Green Hornet and honestly can’t recommend the film.