The Green Hornet, starring Seth Rogen and Jay Chou, gave a funny but not-so original outlook on superhero movies.
For the past decade Seth Rogen has made quite a name for himself, working with directors like David Gordon Green and Judd Apatow. His latest blockbuster, The Green Hornet, stole number 1 at the box office during its opening weekend with a 33.5 million dollar gross.
The Green Hornet offers a very comical outlook on the dominating superhero movie industry. Seth Rogen stars as the protagonist, Britt Reid, who inherits a magazine empire after the untimely death of his father. After a brush with criminals, he decides to become a superhero with his father’s ex-employee, Kato (Played by Jay Chou). Britt adopts the moniker, “The Green Hornet” and uses his newspaper to spread the word.
Although he does not have any special powers, Britt declares him a hero after saving a couple from vicious muggers. The only one with real powers is Kato, who is a martial arts expert and has the ability to slow down time (or speed it up, it wasn’t clear). The movie is full of explosions coupled with endless dialog and leaves the audience with nothing to take home.
To be blunt, this movie is typical. Its cookie-cutter -story follows closely behind its superhero predecessors. The bad guys deal drugs and murder, and the good guy battles the bad guys. It’s the same thing that we have been watching since the beginning of time. However, the film is full of laughs, and Seth Rogen’s character in this film isn’t too different than his roles that were seen in “Knocked up” or “Pineapple Express”.
The director, unbelievably, is Michel Gondry. I’m not exactly sure how he went from directing Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind to The Green Hornet, it may have been Seth Rogen’s charm (scoff). After all, he also got legendary director, David Gordon Green, to direct Pineapple Express.
I’m not saying that type casting is bad (it works for Michael Cera) but it can get frustrating when I go to see a movie that has been called, “funny and original” and I end up seeing the same old stuff. Sure, Seth Rogen is lovable and charming but I’m not convinced he is the great actor I keep hearing about.
The Green Hornet was a good popcorn flick; I enjoyed laughing at the off-beat antics Seth Rogen and Jay Chou. However if you are going to the movies to watch a movie that has depth or creativity then I wouldn’t recommend the Green Hornet.
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