The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

In
the first film adaptation of the radio series-turned TV show, The Green Hornet has the best team of
talent that anyone could hope for: the king of laidback comedy, Seth Rogan, who also produced and penned the script, 2009’s acting breakthrough Christoph Waltz as the villain, and French
director Michel Gondry, who is known for his playful and highly imaginative style. Yet despite the creative talent, The Green Hornet is a straightforward
superhero adaptation completely void of any style or energy.  

Like
most superhero stories, Britt Reid (Rogen), aka the Green Hornet, is
inspired by a death in the family. In his case, it’s the death of his
self-involved father, who had neglected him for most of his childhood. Unlike
most superhero stories, his father’s death isn’t a wakeup call; but rather a green
light for him to indulge in his childish tendencies. He fires most of his
father’s staff, and toys around with the family-owned newspaper, turning the
focus towards expletive headlines and insatiable news, almost discrediting the
publication’s long history of respected journalism.

Britt
then befriends his dad’s chauffeur, Kato (Chou),
who turns out to be a mechanical genius and a martial arts master. Together,
they roam the streets in search of cheap thrills. They accidentally rescue a
couple from street thugs, and the thrill inspires them to
pursue a more altruistic path. Together, they come up with the idea of creating
the Green Hornet, a crime-fighting vigilante posing as a villain.

The
idea itself is fun and exciting, but the film spends a great deal of time following
Britt and Kato as they aimlessly stumble into heroism. Meanwhile, the central
villain, Chudnofsky (Waltz), is too cartoonish and
generic to pose any threat.

The
movie keeps swinging between campy,
playful and menacing, but it’s never able to combine them into one coherent
tone. Aside from the opening scene featuring a hilarious yet daunting cameo by James
Franco, the film never finds the
balance between fun and exciting.

Ultimately,
The Green Hornet is disappointing; particularly
because of the wasted potential of its ideas and the talent involved. You’ll
hardly remember that Cameron Diaz was even
in the film, and you won’t see any of Gondry’s usually creative visual
trickery. What you’ll get is a mildly entertaining film, albeit a flawed and
messy one.