Blu-Ray Review: Despite Flaws, ‘The Green Hornet’ Leaves Viewers Buzzed

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CHICAGO – A mere glance at the pedigree of this action comedy causes one’s expectations to soar: the director of “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” joins forces with the writers of “Superbad.” How cool is that? Michel Gondry’s childlike sensibilities would appear to be an ideal match for Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s infectious whimsicality.

What initially makes “The Green Hornet” a letdown is the fact that none of the major players brought their A-game to the project, which is admittedly unnecessary to begin with. The film feels more like a collaboration between the director of “Be Kind Rewind” and the writers of “Pineapple Express,” but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Despite its excessive running time (119 minutes) and sluggish first act, the film does offer enough hearty chuckles and flashes of brilliance to warrant a rental (if not a purchase).

HollywoodChicago.com Blu-Ray Rating: 3.5/5.0
Blu-Ray Rating: 3.5/5.0

The ever-enjoyable yet decidedly overexposed Seth Rogen stars as Britt Reid, a rich party boy who harbors a deep resentment toward his recently deceased father (played by Tom Wilkinson, one of many overqualified actors granted a thankless supporting role). When Britt discovers the superhuman skills of his father’s suave mechanic, Kato (Jay Chou), he decides to transform himself into a larger-than-life crime-fighter…for some reason. As Britt tries talking the perplexingly stoic Kato into joining him “on this adventure,” he exudes the exuberant egomania of “Lost in America”-era Albert Brooks. It’s rather disarming, but it just doesn’t cut it. We’ve seen this dynamic so many times before—the obnoxious caucasian schlub paired with the suavely brilliant Asian. Imagine if Peter Griffin from “Family Guy” teamed up with Mr. Peabody from “Rocky and Bullwinkle,” and you’ll have a fair approximation of the awkward chemistry between Rogen and Chou. However, the actors eventually start to click as the film progresses, particularly when Kato poses as Britt’s “executive assistant” at work. Though the script is devoid of F-bombs, Rogen and Goldberg don’t tone down their colorful vulgarity one iota, resulting in one of the most foul-mouthed PG-13 pictures in recent memory. Yet the expletives are never mean-spirited.

Jay Chou and Seth Rogen star in Michel Gondry’s The Green Hornet.
Jay Chou and Seth Rogen star in Michel Gondry’s The Green Hornet.
Photo credit: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

It’s frustrating to see so much talent used so sparingly. Emphasis is predictably put on the spectacle, with fight scenes where Kato moves at twice the speed of his opponents, which cinematographer John Schwartzman lenses in swirling slow-motion. Rogen and Goldberg’s obsession with capturing the sloppiness of an uncoordinated brawl certainly inspired the duel between Britt and Kato, which is much funnier, and more inventive, than the interminable climax of “Express.” While the leads acquit themselves nicely, the ensemble seems hopelessly lost. As cartoonish villain Chudnofsky, Christoph Waltz just seems to be in a sour mood, even during his hilarious opening scene with an uncredited James Franco. The best and worst aspect about the picture is the use of Gondry’s visionary genius, which is primarily confined to transitional montages. There’s a mind-bending use of split screen that’s similar to Gondry’s mesmerizing visual trickery in his music video for Cibo Matto’s “Sugar Water.” A marvelous assemblage of in-camera effects are used to externalize Britt’s psyche as he ties together loose plot threads that could’ve easily been summarized by perfunctory exposition. These sequences are thrilling, but they sadly illustrate just how great a film it could’ve been had the studio allowed Gondry’s imagination to be fully unleashed.

The Green Hornet was released on Blu-Ray and DVD on May 3, 2011.
The Green Hornet was released on Blu-Ray and DVD on May 3, 2011.
Photo credit: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

“The Green Hornet” is presented in 1080p High Definition (with a 2.40:1 aspect ratio), and is available in a three-disc combo pack including a Blu-Ray, Blu-Ray 3D and DVD copy of the film. Sony’s typically excellent array of extras is bolstered by an interactive feature entitled, “The Cutting Room,” which allows aspiring filmmakers to edit their own excerpts of raw footage. The disc’s 26 minutes of deleted scenes include an extended version of the final car chase, where various faceless villains are taken out one by one. Waltz appears at his most relaxed while anonymously bonding with Rogen at a bar. It’s a nice moment, but the linking of philosophies between hero and villain wouldn’t have paid off in the final cut.

The gag reel is essentially little more than a mugging montage, though it’s worth checking out simply to see Gondry’s tireless attempts to flip a pen into a container for one of the film’s throwaway visual gags (his subsequent dance of triumph is a joy to behold). Six behind-the-scenes shorts offer a dissection of Gondry’s approach to “Kato vision,” a deconstruction of the film’s souped-up Black Beauty, a glimpse at Chou’s pop star persona, and a vignette of the “Stunt Family Robinson” and the multiple generations represented in the picture. Yet perhaps the most revealing extra is a conversation with Rogen and Goldberg, who discuss their approach to subverting action genre clichés, which isn’t nearly as innovative as it may seem in theory (insecure villains and smart sidekicks aren’t exactly game changers).
 
Rounding out the extras are a movieIQ track, as well as feature length commentary with Rogen, Goldberg, Gondry and producer Neal Moritz. The screenwriters reveal that many of the best lines were the result of ADR work. Rogen admits that it may have been a mistake to leave long pauses for laughter, resulting in sequences that are a “bit and a half too long.” Gondry shares some of his endearingly wacky concepts that unfortunately never made it to the screen, such as the gun Chudnofsky was to assemble out of Legos in the opening scene. One of the funniest moments in the commentary occurs when they reflect on Nicolas Cage (originally cast as Chudnofsky), and the baffling Jamaican accent he brought to the set. Rogen recalls how an exasperated Waltz yelled, “It would be nice to have a script for once!” in reaction to the ever-changing dialogue, which causes Gondry to remember a similar encounter with Jim Carrey on the set of “Eternal Sunshine.” As chummy as this bunch may seem, it’s clear that they were never destined to work together. In fact, Rogen’s first choice of director (and for the role of Kato) was “Kung Fu Hustle”’s Stephen Chow. Now there’s a pairing that may have resembled a match made in heaven.

‘The Green Hornet’ is released by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and stars Seth Rogen, Jay Chou, Cameron Diaz, Christoph Waltz, Tom Wilkinson, David Harbour and Edward James Olmos. It was written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg and directed by Michel Gondry. It was released on May 3, 2011. It is rated PG-13.

HollywoodChicago.com staff writer Matt Fagerholm

By MATT FAGERHOLM
Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
matt@hollywoodchicago.com

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