The Green Hornet

Are super hero films starting to loose their touch, or are they still just as entertaining as they were last year? Many people have many different opinions but this year could provide the answer to the debate. For me, 2011 is the year of super-hero films with at least five of them being released and what a better way to kick it off ASAP with the new super hero comedy, "The Green Hornet."

James Reid (Tom Wilkinson) spends his days writing about the crime and corruption of Los Angeles in his newspaper, The Daily Sentinel, while his son, Brit (Seth Rogen) parties every night showing no concern for his father's passions and frankly no concern for his father at all. That is until he learns of his father's death. The day after the funeral, Brit fires all of his father's staff except for the maid and a man named Kato (Jay Chou) whom Brit begins to form a friendship with. One night, when both men are a little tipsy, Brit decides to go to the cemetery and cut off the head of his father's statue to get back at his dad one last time. So the two dress in masks and do just that. But on the way back, Brit and Kato come across a mugging and together they intervene and take down a group. After that night, the police declare the two unknown men criminals and Brit uses his influence at his father's paper to give his secret identity, which he deems The Green Hornet, some publicity. But the publicity gives the two more trouble than they wanted when the big crime bosses of the city start to see them as threats.

The first time I saw the trailer for "The Green Hornet" I had a hard time taking it seriously because of two reasons.

One...Seth Rogen. "Really, Seth Rogen is going to be playing a super-hero? He can't be serious." At least that's what I thought at first. I was predicting the film to be cheesy and to have bad acting but being the super-hero lover that I am, I kept an interest in the film. Then I began to see more and more advertisements for "Green Hornet" and my enthusiasm started to go up. Then last Friday I finally saw the movie and I was so surprised at what I saw. Seth Rogen is hysterical and fits the role so well, I take back everything I said beforehand. He IS the Green Hornet (and he can kick butt too).

The second reason I was feeling unenthusiastic was because I thought the story was going to be very unoriginal. From the trailers, the story looked very similar to "Iron Man"...a millionaire playboy who has a change of heart and devotes the rest of his life to helping people as a super-hero. So I got to the theater and...I was right. Unfortunately, while "The Green Hornet" might have good laughs and good action, it doesn't bring anything new to the table, and in a time like this where super-hero films are coming out every few months, the only way to stand out is to be original and exciting (think "Iron Man", "The Dark Knight"). "The Green Hornet" was neither of these things.

So what impression did "The Green Hornet" give? While entertaining and funny, Rogen couldn't deliver anything that truly stands out. But "Hornet" is still a fun ride that I would recommend to any lover of the super-hero genre (and don't see it in 3D). I give it two stars out of 4.

"The Green Hornet" has a running time of 119 minutes and is rated PG-13 for sequences of action violence, language, sensuality and drug content.