Adapted from the radio serial of the 30s-50s and the live action show of the 60s, the 2011 Green Hornet has been a troubled production for years. Writers and directors came and went with stars dropping in and out all over the place. Then Seth Rogen took over the writing and starring duties and a lot of people gave up on the film right there. When Stephen Chow dropped out of directing and playing Kato it seemed like the whole thing was doomed. Then Michel Gondry took over the directing duties and I for one got excited again. Seeing the finished product I now know that excitement was well placed. Despite the troubled path it took to get to the screen the finished product is a funny and exciting super hero tale that eschews the current ‘darker is better’ trend for good, old fashioned fun.

When his wealthy father (Tom Wilkinson) dies unexpectedly, shiftless rich kid playboy Britt Reid (Seth Rogen) finds himself at the head of a major Los Angeles newspaper and the heir to an enormous fortune. After befriending his father’s mechanic Kato (Jay Chou), Reid stops a robbery in progress and finds himself drawn to helping people. With Kato’s martial arts skills as well as his prowess in inventing, Reid sets out to become the Green Hornet, a masked vigilante who looks like a villain to keep from falling into typical hero traps. This endeavor puts him in direct opposition with LA’s crime boss Chudnofsky (Christoph Waltz) and the two begin a gang war that digs deep into LA’s underbelly and beyond.

I’ve never really listened to the old radio show and despite Bruce Lee having played Kato in the ’66 series I have never seen that either so I can’t speak to the tone of the series or how accurate the adaptation is but this Green Hornet is a lot of fun. If you are going in expecting this to be on the same level as the Dark Knight in tone and execution then you are going to walk out very disappointed. Taken on its own, however, the movie is pretty great.

A lot of the credit for this greatness goes to the writing which is crisp, natural and isn’t afraid of straying off the beaten path and telling its own story its own way. I really enjoyed that, despite being an origin story, the Green Hornet doesn’t follow the same formula of a lot of first entries in super hero franchises. Events unfold in a way that feel  organic to the story and don’t feel forced or as if it was going through the motions to get through to the inevitable confrontation at the end.

Another thing that makes the story work is that it delves a bit into how someone might practically become a super hero given the proper skill set and resources. That isn’t to say that it is realistic by any stretch of the imagination but just that Rogen’s script makes some amusing observations on dual identities and otherwise normal people trying to do something like this. The notion that they need to look like villains so they can’t be manipulated by threatening the lives of innocents is an interesting one in particular and it is well executed here. We aren’t talking about Watchmen level of deconstruction nor do we get into the hardcore grittiness of Kick Ass but there are some solid and amusing observations made in the Green Hornet.

A lot of these things depend on the performances and here we have some great ones. The chemistry between Jay Chou and Seth Rogen is awesome and provides much of the comedy in the film. They are fun to watch together and their relationship goes through a lot of ups and downs that feel reasonable and are always entertaining. Christoph Waltz brings a dry quirkiness to Chudnofsky that never goes over board but is consistently eccentric and amusing. A lot of villains like this end up overshadowing the heroes in these sorts of films but Waltz finds just the right tone and strikes just the right chord to create a worthy foil for the Green Hornet but not one who overpowers the character altogether. Cameron Diaz  does a good job as Reid’s plucky and far more knowledgeable secretary as well.

The direction by Michel Gondry is an interesting thing. It is unconventional for a blockbuster, as fans of the director might imagine, but it is restrained enough to keep the film grounded in some kind of reality no matter how campy. Surreal montage scenes remind the viewer of the Science of Sleep but don’t really feel out of place. His handling of the action scenes is also interesting as he highlights Kato’s martial arts prowess by showing how things might appear to him as he fights. His use of slow motion is always tasteful and accentuates the action nicely.

Conclusion [9.0 out of 10]

There isn’t much wrong with the Green Hornet if you approach it the right way. If you can hang with its quirkiness and its comedic tone then you are in good hands. If you want a super serious and straight forward delivery of the material then you are better served looking elsewhere.