The Green Hornet is a movie remake of the TV series from the 60s credited for establishing the popularity of Bruce Lee who played the role Kato. While the most popular media format for the Green Hornet has been the TV series, it was actually based on a comic book which was based on a radio show. The modern version of the Green Hornet stars Seth Rogen and Jay Chou as Kato.
The premise of the movie is almost expected that it borders simplicity. Seth Rogen is Britt Reid, a lazy son of a media mogul James Reid (played by Tom Wilkinson). When his father was murdered by a bee sting, a series of events led him to meeting Kato which was his father’s coffee maker.
Kato happens to be a genius mechanic with skills in martial arts to boot. They form an unlikely alliance to deal with the bad guys by playing bad guys themselves allowing them to disrupt the operations. The events naturally get the attention of their nemesis played by Academy Award winner Christoph Waltz.
If you’re expecting a fierce action movie about a super hero you’re in for a surprise. The movie is actually an action-comedy where Seth Rogen quotes some of his classic lines to amuse the audience. This should be expected though as he was one of the writers for the movie. The person that really got everyone’s attention was Jay Chou who shows his martial art skills when playing the main brawn character of the movie.
Unfortunately, other characters are left out of the limelight. Cameron Diaz is easily forgettable in the film and the well-respected actor Christoph Waltz doesn’t have a lot to work with. But it’s still an enjoyable comedy action flick thanks to its funny scenes and impressive action sequences.
