The Green Hornet (2011)

I'm not a Seth Rogen fan, nor will I ever see him in KNOCKED UP or PINEAPPLE EXPRESS. But THE GREEN HORNET was the 1st movie of his I've seen in theaters. Based on the character of the same name that had originated in a 1930’s radio program and has appeared in movie serials, a 1960’s television series that starred legendary Martial Arts star Bruce Lee as Kato, comic books and other media, the 2011 movie follows 28 yr old irresponsible playboy Britt Reid (Seth Rogen) as he becomes the heir of his late father’s newspaper company The Daily Sentinel and teams up with his father’s assistant Kato (Asian pop singer Jay Chou), a mechanic and skilled martial artist, to become crime-fighters who pose as criminals in order to infiltrate real criminals, and also to prevent enemies from using innocents against them. The Film was Directed by French filmmaker Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) and also stars Academy Award winner Christoph Waltz (2009 – Best Supporting Actor, Inglorious Basterds) as Russian gangster Benjamin Chudnofsky, Tom Wilkinson (Michael Clayton) as Britt’s father James Reid, Edward James Olmos (TV’s Battlestar Galactica) as The Daily Sentinel’s managing editor Mike Axford, David Harbour (007 – Quantum of Solace) as D.A. Frank Scanlon, Edward Furlong (Terminator 2: Judgment Day) as meth dealer Tupper, and Cameron Diaz (Charlie’s Angels) as Britt’s secretary Lenore ‘Casey’ Case. I really loved the action sequences but the comedy I thought wasn't that great. However, there were some funny gags like when Rogen accidently shoots himself with the gas gun and running away from the cement truck. I loved how they showed a drawing of Bruce Lee as a tribute to the legendary Kato. As I was watching Rogen, he reminded me of Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark from IRON MAN. But to me, I thought he was ten times worse than Tony Stark. I’m also surprised that he co-wrote the story with his friend and collaborator Evan Goldberg, who both did Rogen’s past movies. I thought Jay Chou was awesome. I thought the performance by Tom Wilkinson almost reminded me him from ROCKNROLLA, cause he had the same attitude he portrayed from that movie. It's weird for me to see Cameron Diaz in this film because I thought she was least expected. And the scenes between her and Rogen I thought were dumb. After seeing Christoph Waltz in INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS, I was happy to see him in this film as Chudnofsky. And I thought he did a great job in his performance. I was surprised to see James Franco, Rogen’s Pineapple Express co-star, in a terrific cameo appearance as rival drug dealer Danny "Crystal" Clear. Filmed entirely on location in Los Angeles, Calfornia in late 2009 with an estimated budget of $120 million, the film was originally to released as a regular film in the summer of 2010, but Sony pushed it to January 2011 to secure more time to convert it into a 3D film. As for the film itself, I only loved the action but not the comedy. But I recommend that you see it if you’re a Seth Rogen fan like I’m not. Sorry!