Green Light

Some of you may be surprised to know that I did go to see The Green Hornet this past weekend. I guess the fact that I think Seth Rogen is pretty funny won out over my general wariness of comic book-ish films. (And technically, The Green Hornet isn't based on a comic book, since it was a radio program first.) Reviews were mixed, and I knew that going in, which I think helped set me up with some lowered expectations.

Whatever cocktail of circumstances brought it to pass, I actually did enjoy myself at the movie. It was a Big Dumb Action Movie that actually managed to keep the Dumb at arm's length for most of its fun-filled two hours. The climax was maybe a bit of an over-the-top let down -- just a bit -- but the road getting there was a lot of fun.

What really makes it all work, in my mind, is that the script focuses well on the relationship between Britt Reid and Cato. The interplay between them is given a lot more space to develop even than either of them as individual characters, and is also often the focus more than any particular action gag. And as actors, Seth Rogen and Jay Chou work well together.

Spicing the mix were appearances from a number of other actors that seemed to be having a lot of fun. Somehow, in my commercial-free existence, I'd managed to miss the fact that Cameron Diaz was in the movie. I was first surprised by her appearance, then just as quickly not surprised, given her Charlie's Angels/There's Something About Mary history, and then just plain entertained by her and her character.

I was expecting Christophe Waltz, the villain of Inglourious Basterds. He's probably typecast for the rest of his career now, but he plays the heavy so well. He dances up to the line of preposterous Batman villain, but still keeps it grounded. And he's not just menace; he's having fun too.

Also appearing in smaller roles are Edward James Olmos, Tom Wilkinson, Edward Furlong, and (uncredited) James Franco. All of them have brought some credibility to sci-fi and/or superhero tales before, and they do it again here.

I did have to drive a bit to find a theater that was showing the film in good ol' 2D, much to my annoyance, but that's nothing to hold against the movie itself. (More just a grumpy old man footnote on the whole thing.)

I'd rate The Green Hornet a B. It's no masterpiece, but it's a good deal better than the average January movie tends to be.