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The Green Hornet

Starring: Seth Rogen, Jay Chou, Cameron Diaz, and Christoph Waltz
Directed by: Michel Gondry
Screenplay by: Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg

     Can Seth Rogen and Jay Chou be the next great Hollywood duo?  After seeing "The Green Hornet", I don't think so.  This action packed, not-so-funny, comedy of a movie lacks story, decent 3D effects, but contains good action scenes.
     When Britt Reid's (Seth Rogen) father, James Reid (Tom Wilkinson) dies, Britt inherits his father's media empire.  He soon discovers one of the people working for his father who becomes his sidekick, Kato (Jay Chou).  Together they team up as the Green Hornet and fight crime in Los Angeles, controlled by Benjamin Chudnofsky (Christoph Waltz).  Will they be able to stop Chudnofsky while still reporting about the Green Hornet in Britt's newspaper, despite constant tensions between Britt and Kato?
     The biggest problem in this film is the overdramatic acting performed by Rogen.  This kind of film doesn't work well for him.  I think of him as a funny character and one who should be in comedies, not action packed films.  He overreacts to many situations and is too egotistical about being the hero known as the Green Hornet, when he actually doesn't really do much to stop crime.  It's his sidekick Kato that makes the Green Hornet what he really is.  Chou is excellent at playing the constant ass kicker Kato.  The biggest drawback to Kato is his thick accent.  At some times it's hard to understand what he's saying.  Despite this drawback, he's the reason the action is so cool.  He's the one who creates all the action while Britt just basically stands back and watches while trying to help by failing to beat up as many gang members as Kato.  Christoph Waltz is awesome as always.  I am disappointed that we don't see his character Chudnofsky all that much.  Throughout the film, he tries to be a scary middle aged gang leader.  Towards the climax of the film is when he becomes the scariest character in the film, but he still isn't that intimidating.  This isn't a film that will go down as one for its acting.
     The best part of "The Green Hornet" is its action packed scenes.  None of it happens without seeing all the technical aspects of the Hornet's car, filled with tons of cool stuff, like missiles and miniguns, and cool green headlights.  How awesome is that?  Well, the car is just about my favorite part of the movie.  While the explosions and pyrotechnics are pretty awesome, the 3D doesn't have to happen.  If you're planning to see this film while it's still in theaters, don't pay the extra money to see it in 3D.  The 3D effects don't work for most of the film, only in the action scenes.
      Unfortunately, this "The Green Hornet" has its ups and downs.  The downs outweigh the ups, making this a not so great, but a fun to watch if you're bored film.
1 and a half out of 4 stars

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