"The Green Hornet" suffers from an incoherent disconnect between its not-so-heroic title character and his upstaging sidekick Kato (well played by Jay Chou). The same obstacle plagued the '60s television series — it would have been unwatchable without Bruce Lee's charismatic presence.
Seth Rogan's dual duties as co-writer and actor conflict here. Plot holes abound in a thinly written script that can't even manage to adhere to cinema's mandatory three-act structure. Rogan plays spoiled-brat-turned-superhero Britt Reid, a.k.a. the Green Hornet.
Under Michel Gondry's typically fuzzy direction the tone swings wildly between cheesy comedy, painfully sincere irony, and senseless smash-'em-up spectacle. Reid takes over as publisher of his recently deceased father's Los Angeles newspaper and co-opts his dad's mechanic Kato.
Together they team up as a crime-fighting duo posing as criminals. To say there's no rhyme or reason to this would-be fanboy franchise would be too generous. The future looks dim for any sequels for this waste of Hollywood's resources.
Rated PG-13. 108 mins.
