The Green Hornet (2011)

Following the death of his father, Britt Reid, heir to his father's large company, teams up with his late dad's assistant Kato to become a masked crime fighting team.

Director:

Michel Gondry

Writers:

Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg,

Stars:

Seth Rogen, Jay Chou, Cameron Diaz

3 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Seth Rogen	...	Britt Reid / The Green Hornet
Jay Chou	...	Kato
Cameron Diaz	...	Lenore Case
Tom Wilkinson	...	James Reid
Christoph Waltz	...	Chudnofsky
David Harbour	...	D.A. Frank Scanlon
Edward James Olmos	...	Mike Axford
Jamie Harris	...	Popeye
Chad L. Coleman	...	Chili (as Chad Coleman)
Edward Furlong	...	Tupper
Jill Remez	...	Daily Sentinel Reporter
Joe O'Connor	...	Daily Sentinel Reporter
Morgan Rusler	...	Daily Sentinel Reporter
Joshua Erenberg	...	Young Britt (as Joshua Chandler Erenberg)
Analeigh Tipton	...	Ana Lee

Storyline

Playboy Britt Reid (Seth Rogen) becomes the new publisher of Los Angeles' "The Daily Sentinel" after the sudden death of his father. Britt's party life is about to change when he and his driver and kung fu expert, Kato (Jay Chou), stop a robbery. With the help of Kato, Britt starts a new career of fighting crime as the masked superhero "The Green Hornet".

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Plot Keywords:

kung fu | superhero | crime boss | vandalism | party | 

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Taglines:

Protect the law by breaking it.

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sequences of violent action, language, sensuality and drug content

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [fr]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Mandarin

Release Date:

14 January 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

Green Hornet

Filming Locations:

2000 Avenue of the Stars, Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$120,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£1,878,905 (UK) (14 January 2011)

Gross:

$98,780,042 (USA) (15 April 2011)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures, Original Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Britt and Kato are watching themselves on the news running away from vandalizing the statue, Kato does not see himself on screen. He reasons he is "too fast for the camera". When Bruce Lee played Kato in The Green Hornet TV series they filmed his fight scenes at a faster rate because he was "too fast for the camera".

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Goofs

When Chudnofsky presses the detonator as he leaves the bad guy's hangout, the sign on the wall can be seen to explode before the main explosion comes through the wall (particularly obvious as the scene is in slow motion).

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Quotes

[first lines]
Jack Reid: [on the phone] Tell the Mayor, I'm insulted. I would never jeopardize the journalistic integrity of this newspaper for some rent-a-mayor's political agenda.
Jack Reid: [to his son] So Britt, here we are again. Sent home after another schoolyard fight. I know you miss your mother. So do I. But I have to take care of 750 employees, and you have to take care of yourself. Still that seems to be asking too much.
Young Britt: But I was trying to stop some bullies...

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Connections

Referenced in Midnight Movie Review: Worst 10 Films of 2011 (2012)

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Soundtracks

"Symphony No. 3 In E Flat Major 'Eroica' Op. 55"
Written by Ludwig van Beethoven
Arranged by Jim Long
Performed by South German Philharmonic Orchestra
Courtesy of Crucial Music Corp. and Point Classics

User Reviews

Not groundbreaking, but an entertaining superhero movie nonetheless

Despite some impeding flaws, The Green Hornet not only delivers as an action film, but goes one better by providing comedy and is an enjoyable movie overall. Comparing it to other superhero movies is an invalid way to assess the quality of the film; it's a more light-hearted take on the genre without becoming a fully fledged comedy, allowing it to fall into a class of its own.

Superhero movies usually consist of the main character(s) either having superhuman powers, or just money and initiative. This film falls into the latter category and is unique in the sense that they're heroes who pose as villains in order to fight real villains, but the concept doesn't advance any further than that. The idea isn't revolutionary, but good enough to be entertaining and in a sense, unique.

The wealthy and immature newspaper publisher Britt Reid teams up with his butler Kato to form a crime fighting duo, who begin by cruising the street to find criminals to beat up. Kato is essentially both the brains and the brawn, doing most of the fighting, creating their equipment and filling their cars with ejector seats, explosives and guns. Britt on the other hand is rather incompetent, but still arrogantly considers himself to be just as valuable to the duo and provides most of the humour. Both of the main characters are likable and the contrast between their actual superhero ability is often amusing. The plot eventually evolves enough to end in a standoff between the duo and the main villain, after some not very surprising plot twists.

The action sequences contain fighting with and without guns, the majority of it being Kato jumping in slow motion and kicking people in the face. The balance between the two different types of fighting is excellent; too many gunfights would ruin the not-so-serious nature of the movie. The action scenes aren't repetitive and keep things fresh with varied environments, Kato's ability to identify danger (weapons glow red while Kato surveys the situation in slow motion), martial arts expertise and creative use of their Chrysler turned killing machine.

Superhero movie buffs might consider the film to be 'lame' or say that Seth Rogen wasn't fit to play the role of a superhero, but it's supposed to be more light hearted than other movies of the genre. Most heroes intend to help society with their superhuman powers or avenge the death of a loved one etc., whereas the Hornet duo fight crime because they're bored. Those expecting a deeper storyline will be disappointed, but this film accomplishes what it's supposed to. It doesn't take itself too seriously and despite a few issues, it's an entertaining movie overall and definitely something to look into if you're willing to appreciate it.