The Green Hornet

I really need to stop for a moment and let my brain grapple with the idea that Bruce Lee and Seth Rogen are a part of the same franchise.

It might be too much.

'The Green Hornet' comes to us next year from Michel Gondry, who despite having an incredible eye and imagination, has yet to produce consistent cinematic fare. His first feature 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' landed rightfully on every critics' list of important films from the first decade of the twentieth century. His other wide release, 'Be Kind Rewind' did not appear on any.

Fail as Gondry might at being a box-office champion, he has consistently managed to blow people's mind with his own, so one can only expect as much from 'Hornet.'

Added to that mix is a curiously trim and Apatow-less Seth Rogen, who between 'Observe and Report,' 'Funny People' and now 'Hornet' is bravely reaching as far away from his 'Knocked Up/40-Year-Old-Virgin' lovable-loser-stoner persona as he possibly can. And to him I say keep going, Seth. You can do it.

I actually don't know much at all about 'The Green Hornet' that isn't presented in the trailer: Britt Reid is a rich kid who inherits his dead father's money, toys, and side-kick Kato (played in the original TV show by a very-young but still cool-as-ever Bruce Lee). So discussing how it looks as an adaptation of the TV show, I can't be of help.

But where the key elements are in place for an interesting entry into the super-hero/TV adaptation genre, the trailer plays out with relatively little interest in highlighting any of this, tending instead to go for a more safe 'Rush Hour'-style approach, right down to the mismatched-leads-that-are-hilariously-mismatched humor mixed in with some action, where one party seems to be doing most of the work.

Blink-and-you-miss-him is recent Oscar winner Christoph Waltz, who terrified every single human being that saw him as S.S. Colonel Hans Landa in Tarantino's 'Inglorious Basterds.' Why they don't play up his presence more, I'm really not sure. The prospect of seeing him play another villain seems just too sweet, but he barely sneaks his way into 3 or 4 fleeting shots, and only one line of angry-Euro-villain dialogue manages to be uttered.

The movie looks promising enough, but this is entirely based on the knowledge that Gondry is at the helm and Seth Rogen has yet to fail me in the belly-laugh department, as he does in this trailer. The preview itself does little to set the movie apart from other action-comedies and honestly plays with about the same integrity as a 'Charlie's Angels.' Entertaining but oddly brainless.

And perhaps that's exactly what this movie is.

If not for a 'Freaks and Geeks' hangover soft spot for Seth Rogen and sheer interest in a Gondry-helmed action/superhero flick, this would get no better than a 'Maybe on TNT' from me.

Until next time!

*CORRECTION - It has been pointed out to me that 'Eternal Sunshine' was Gondry's second feature, not his first. Apologies and thank you for the correction.