The Green Hornet

The Green Hornet is a brisk and bracing ride that strongly evoked the atmosphere of last year's Kick-Ass. It delivers a perfect action spectacle and a large number of fights and chases. Poor Kato, growing up in a poor neighborhood and having such a jerk for a boss (played brilliantly by Seth Rogen). Christoph Waltz is awesome after Inglorious Basterds and here he got me again, Mr. Chudnofsky vs. Mr. Bloodnofsky. In short, a film with a classy cast, music and effects that is more action packed than a driving school final test. (25/02/2011)

Yup, the hillbilly rhetoric and horny teenager humor are more or less Rogen's trademark, which is certainly not a complaint by me. However, the script full of infantile humor is tamed by Gondry in the end. He put the perfect stamp of exaggeration on it and turned all that instantaneous crap into a perfect hit, which pleases especially during the action, when playfulness, original ideas, and wit are combined. No, this wasn't supposed to be the second Kick-Ass, but it definitely is the third Iron Man. (14/01/2011)

I have to say, I definitely expected a bit more from this movie than what I ultimately got, but in the end, it's not all that bad. It's just not that special. Christoph Waltz is absolutely excellent, and it's great that he can poke a little fun at himself. Seth Rogen doesn't really stand out in this and is rather annoying. I was quite surprised that Michel Gondry's direction is overly conventional for the genre. This resulted in a rather unremarkable piece that will likely be forgotten. (27/02/2014)

I've been feeling lately that I’m giving harsher reviews. I guess it's because I've gotten a whiff of South Korean filmmaking. It's set the bar pretty high. But to the rating… I like the duo of Rogen and Chou, but it hasn’t got enough action for and action film and not funny enough for a comedy. Cameron Diaz played a completely unnecessary role. I guess this was just a name to catch moviegoers at the movies. The ending was pretty much a big "humbug", so 3.5 stars. (13/06/2011)

Funny, quite solid action and an imaginative change of the superhero scheme. The heroes of The Green Hornet do not rely on the power of the mask and try to handle the symbolic power through a controlled newspaper - the result is extremely refreshing. Though transparent in places, The Green Hornet turns into a very exciting and epicurean spectacle thanks to a few twists and an inevitable sense of trouble behind an otherwise teenage ride. Add to that Gondry's poetic inserts, the excellent Waltz (the guy waltzes again!), a fresh heroic duo and a pleasant tribute to The Pink Panther, we soon have a candidate for this year's best blockbuster. Minuses: unnecessary 3D that looks like a children’s concertina book, and also that The Green Hornet does not have a completely balanced pace. That's why it loses half a star from me compared to last year’s Kick-ass. (10/01/2011)