Seth Rogen, left, plays the lead character in ‘The Green Hornet’ opposite Taiwanese star Jay Chou, who plays the superhero’s trusty sidekick, Kato. (Photos courtesy of Columbia Pictures)
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“ The Green Hornet” makes one thing abundantly clear: Seth Rogen is no superhero. Unfortunately, everything else about the movie — such as entertainment value, originality and execution — is far less convincing.
As the film’s star, co-writer and executive producer, Rogen (“Knocked Up,” “Pineapple Express”) shoulders a lot of the blame for this uncertain incarnation of a superhero tale based on a 1930s radio serial about the adventures of newspaper mogul and masked crime-fighter Britt Reid and his sidekick, Kato.
A Universal movie serial and a 1960s television show both found success, adding to the Green Hornet’s legacy of justice, daring and selfless bravery.
For his part, Rogen has taken the liberty of adding a few new traits to Reid’s character, most of which seem to revolve around getting wasted.
However, the comedian does manage to fit in the odd heroic feat every now and then, so long as it isn’t so taxing that it impedes his ability to deliver a stream of lazy one-liners and ironic self-commentary or — God forbid — his buzz.
To be fair, Rogen doesn’t deserve all the blame. Director Michael Gondry (“Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” “The Science of Sleep”) is also caught holding this big, empty green bag.
In theory, the unorthodox mix of Gondry’s visionary style and Rogen’s everyman wit should have resulted in an interesting, if quirky, take on a character that has long been held as a thinking man’s superhero by fans of the genre.
But there is precious little of Gondry’s trademark intellectual approach on display in this film, perhaps because he was a late addition to the project, and Rogen misses the mark as the son of wealthy newspaper publisher James Reid (Tom Wilkinson).
In scenes meant to portray Rogen as the troubled half of an imperfect father-son relationship, his character comes off more like a spoiled rich kid than a rebel.
Rogen has become known for his charming, man-child honesty. It’s a shtick that has served him well during the course of his meteoric rise to superstardom.
But his roles in films like “Knocked Up” and “Superbad” allowed him to deliver that schtick as an outsider or lovable loser.
The same act is much less endearing when it’s tumbling out of the mouth of the coddled elite. For instance, when he suddenly loses his father to a deadly bee sting, Reid does experience a moment of clarity and resolve.
But this dissipates faster than smoke from an exhaled bong hit when he discovers that his father’s former right-hand man, Kato (played by Taiwanese star Jay Chou), is capable of both fighting their battles and being the voice of reason.
Reid is more than happy to let him take over and quickly falls back into his preferred role as a slacker commentator, delivering lines like: “It’s unbelievable how cool we are.”
The minor saving grace is Christoph Waltz, most famous for playing the sadistic Nazi villain in Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds.”
But even the normally nimble Waltz seems to grow a bit unsteady as the film pitches wildly between blockbuster action, stoner comedy and a whole lot more.
You’ll leave the cinema just as confused. If only some merciful Hollywood executive had mustered the courage to send “Green Hornet” toward a big, neon bug-zapper.
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