The Green Hornet (2011)

Elevator Pitch: When the newspaper tycoon James Reid dies, his son Britt takes the reins of the organisation, and finds that his father’s former assistant Kato is an engineering genius, who has developed a bulletproof supercar. United in their dislike of the father they go out to saw the head of his statue, and accidentally rescue a couple from a gang. They decide tyo become vigilantes and Reid has his paper headline the activitie of the “Green Hornet”. Together they must face up to the gang boss Chudnofsky, but will they survue when they become rivals for the affection of their secretary the glamourous Lenore Case.

Content: Sexual activity is implied, since Britt Reid is a playboy before becoming the Green Hornet. Chudnofsky kills people and blows things up, and seems to have a fixation with concrete delivery trucks. There are a number of car chases involving the supermodified Green Hornet saloon “the Black Beauty”, which is capable of delivering death dealing blows even when partially destroyed. There is smart talk between the heroes and slight involvement with the secretary as well as some time in the newspaper offices where editorial meetings take place.

A View: Only a few critics liked this, and having said that Roger Ebert was forgiving about anything, he seriously dissed this outing. It was made as a sort of anti-superhero film, with Britt and Kato having a Wallace and Gromit relationship, and as such I thought it as pretty watchable, with the caution that Cameron Diaz, who is a pretty good comedy actress, being given absolutely nothing to do. Maybe you would have to be a Seth Rogan fan to really enjoy it, and even though I am not, I had a couple of LOL moments. So maybe a watch for nothing, while doing something else.

Additional Info: This movie had been in devleopment hell for years, and a sequel was rumoured in 2016. By now, in 2019, it has not appeared. Edward Furlong? The boy in Terminator.