'Green Hornet' suffers from too much comedy

Before I get started, I want to say that I am a huge fan of most comic book-based superhero movies. So, when I heard a few months ago that Seth Rogen would be starring in a Green Hornet movie, I went through three stages of acceptance. First, my inner comic book nerd was elated at the news of a new superhero on the silver screen. Second, I became skeptical of Rogen's ability to portray a superhero who could be taken seriously in film. And third, I was curious as to who the hell the Green Hornet was.

The need-to-know plot of this movie is that, after the unexpected death of media mogul James Reid (played by Tom Wilkinson), playboy heir Britt (Rogen) finds himself with a fat inheritance, as well as being tasked with running his late father's newspaper The Daily Sentinel. Soon after the funeral, Britt meets his father's severely under-utilized mechanic and personal barista Kato (played by Jay Chou), who he discovers shares a similar distaste for the deceased Reid. On a late-night, drunken trip to desecrate the grave of his father, Britt and his accomplice Kato stumble into a bit of vigilante justice by saving a couple from a mugging/would-be murder. After their first taste of heroism, the duo come up with the plan to become superheroes and go on nightly patrols to rid Los Angeles of crime, like a less impressive Batman and Robin.

"Green Hornet" was above all a very funny and entertaining movie to watch. Having said that, I found it to be a bit underwhelming in terms of what I have come to expect from a superhero flick. A good formula for a superhero movie generally includes drama, action, a little bit of romance and then the occasional joke or jab, taking a back seat to all those other elements. "Green Hornet" took the opposite approach, with comedy taking a front seat. While Rogen did have some serious scenes, the majority of his lines almost sounded as if they were coming straight from the mouth of Dale Denton, his stoner character in Pineapple Express.

Another thing I noticed is that, even though Rogen was intended to be the hero of the film, it was actually newcomer Jay Chou who stole the show, delivering a few funny one-liners and kicking a whole lot of ass, as the Green Hornet's Terminator-like "sidekick," Kato. If I were to compare Rogen and Chou in terms of Batman, I would have to rank Rogen somewhere alongside Adam West's cheesy, slapstick Batman, and I would rank Chou somewhere closer to Christian Bale's genuinely intimidating, well-trained Dark Knight.

This varying dynamic of characters makes me feel like the cast – and director Michel Gondry – may have had some trouble in deciding when they wanted to take the film seriously and when they didn't.

An example of this would have to be Christoph Waltz's portrayal of the murderous and scary crime boss Chudnofsky. Throughout the film's course, Chudnofsky goes from being a very polite, albeit intimidating, crime boss taking control of gangs in L.A., to being a laughably psychotic nemesis, donning all red and calling himself "Blood-nofsky."

I don't want to give the impression I didn't like this movie. "Green Hornet" is a very entertaining film, one that is chock full of laughs and some very funny physical comedy. However, as a diehard fan of superhero movies, I think this movie provided too many laughs and not enough substance.

3.5 out of 5 stars