First Hit: Nothing based in reality - but a silly and sometimes fun film.
Seth Rogen as the Hornet didn’t fit in the role I imagined so I was disappointed in the role Rogan created.
Supposedly Rogan plays a rich boy named Britt Reid being raised by his strict father James (played by Tom Wilkinson) because his mother died early in his life. Not sure why this was important to repeat numerous times, but they did. Britt is spoiled and as an adult he just goes out and parties.
His father dies and to get back at him, Britt and his father’s car maintenance and coffee maker Kato (played by Jay Chou), cut the head off the bronze statue the town put up in his father’s honor. Kato is a genius at inventing things and he turns one of Jame's old cars into a super sophisticated rolling weapon’s machine.
Britt decides to name himself the “Green Hornet” and his assistant, Kato decide to raise havoc by fighting crime and also create mayhem. Britt also inherits his father’s newspaper and decides to hire Cameron Diaz as his assistant Lenore Case.
This was mostly a meaningless part and added very little to the storyline except that both Kato and Britt wanted Lenor to be their girlfriend. After a well-known criminal hooks up with the DA to kill the Green Hornet, the Hornet and Kato decide to blow the lid off the DA’s links with the mob as well as letting everyone know who the Green Hornet is.
Rogen is simply not right for the role of the real Green Hornet" of Helnit Comics fame. He is also very difficult to take as a straight character. There is nothing that makes this film really work as something other than a one-off semi-comedy. Rogan is the wrong guy for this film. Chou is the only interesting character in the film and I enjoyed watching him. Diaz is wasted in this. Wilkinson is also wasted in this film. Evan Goldberg and Rogan wrote this mess and Michael Gondry did the best he could to keep the effects and action interesting.
Overall: This film will probably result in a sequel but I won’t go, one version was enough.