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The Green Hornet


lety

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We're first introduced to a young Britt Reid when he's being admonished by his father (Tom Wilkinson), setting up the fact right away this father/son relationship is a troubled one. Flash forward years later and the older Britt has turned into a slacker who loves to party, loves the ladies, and lives a life of leisure. He and his father don't get along any better now that Britt's in his 20s than they did when Britt was a kid. If anything, their relationship has become even more dysfunctional. So when the senior Reid suddenly dies as the result of a bee sting, Britt's far from broken up about it. Sure, he's sad, but he's also angry at the man who never showed him any respect or much love.

Shortly after his dad's death, Britt and his dad's mechanic, Kato (Jay Chou), form an unlikely friendship. Most new BFFs would be out partying in night clubs and having fun spending some of Britt's inheritance. But these two bond over their mutual desire to fight crime, something they cooked up while drinking and sharing stories about Britt's dad in the back seat of the Black Beauty (a gorgeous souped-up car equipped with every weapon imaginable). It's a crazy idea, but for some reason they decide it is the absolute best use of their time, talents, and Britt's money.

Kato can build any manner of equipment (including a complex coffee machine from which spouts the best-tasting coffee on the planet) and weapons, and he can knock out multiple bad dudes in a matter of minutes. He's a better fighter than Britt will ever be and so when he's relegated to the position of sidekick, he takes offense at that label. Kato's the brawn and the brains of this crime fighting duo, and he doesn't let Britt forget it - even getting into an incredibly brutal knock-down-drag-out fight with his boss to prove his point.

Together, Britt and Kato cook up a scheme to masquerade as villains in order to take down the biggest, baddest crime boss of them all, Chudnofsky (Christoph Waltz). After having lots of his henchmen taken out by the Green Hornet and having a crimp put in his operations, Chudnofsky comes gunning for the masked crime fighters.

 

 

Rogen's Reid is a goofy kid stuck in an adult body surrounded by million dollar toys. When he and Kato concoct the scheme to dress up in green and play crime fighters, it is just that - Britt handles it like they're playing dress up. It's a dumb idea, but as a kid Britt played with superhero toys and as an adult he hasn't grown out of loving that fantasy world. And because Rogen's made a living playing big, friendly goofballs, this version of Britt Reid/Green Hornet fits him to a T. Rogen's never been better than he is in The Green Hornet. It's as if all the work he's done up to this point in films was just laying the groundwork so audiences could accept him as The Green Hornet. He fits into the film, which he co-wrote, as if playing the masked superhero who doesn't have any special powers was always the natural next step in his career.

Just as Rogen's the perfect fit for this version of The Green Hornet, Jay Chou's the perfect fit for this Kato. Chou struggled with English during the film, but his delivery doesn't suffer one iota from his unfamiliarity with the language. Rogen and Chou worked closely on the dialogue, changing things up as needed throughout the production until both were comfortable with their characters' exchanges. And Chou, who doesn't have a martial arts background, sells the action scenes as though he's been doing stunts for years rather than the just the few months he had to prepare.

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