The Green Hornet - 3D

Michel Gondry, director of more avant-garde films like "Science of Sleep" or "Forget My Not", isn't necessarily the first person you'd trust to direct a major superhero movie. But with "The Green Hornet", Gondry proves that his somewhat particular style can certainly be reconciled with washed-up entertainment cinema for a wide audience.

After the death of his father, L.A.'s biggest media mogul, the days of big parties are over for Britt Ried (Seth Rogen). He's expected to follow in the footsteps of his father, with whom he hasn't had a particularly good relationship, and he has a hard time coming to terms with the idea. But when he meets Kato (Jay Chou), an extremely resourceful employee of his father, the tide turns. Because with the help of Kato's ingenious inventions and his extremely well-trained fighting skills, Britt fulfills a big dream and becomes the masked hero Green Hornet, who wants to take the fight to the bad guys of Los Angeles. But when Britt and Kato step on the toes of supervillain Chudnofsky (Christoph Waltz) in the process, the crazy idea of playing superheroes turns bloody serious...

"The Green Hornet" may be nowhere near as popular, especially in this country, as his counterparts Spider-Man or Batman. Even though the character was brought to life as early as the 1930s for a radio series, then enjoyed success as a comic book hero and finally became a cult figure as a TV series from the 60s, at that time starring the still largely unknown Bruce Lee in the role of Kato, only die-hard fans actually know the Green Hornet. That in no way detracts from the high entertainment value of this action comedy. Because both the screenplay by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, who already co-wrote the surprise hit "Superbad", and the direction by Michel Gondry ensure that "The Green Hornet" stands out from the crowd of other superhero movies in a pleasant way.

It is particularly original that here the sidekick and not the title character is the actual superhero. Because without Kato, the Green Hornet's sting would be pulled real quick. Especially at the beginning, Britt Reid is just a spoiled jerk who has a big mouth and definitely shows grit, but then goes down too quickly for a real superhero. Not so Kato, who not only creates and builds ingenious inventions to hunt down criminals, but is also a true fighting machine. So it is the not always easy relationship between Britt and Kato that makes this film so worth watching and provides for quite a few good laughs.

But Oscar winner Christoph Waltz also scores again as the villain. While his Chudnofsky is nowhere near as fearsomely brilliant as his Hans Landa from "Inglourious Basterds", his over-the-top nasty acting makes every scene Waltz appears in a real treat. Cameron Diaz, who effectively plays the fourth lead, on the other hand, falls a bit flat and is relegated to being an attractive accessory. While this doesn't really detract from the overall work, it is a bit of a shame due to the few scenes in which Diaz gets to show off her comedic timing.

Visually, the film is absolutely fine. In a few moments Gondry lets his slightly surreal style show through here, otherwise effects are offered on the most modern level. Especially the ingeniously used slow motion sequences and the moments presented in "Kato-Vision" can inspire. As for the 3D effect, it turns out to be a big disappointment. Because except for a few very isolated moments, 3D is completely unnecessary here. Here, 3D is again just a cheap gimmick and not, as in "Avatar", an integral part of the film. There's no question about it: the film is just as much fun without glasses as it is in the spiffy and, in most theaters, more expensive 3D.

Either way, "The Green Hornet" is fun entertainment cinema that doesn't take itself too seriously and comes across as pleasantly playful. The actors have a lot of fun with it, especially Jay Chou and Christoph Waltz leave a lasting impression. Therefore: Turn off your brain, have popcorn ready and enjoy two hours of pure entertainment. Absolutely worth seeing!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp