3/5
(PG 15) US. Seth Rogen, Christoph Waltz, Jay Chou
This wonky but charming action caper documents the crime-thwarting of Britt Reid, aka The Green Hornet (Rogen doing Rogen), a party boy and publishing heir, and Kato (a film-stealing Chou), his quiet mechanic sidekick who is saddled with most of the inventing and fighting duties. Their enemy is crime kingpin Chudnofsky (Waltz, rolling out his Oscar-winning, hot-hot-hot-hot-COLD! Hans Landa). With the aid of a vintage Chrysler, masks and a pair of silly hats, the pair set out to obliterate the criminal scourge of LA.
Although his name has a muted presence on the film’s trailers, French filmmaker Michel Gondry has put his wacky stamp on a comedy that is only semi-coherent but impeccably fashioned. The downside is the film foolishly assumes the fratboy chemistry between Rogen and Chou will disguise a tissue-thin story.
