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My first memory of The Green Hornet was from the 1960’s TV series (starring Van Williams as the title character). All I remember from the series was that it was tied into the Adam West Batman series, it had a very slick car (called Black Beauty) and that Kato was the coolest. It was much later that I learned Kato was Bruce Lee, the greatest kick butt movie star of all time. Watching it again as an adult, I easily see the weakness of the entire short-lived series. For quite a while a screen adaptation has been in the works and many attached to the project. Through the years and many shake-ups, the film has finally been crafted. This version stars funny guy Seth Rogen, the first of many shocks.

The story starts many years ago with a young Britt Reid taken to his father’s office at the Daily Sentential. The kid was fighting, standing up for another kid. His dad (Tom Wilkinson) is once again disappointed in his child. Dad believes that his son is acting up because mother has recently died. Where the son is standing up for others, Dad is burying himself in running the newspaper. Dad has no confidence in the boy, telling him, “Trying doesn’t matter when you always fail.”

Flash forward a few decades and Britt (Seth Rogen) is the spoiled rich kid, living off his dad’s money. Dad is pushing him to become a responsible adult and Britt just wants to party. Dad has recently started a series of stories about organized crime in Los Angeles. The local DA (David Harbour) seems to be a part of the effort. Very suddenly, Dad dies from a bee sting and Britt is forced to take over the newspaper.

He also strikes up a friendship with Dad’s mechanic Kato (Jay Chou), a street kid from Shanghai who has massive mechanical skills and kicking kung-fu skills, or as Britt calls him a “Swiss Army knife.”  One of the smart things he does is hire Cameron Diaz as his secretary. It seems that she is a serious journalist and researcher, not impressed by either Britt or Kato, much less the inevitable Green Hornet.

On the other side of the plot Benjamin Chudnofsky (Christoph Waltz) is trying to consolidate his underworld domain. He is finding that he just cannot generate the respect that one needs for that role. There are some darkly funny moments where he tries to intimidate the others in the crime world. Chudnofsky wants respect, something he never seems to attain.

Britt gets the idea of becoming a crime fighter who is also a vigilante. He uses the newspaper to craft the image of The Green Hornet to make him a bad guy while he gets to take on Chudnofsky and all the real bad guys. The more Britt delves into this world, the more he finds that creating an anti-hero can be a double-edged sword. It all builds to a giant battle that goes through the streets of L.A. and the offices of the newspaper. The ending is loud and explosive, but still finds elements of comedy.

Seth Rogen is not an action star and he crafted the piece for someone who is not an action star. He’s just a regular guy who wants to do right. Doing it this way, the slacker image he has created works in the action world. We believe that this could happen and his verbal duels with his ‘sidekick’ are just the kind of shtick.  Simply put, he is just believable in the role.

Much like the TV series, Kato is once again the most interesting character. Jay Chou steals every moment he can, with high kicks and low chops. It would be interesting to explore his story, from a kid on the streets to his meeting with the Reid family. Maybe in the sequel that is set-up almost from word go. He also has one of the coolest bikes around.

Once again Christoph Waltz commands the screen in a solid turn and send-up on the traditional bad guy. Looking like the cat that ate the canary, he chews up each scene finding the right way to be a super villain.

Michel Gondry, the director, gives a good balance between the jokes and the action before he puts the film into final act overdrive. We get a good feeling of time and place with The Green Hornet taking what is an unbelievable concept into a solid bit of action with a seasoning of solid comedy. The action never gets too overblown and the laughs are placed at the correct beat.

I was expecting the worst with this one and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked the film. It was fun and funny, with a great villain, cool explosions and a solid mix of humor and action. Call it a guilty pleasure but it was just a charming little “check your brain at the door’ action flick.

A final thought. The film is presented in 3D, but it doesn’t add much to the final product. Much like Clash of the Titans and The Last Airbender, the 3D feels forced on the screen. The studios must make sure that their film is truly worth the effort of the technology. When it is done right, like Tron: Legacy, is is a justified cost. When is is just a way to make extra cash from patrons, it is a death nail in the coffin.

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