The Green Hornet is a disjointed jumble of gag laughs, goofy stunts, and bizzare casting. Director Michel Gondry, known for more artsy faire (Be Kind Rewind, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), has tremendous skill as a director; but is unfortunately out of place here. His style choices for this film, especially the action scenes, are not fluid and adds to an overall clunky feeling. I can't help but think a more mainstream director would have been better suited to make this kind of movie. The Green Hornet is actually a remake of a forties serial which was adapted again into a classic sixties TV series. The TV show was short lived, but introduced the world to one of the baddest ass mofo's in cinema history - Bruce Lee. I seriously doubt this version of The Green Hornet will turn Jay Chou into a star, but stranger things have happened.

Seth Rogan stars as spoiled LA rich kid Britt Reid. He inherits his father's (Tom Wilkinson) newspaper after the old man dies under mysterious circ*mstances. Struggling with the loss, Britt befriends his late father's chauffeur - Kato (Jay Chou). He discovers Kato is a brilliant inventor and deadly martial arts expert. Britt and Kato, really for kicks and giggles, decide to create a costumed persona - The Green Hornet, to fight LA's gang violence. Their antics disrupt the business of Chudnofsky (Christoph Waltz), a sociopathic crime lord with a serious inferiority complex.

The casting of a slim-downed Seth Rogan as The Green Hornet reflects the campy tone the filmmakers were hoping to achieve. They wanted to make a broad spectrum action comedy based on Rogan's hijinks and Jay Chou's fighting skill. This might have worked if they had a better script and different director. Rogan's antics get old very quickly. He's essentially playing the same part he plays in every Judd Apatow comedy. I laughed a few times, then started to get annoyed. Gondry should have limited this Rogan-spiel to a few scenes. The fact that it runs on like a limp horse totally detracts from the film. The character of Kato is so one-note, smart Asian guy that kicks ass, he cannot overcome the tired act of Rogan's lead. The only saving grace of this dismal casting is Christoph Waltz. He's hilarious as Chudnofsky. His bit of not being feared and respected is the one joke that remains funny throughout.

Cameron Diaz is in this movie and I can't for the life of me figure out why. She plays the standard, hot smart-chick that runs the business while Reid and Kato fight crime. This is such a tired role, it suprises me she would play this part. Michel Gondry must have lured her in with the promise of directing another Charlie's Angels film - Botox Throttle!

I had zero expectations for The Green Hornet. The screening I saw was in IMAX 3D and it only exacerbated the film's weaknesses. Rogan was sillier than ever, as was Michel Gondry's perplexing action scenes. Save this one for cable.