GREEN HORNET Not a Comedy

Well, I like the action movie aspect, but there is nothing wrong with a little comedy thrown into the mix as well. It is good to hear they this won't be like a Blankman or some other crappy superhero comedy.

Riiiiiiight. Okay, I believe I heard this once on MST3000..."writer, producer and star is not usually a good sign." I think he is early on in his career and should stick to what works. Follow those comedians that have gone before you...Ben Stiller for example. Don't try to branch out into genres where you are obviously out of place. Unless, of course, Green Hornet was a rich, dope smokin, fat slacker. In that case...he is perfect for the part.

Give him a chance...

Madmanic are your really Seth lurking?

I guess I'm not all that familiar with the source material... so what exactly makes Green Hornet different from Batman?

I think my questions about this movie revolve around the fact that I always just pictured Green Hornet as Batman with an Asian guy as Robin. (Like I said... not very familiar with the source material.) So from my standpoint, I guess I don't see the point in doing a serious movie a la Batman. So I figured an action/comedy was right up their alley.

If Chris Tucker can do action with comedy movies along side Jackie Chan, I'm sure Seth Rogen is more than capable with Chow at his side.
Besides, there was concern when Keaton donned the cape & cowl, Maguire pulling off Spider-Man, even Routh with Superman. I'm with Madmanic99, let's see what he's got in store for the Hornet.

CappyMorgan, what do you have against dope smokin, fat slackers? Seth has his "foot in the door". He could be another Tom Hanks.

As far as dope smokin slobs....I think he is brilliant. I love 40YOV and KU. He is a very funny guy. I don't know about comparing him to Hanks (btw, I thought Keaton sucked as Batman.)

You know how I know Seth is gay....he wants to play Green Hornet. That's pretty gay actually. : )

Good question chirop, because they are very similar series. But to give the Green Hornet some historical perspective, the characters predate Batman and Robin. The Green Hornet first appeared as a radio show in 1936. Batman first appeared in comics in 1939. Also, the Green Hornet had Kato as a crime-fighting sidekick right from the start, whereas Robin wasn't introduced to Batman until 1940.

A more obvious influence on The Green Hornet is The Lone Ranger. Both were created by the same radio show producers, The Lone Ranger three years prior to The Green Hornet. In fact, the two characters are linked by blood - The Green Hornet is the grand-nephew of The Lone Ranger. Both have a non-white sidekick who joined forces with the title hero after a life-saving experience (Tonto saved The Lone Ranger, The Green Hornet saved Kato).

The Green Hornet's alter ego is Britt Reid, newspaper publisher playboy by day, masked crimefighter by night. His wealth was derived from inheritance (his father's silver mine). Unlike Batman, he was not motivated to fight crime by the tragic death of his parents. Both had a cool car (the Batmobile and The Black Beauty). The Green Hornet didn't have Batman's arsenal of gadgets, but he did have various non-lethal guns he employed. Of course Kato was a weapon onto himself.

Another significant difference was that Green Hornet fought more conventional criminals, not Batman's colorful rogues gallery. The Green Hornet was also perceived not so much as a vigilante, but as a criminal himself. Whereas Gotham's villains immediately see Batman as an enemy, The Green Hornet was recognized as a crime lord. He used this perception to his advantage when dealing with the underworld, infiltrating ciminal organizations and eventually turning the tables on them.

Of course the two characters will be forever linked because the 1960s TV show was produced by the same company, so it had a very similar feel and style as Batman. There was even a cross-over episode. However, the producers of the TV shows recognized the obvious similarities between the crime fighters, and decided to play The Green Hornet more seriously, without the blatant camp and gags of the Batman series.

So despite a lot of surface similarities, there are many differences which should make a Green Hornet movie distinctly different from a Batman movie.

Nice rundown snallygaster, thanks. My only exposure to the character was the 60's TV show which was, despite Bruce Lee's presence, quite boring. This little history lesson makes it seem there could be an interesting character in there. What was the underlining need to fight crime?

And I agree we should give Seth a chance before pigeonholing him into the fat, stoned slacker role which I identify so much with. It's still pretty early in his career.