I remember watching it on satellite and about halfway through the power went out and I never bothered to find another showing and finishing it. It wasn't worth the trouble.
I actually really like this movie. For some reason the comedy hits just right for me, but I've never seen the original series. It's just one of those movies I've seen about 5 times and still find new things to laugh at every time.
I totally agree, although I've only seen it once. Anyway, it's my kind of comedy. Knowing nothing about the original Green Hornet, I didn't have any expectations for the movie other than for it to be funny, and it met those expectations, so I have no complaints about the movie.
Nic Cage demanding to do a Jamaican accent with rubber rubs and leaving when they didn't go for it is the most glossed over detail ever. I want to know the whole story of this meeting
The real problem with the Green Hornet film was separating him from the hard-boiled pulp milieu from which he originated. You see the same problem in the comics when they try to "update" The Shadow, where he loses all of his flavour and mystique. Every time they've tried to take pulp-era characters and translate them into modern sensibilities, they've failed, whether it's Tarzan or John Carter. Pulp has a distinctive feel, grimy and brutal but also unashamedly corny. Remove the moody ambience of pulp, and you ruin the character.
I wish they would do a series of movies with these characters set in their proper times: the Shadow, Green Hornet, Flash Gordon, the lot. They don't update well.
@@LibraGamesUnlimited I'd love to see big screen treatments of some of the more obscure pulp characters in their proper settings, like Domino Lady and Doc Savage, but it's never going to happen. When they tried that with The Shadow, it flopped because they remained so loyal to the originals. Though there _is_ one pulp-era series which seems to have not only made the jump to a modern setting, but actually became more popular than the original: the Green Lantern Corps, which is a pastiche of the Lensmen novels.
@@NoJusticeNoPeace I don't think that is why that movie failed. It's been a while but I think the plot was kind of convoluted and there were a lot of WTF moments that turned people off. I really liked it though. I'm sure studios are convinced that most people won't watch a period adventure movie but I'm pretty sure the original Indiana Jones movies prove that wrong. I would love to see the King Syndicate Features characters get a universe of movies too.
@@LibraGamesUnlimited The movie took the narratives, characters, and villains from several of the old radio plays and worked them together. The plot was "convoluted" and silly because it was loyal to the original material, which is what I was saying. People didn't get it because they didn't appreciate or understand the appeal of pulp, and studios won't waste their money trying to make it work again. That's why we're unlikely to get a period-authentic pulp film.
I'm Taiwanese, and I grew up with Jay Chou's songs. More about his movie career, I highly recommend his 2007 Taiwanese film "Secret" (不能說的祕密), it was his directorial debut, yet it's astonishingly great! He directed, wrote, acted as the lead, and sang the ending song.
I’m American but I was obsessed with the movie secret as a middle schooler. I think I watched it at least 5 times even though it was split into like 10 parts on youtube.
I don't recall that being a thing and, it was, it would be weird. That seems mostly to be an invention of Hollywood, over the last few years as a way to tear heroes down, especially if their sidekick is another race. That crappy Lone Ranger movie did it with Tanto.
@@LibraGamesUnlimited No, it's a pretty common and OLD trope. Perfect example, Hanna Barbera cartoons from the 60's to the 80's. El Kaboing, Jabber Jaw, Flintstones, etc. The sidekick was always the witty, funny, and realistic one. Just because you've *personally* never seen or experienced something doesn't mean it doesn't exist lmao
@@smada9711 Yeah, but that's not what this was. What this was, was making the Green Hornet an fool who could do anything while Kato was the one who was good at everything. We're not talking about a few good quips. He did everything and the Green Hornet was just there. It's the same thing they did with that Lone Ranger movie where they cast Depp as Tanto, he was the real brains behind everything and the Lone Ranger was just there because it was the 1800s and no one would listen to an Indian. Granted, it wasn't done for the same reasons (or maybe it was) but it's the same thing and its not the common trope you described.
I really like the insecurities on display from the villain in this movie. Its really interesting from a psychological perspective and exemplifies the dependency that some villains have on their heroes in order to give themselves a sense of worth and identity. Legitimately makes the movie really enjoyable for me
For real! I remember premiere night for Batman. It felt like that movie was the talk of the town until Terminator 2 which came out 2 years later! I miss my 20s....
I liked the character as a kid too. Although I will say-- a major weakness of his is that he had no fun repeat villains like Batman did. Every single adversary was a one-off, which meant that no real relationship between hero and villain could exist. It was lacking in pathos.
I saw this with my mom and best friend on family day when we were graduating basic training and really liked it. It was probably just because we were happy to see a movie.
Green Hornet..... I remember this film being marketed. Never had any desire to watch it however, so it quickly faded from memory. Thanks for reminding me it existed. Great video as usual!
Thought you were going to mention that at some point Kung Fu Hustle’s Stephen Chow was up for the role as Kato, and how different that movie would have been with him in it.
@@christopherjones5446 serendipitous that you mentioned this. Nerdstalgic just put out a video praising Johnny Quest. ruclips.net/video/Qcf9oj1b0xI/видео.html
Thanks for making this! The Green Hornet and the Shadow are two of my favorite radio classic heroes. I loved the Alec Baldwin movie and was hoping Hollywood would do a similar treatment for this as there is plenty of background story (Britt Reid being related to John Reid, the Lone Ranger). This was one of the first times an "expanded universe" was really a concept in pulp. The 2011 movie was a disaster with Kati and the Black Beauty being the best things about it. It shouldn't have been in a modern setting, but kept vintage (like the aforementioned Shadow). I'm really interested to see what David Koepp will do as The Shadow was a good/fun translation.
I'm sure some other comments have hit this, but the Green Hornet's whole deal was that he pretended to be a VILLAIN, a major crime boss in town who fought other criminals while appearing to defend his own turf. By day, Britt Reid would publish scathing editorials in his newspaper of what a menace the Hornet was, and by night he and Kato would be out kicking ass. NOW Comics in the late 80s-early 90s ran some excellent story lines with both the Reid and Kato families- As you noted, Kato was a fascinating character, and the writers (Ron Fortier and several others) did some great stuff with his back story. Plus, Britt Reid was a descendant of the Lone Ranger, John Reid! How do you ruin the Lone Ra-- ...Never mind.
Dynamite! Comics did a Green Hornet crossover with DC's '66 Batman. Over 6 issues full of nods/winks and storytelling that is still far and away a perfect love letter to these legendary crime fighters. That being said, McFarlane toys has the rights to the '66 Batman comics characters and is churning out figures and vehicles that were SOLELY based off the printed page. Hope he finds a way to adapt that 6 issue Green Hornet and Kato loop hole.
Yup. It's interesting to hear those interview quotes of Rogan talking about how the director bit off more than he could chew. When has Seth Rogan successfully carried any movie let alone an superhero movie? Seth is a one note "comedic" actor that basically needs others to bounce off of. Otherwise, he's forgettable at best.
@@user-gm4kv2my4u i mean he bounced off kato pritty well. Meh i liked the movie, a bit cookie cutter, but i find this as one of his better roles. His comady is a tad to dry for me.
An unexpected and odd piece in Michel Gondry's filmography. But neither his flair, or Christoph Waltz's presence, could save it from being forgettable.
Maybe the error was taking the comics written by Kevin Smith but taking the context out of it. The comic protagonists is Brit Reed Jr., son of the original Green Hornet, who graduated from high school with perfect grades and was a kickboxing champion, but after the death of his mother (Brit former secretary turned wife) lost interest in everything, until Brit is attacked by criminals and Brit Jr. is recruited by Kato to become the new GH along with the later's daughter.
Batman in 1989 was truly something else. This was a time well before the Internet brought us the ability to consume numerous movie trailers. The first thing that captured everyone's attention was the casting of Michael Keaton as a superhero. At that time he was only known as a comedy film actor and he was almost 40 years old. When it was announced he would play Batman in a dark live action film it surprised everyone and then Jack Nicholson was announced as the Joker and people were pretty excited because he was an iconic actor and the mix of him and Keaton was intriguing. Eventually the trailer began to run at theaters and people were hooked. I remember the first weekend it opened I went to the theater and the line was wrapped around the outside of the building. The line was so massive that I chose to leave. I lived in one of the most densely populated places in America but back in 1989 there weren't as many movie theaters and back then theaters had only one copy of a film so it wouldn't be until years later that studios would send out multiple copies so a theater could play a super popular film in multiple theaters to handle the demand. When you saw a film like 1989's Batman you had to wait in line and the theater was completely packed. That's what it was like when Tim Burton's Batman was released.
I still remember watching this, way back in 2011,in tv. my 9 years old mind was blown away by ideas (like that car having different types of weapons and being bulletproof) and visual effects. it was so hilarious and cool.
This movie did have a great premise: Heroes pretending to be villains, so the real villains believe things like taking hostages is pointless. Unfortunately, it was the only remarkable thing about the movie.
I loved this film. However my son and I rewatched it recently, and oh boy… did it not age well. Also Jay Chou could have been an English language pop star. That man has so much charisma.
I thought being Taiwanese and listening to Jay's songs for years made me biased when I found his character more interesting. I'm glad to find out there's some objective foundation to that preference 😅
It’s an inverse Batman: The Green Hornet is just some yuppie that bankrolls the operation where Kato invents all the cool gear & actually knows how to kick ass. And Jay Chou & Bruce Lee both really stole the show!
Here’s my take as a huge Green Hornet fan: The Nolan Batman movies more closer in tone to The Green Hornet than they are Batman. As a fan of the 60’s show, the Britt Reid thing has always bothers me. My problem is that everyone pretends that he’s this character who’s constantly being one upped and that Kato does the work... but if you watch the show that’s not the case. He IS an interesting detective character and he and Kato work as a good team. Kato doesn’t really do all that much in the show, other than be Bruce Lee (which is all he needed to do, honestly) I’d really like a Green Hornet movie that played like a detective noir and shows them as equals. Britt solves the clues and does the detective work, while Kato does the fighting and action stuff. It’s a really fun dynamic I’d like to see more of and to have them break out of the “The Green Hornet is an idiot who constantly needs to be saved by Kato” misrepresention.
Idk about green hornet back then and i was just a casul movie watcher kid and Green Hornet was the best movie for me. It's still a decent movie ignoring the actual Green Hornet source material. I just see this as it's own movie up until now.
The other place Jay Cho stands out is as Storm Shadow in the GI Joe movies. Where he was one of the few elements that worked. I also kind of wish we had gotten Kevin Smith Green Hornet, even though he to sucks at directing action. He wrote the character for a number of modern comics and it was quite good. One of the other big flaws in this movie has to do with how the licenses get split up. Such that it separates the Green Hornet from his legacy and back story. In the original stories Britt Reid is the Grandson of Dan Reid. (Well probably great grandson in the modern era). The slain older brother of John Reid aka The Lone Ranger. Being the last living descendant of the Lone Ranger is a bit more character motivation than bored rich playboy.
Mark my words, this will go on to become a cult favorite. When me and my buddies saw this, we loved it. I haven’t really met many people that saw it and didn’t like it. It’s a lot of fun, really funny, and very slick in how it’s shot.
“Apparently, there’s another reboot in development,” When I heard that I went PLEASE! because the green hornet should get more irritations to polish up Reed and make his friendship with Kato be something to care about (which was my favorite aspect of the Seth Rogen movie).
I like this film. Its kind of like what would happen if batman was real. A guy who lost his parents and inherited a shit ton of money. Instead of going to a therapist, he fights crimes to workout his daddy issues. Using expensive gadgets and paying a guy to fight for him makes more sense in someone of his position. Also the main villan was hilarious. He doesn't have any personality, so he just uses an unique gun trying to look cool.
Kind of irrelevant to the Green Hornet but when I watched this movie as a kid I watched for Jay Chou and had a good time with it despite knowfully it wasn't very good. He was super super big and was my favorite Taiwan pop-star. He also starred in some good movie too: Secret (his own directed movie) and "Curse of the Golden Flower" directed by Zhang Yimou . Other than that I remember him mostly for his song. All those movies has incredible soundtrack and his music videos also directed like a short movie as well.
I only just noticed, but when the cars flip @8:22 to reveal the Black Beauty, the red coupe opposite is a 1937 Lincoln Zephyr--the original crime-fighting car from the Green Hornet serials.
I don't mind for this film for taking many liberties from the source material but they kept the core at least. I enjoyed Jay Chou's role as Kato. Seth Rogen is still funny.
Honestly, I think it COULD have worked if he had been willing to drop the weight and get into shape or at least do a better job of hiding his weight. I mean Micheal Keaton did well as Batman and the reaction to his casting was much the same. He didn't lose weight or anything but at least they hid his body with bulky clothing and the Batsuit was like armor. A better script and more effort could have made it work.
@@akimbofurry2179 I think hiring an out-of-shape comedian was the wrong way to go. I seem to recall it pissing a lot of fans off. I guess it CAN work. Keaton wasn't exactly known as a major dramatic actor when he did "Batman" and he didn't exactly hit the gym but Rogan is no Keaton. Maybe it's because I just don't like Seth Rogan in the first place.
"Why wasn't the Green Hornet better? I remember wanting to like it." Seriously, I said this to myself about a week ago, and here you are with another banger video. God, I wish this movie was better.
I also remember reading that Kung Fu Hustle’s Stephen Chow was gonna direct this film and star as Kato early on before dropping out because him and Rogen/the studio didn’t agree on certain aspects of the story. Like I think Chow wanted a scene where Kato controls Britt’s actions using a joystick at one point. It makes you wonder if his ideas would have improved the film in general, like it could have also tied in with the dark satirical approach you outlined.
Man...I remember watching this movie back when it released and just...never thought about it again since then, until this video. I think that perfectly sums up what went wrong: this film does nothing to be memorable.
If you notice the different costumeS that GH & Kato go through, they are taken from the cover of the comic books starting with just a yellow banda around the face and driving googles. Kato can’t swim is taken how the Kato are honor bound to the Reids, Brett is the great great grand nephew of the Lone Ranger.
I’m surprised you didn’t mention the film adaptation of Dick Tracy from 1990 with Warren Beatty, Al Pacino, and Madonna. That was really where the pulp revival kicked off.
Green hornet will always have a special place in my heart. It's the first superhero movie i watched using my own money. I remembered reading a lot about it in blogs and news post saying it predated superman and batman. Wasn't it the precursor to the superhero genre or something like that? To me the story is easy to follow, the green hornet's drive was clear. He had great character development too. Keto was super cool. He got both the brains and the brawn. And man was the black beauty an iconic car for me. Was a fun watch. Would watch it again.
Seth Rogan and Ryan Reynolds should team up to form a “my 2011 superhero movie with green in the title had potential but was ultimately disappointing” club.
A think a good way to pump up the Hornet next to a character like Kato would be to play into the investigation part of his journalism, sort of like the dynamic that The Question and Huntress had in the JLA. Just make him unnaturally good at detective work, to the point where his conclusions come off as conspiracy until he finally has enough evidence to convince others.
i think what happened was that most of those properties made into movies like The Phantom and The Shadow were in the public domain. Then in 1998, the Copyright Term Extension Act (the Sonny Bono one) kicked in but things already in the public domain couldn't be removed.
I remember watching this movie at a friend's house and we literally got so bored that we fast fwd'ed til like the last 20 mins and we literally lost nothing from skipping ahead.
Ok so my friend asked if I wanted to see this film, so I went along thinking it was Green Lantern... cue a very confusing first 30 mins. I actually really enjoyed it in the end though, I just forget that it existed.
Superbad is by far the best film Rogen has made. Probably the best teen coming of age comedy made to date. Sadly Rogen seems to have gone completely bonkers of late.
I remember watching Observe and Report thinking that Seth Rogen had the potential to play a badass, violent vigilante. I was actually excited for this movie... If only Green Hornet had the level of action that Observe and Report (which was supposed to be primarily a comedy) had.
Here’s a way to make it more interesting since Kato was the best part: Britt Reid dies and Kato steps into the role to figure out who killed Reid. We get a decent plot and the one character everyone wants to see more of.
I always had regrets towards this film because of a very specific thing: Gondry decided to film this in Hollywood instead of collaborating with Björk in her Biophilia Documentary Film to be in 3D around the world. I felt as if he indeed sold out considering the finished product. His worst proffesional choice tbh.
Artists like money too. And to be given to direct a high budged summer movie is great opportunity. If you prove that your work can bring money back to the studio - then its a lot easier to get all other movies that you want made.
You should make a video on Judd Apatow’s career. His immense comedy empire of the early 2000’s is quite interesting and relates to many of the career videos you’ve done before, Jonah Hill, Paul Rudd, etc.
Green Hornet would work much better as a series. Cause honestly, you can't make him super compelling in less than 2 hours. Needs atleast 8 episodes to really show what he's all about. And what makes him stand out.
There are parties who have been trying to being the character back to TV. There are two pilots (well, clips of a potential pilot) on YT which shows what could be done. I agree he would work better if he's on a TV series or a long series of films like James Bond. It'd be more fun to set it back in the 60s just because!
![Coheed and Cambria - Searching for Tomorrow [Official Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/hDsYGLbmadg/mqdefault.jpg)
I remember watching this movie years ago. Gave me a few good laughs with the comedy and action. Still does, although it's practically forgotten.
@Stellvia Hoenheim They even did one on their wheel spikes as well.
I never knew it even existed
The fight scene between Kato and Britt was epic🤣
I remember watching it on satellite and about halfway through the power went out and I never bothered to find another showing and finishing it. It wasn't worth the trouble.
Yeah I think its a perfectly ok film. Not a favourite or a must watch by any means but, perfectly passable.
Seth Rogen as a The Green Hornet honestly sounded like one of those ideas people would joke about .
It almost sounds like the studio reacting to the canceled Jack Black Green Lantern movie.
@@lanceturley7745 yo that could be wild. Jack honestly has the range
@@benzur3503 lmao Jack Black is only good at comedies.
@@prathapkutty7407 never seen King Kong I presume?
It reminds me of when they teased that Danny McBride was going to be the new Crocodile Dundee but it was just a commercial
I actually really like this movie. For some reason the comedy hits just right for me, but I've never seen the original series. It's just one of those movies I've seen about 5 times and still find new things to laugh at every time.
I totally agree, although I've only seen it once. Anyway, it's my kind of comedy. Knowing nothing about the original Green Hornet, I didn't have any expectations for the movie other than for it to be funny, and it met those expectations, so I have no complaints about the movie.
I think it's a hidden good movie.
I think that’s why I like it so much because I didn’t know the original or anything before the movie so I was thoroughly entertained
This movie is better than anything the MCU has ruined lately.
@@fredtroy8 now that's funny....wait....you were serious ?????
Nic Cage demanding to do a Jamaican accent with rubber rubs and leaving when they didn't go for it is the most glossed over detail ever.
I want to know the whole story of this meeting
Haha, it's in Rogen's new book if you're curious
Classic Nick Cage. 👌😏
@@captainmidnight Sounds like it was halfway to the classic blackface look, which is... Yikes.
It's the most Nick Cage thing I've ever heard.
Seth Rogen also told the story in this Interview to Roger Stern: ruclips.net/video/QahX0Zj-1n0/видео.html
They never mentioned that The Green Hornet was the great nephew of the Lone Ranger. Both were invented by the same guy.
They couldn't legally because another company owned the rights to the Lone Ranger (Disney, I believe).
"Nick Cage showed up to the meeting and told them he wanted to play the character with a Jamaican accent and prosthetic lips"
Yep, that's Nick Cage
That's gold.
Should've given him a chance lol
Yeah, that would have been cool to see.
I'd watch this.
I couldn't have made it worse.
The real problem with the Green Hornet film was separating him from the hard-boiled pulp milieu from which he originated. You see the same problem in the comics when they try to "update" The Shadow, where he loses all of his flavour and mystique. Every time they've tried to take pulp-era characters and translate them into modern sensibilities, they've failed, whether it's Tarzan or John Carter. Pulp has a distinctive feel, grimy and brutal but also unashamedly corny. Remove the moody ambience of pulp, and you ruin the character.
I wish they would do a series of movies with these characters set in their proper times: the Shadow, Green Hornet, Flash Gordon, the lot. They don't update well.
@@LibraGamesUnlimited I'd love to see big screen treatments of some of the more obscure pulp characters in their proper settings, like Domino Lady and Doc Savage, but it's never going to happen. When they tried that with The Shadow, it flopped because they remained so loyal to the originals.
Though there _is_ one pulp-era series which seems to have not only made the jump to a modern setting, but actually became more popular than the original: the Green Lantern Corps, which is a pastiche of the Lensmen novels.
@@NoJusticeNoPeace I don't think that is why that movie failed. It's been a while but I think the plot was kind of convoluted and there were a lot of WTF moments that turned people off.
I really liked it though.
I'm sure studios are convinced that most people won't watch a period adventure movie but I'm pretty sure the original Indiana Jones movies prove that wrong.
I would love to see the King Syndicate Features characters get a universe of movies too.
well said.
@@LibraGamesUnlimited The movie took the narratives, characters, and villains from several of the old radio plays and worked them together. The plot was "convoluted" and silly because it was loyal to the original material, which is what I was saying. People didn't get it because they didn't appreciate or understand the appeal of pulp, and studios won't waste their money trying to make it work again.
That's why we're unlikely to get a period-authentic pulp film.
"Let's cast Seth Rogen as the Green Hornet" is just another way of saying "We know literally nothing about the Green Hornet."
More like "nobody cares about this property, can I be the green hornet?"
@@shinobi-no-bueno i think urs sounds more accurate lol.
I mean it's a series that literally exists in the zeitgeist as "Where Bruce Lee got his start"
Very bad casting.
@@InReserveProductions and really that's the only thing people probably know the show as. I know it was for me for a while.
I'm Taiwanese, and I grew up with Jay Chou's songs.
More about his movie career, I highly recommend his 2007 Taiwanese film "Secret" (不能說的祕密),
it was his directorial debut, yet it's astonishingly great!
He directed, wrote, acted as the lead, and sang the ending song.
singing the ending song is such an Asian thing to do, I love it. Jackie Chan did that a lot, too :D
I’m American but I was obsessed with the movie secret as a middle schooler. I think I watched it at least 5 times even though it was split into like 10 parts on youtube.
Wasn't it a trope that the 'sidekick' was more competent than the lead? It was like that in half of the radio dramas I know.
In the tv show green hornet wasn’t as capable in hand to hand combat but he was still formidable and intelligent ....
I don't recall that being a thing and, it was, it would be weird. That seems mostly to be an invention of Hollywood, over the last few years as a way to tear heroes down, especially if their sidekick is another race. That crappy Lone Ranger movie did it with Tanto.
@@LibraGamesUnlimited No, it's a pretty common and OLD trope. Perfect example, Hanna Barbera cartoons from the 60's to the 80's. El Kaboing, Jabber Jaw, Flintstones, etc. The sidekick was always the witty, funny, and realistic one. Just because you've *personally* never seen or experienced something doesn't mean it doesn't exist lmao
@@smada9711 Yeah, but that's not what this was. What this was, was making the Green Hornet an fool who could do anything while Kato was the one who was good at everything.
We're not talking about a few good quips. He did everything and the Green Hornet was just there.
It's the same thing they did with that Lone Ranger movie where they cast Depp as Tanto, he was the real brains behind everything and the Lone Ranger was just there because it was the 1800s and no one would listen to an Indian.
Granted, it wasn't done for the same reasons (or maybe it was) but it's the same thing and its not the common trope you described.
That last scene, tho - Green Hornet 2 would have been so fun.
I really like the insecurities on display from the villain in this movie. Its really interesting from a psychological perspective and exemplifies the dependency that some villains have on their heroes in order to give themselves a sense of worth and identity. Legitimately makes the movie really enjoyable for me
I remember watching it when I was younger and thinking it was hilarious and then I rewatched it relatively recently and it was still hilarious.
“I wasn’t alive in 1989-“ *cries in OLD*
Lmaooooo same
Let me join you in weeping.
For real! I remember premiere night for Batman. It felt like that movie was the talk of the town until Terminator 2 which came out 2 years later! I miss my 20s....
I know. What is he, like a toddler or something?
Be glad you were around to experience the '80s and '90s; it's a privilege that younger people today missed out on.
As a kid, I watched the Green Hornet repeatedly and enjoyed it
(I make silly videos. Feel free to check them out)
When I was 10, Batman & Robin came out in theaters.
Same!
Same. Still do today..
I liked the character as a kid too. Although I will say-- a major weakness of his is that he had no fun repeat villains like Batman did. Every single adversary was a one-off, which meant that no real relationship between hero and villain could exist. It was lacking in pathos.
I saw this with my mom and best friend on family day when we were graduating basic training and really liked it. It was probably just because we were happy to see a movie.
Green Hornet..... I remember this film being marketed. Never had any desire to watch it however, so it quickly faded from memory. Thanks for reminding me it existed. Great video as usual!
It a good movie, fun to watch
Thought you were going to mention that at some point Kung Fu Hustle’s Stephen Chow was up for the role as Kato, and how different that movie would have been with him in it.
Not much. The guy who plays Kato is one of the few actors who aren't wasted in this movie
And then, ironically, The Venture Bros did a fresh take on the Green Hornet better with the Monarch becoming the Blue Morpho.
@@christopherjones5446 yuh but the Venture bros did it best. Fantastic show
@@christopherjones5446 there is a zero percent chance a serious take on johnny quest would be as good as the venture bros lmao
I was thinking the same thing.
@@HumanReverend exactly the venture bros is the best version of this type of thing there could be that's the best way I could put it.
@@christopherjones5446 serendipitous that you mentioned this. Nerdstalgic just put out a video praising Johnny Quest. ruclips.net/video/Qcf9oj1b0xI/видео.html
I actually really like this film. It's fun and Seth Rogan is hilarious. The actor who plays Kato is great
Thanks for making this! The Green Hornet and the Shadow are two of my favorite radio classic heroes. I loved the Alec Baldwin movie and was hoping Hollywood would do a similar treatment for this as there is plenty of background story (Britt Reid being related to John Reid, the Lone Ranger). This was one of the first times an "expanded universe" was really a concept in pulp. The 2011 movie was a disaster with Kati and the Black Beauty being the best things about it. It shouldn't have been in a modern setting, but kept vintage (like the aforementioned Shadow). I'm really interested to see what David Koepp will do as The Shadow was a good/fun translation.
I'm sure some other comments have hit this, but the Green Hornet's whole deal was that he pretended to be a VILLAIN, a major crime boss in town who fought other criminals while appearing to defend his own turf. By day, Britt Reid would publish scathing editorials in his newspaper of what a menace the Hornet was, and by night he and Kato would be out kicking ass.
NOW Comics in the late 80s-early 90s ran some excellent story lines with both the Reid and Kato families- As you noted, Kato was a fascinating character, and the writers (Ron Fortier and several others) did some great stuff with his back story. Plus, Britt Reid was a descendant of the Lone Ranger, John Reid! How do you ruin the Lone Ra-- ...Never mind.
Dynamite! Comics did a Green Hornet crossover with DC's '66 Batman. Over 6 issues full of nods/winks and storytelling that is still far and away a perfect love letter to these legendary crime fighters. That being said, McFarlane toys has the rights to the '66 Batman comics characters and is churning out figures and vehicles that were SOLELY based off the printed page.
Hope he finds a way to adapt that 6 issue Green Hornet and Kato loop hole.
The problem is that Seth Rogan was in it. He can’t carry a movie himself
Yup. It's interesting to hear those interview quotes of Rogan talking about how the director bit off more than he could chew. When has Seth Rogan successfully carried any movie let alone an superhero movie? Seth is a one note "comedic" actor that basically needs others to bounce off of. Otherwise, he's forgettable at best.
@@user-gm4kv2my4u i mean he bounced off kato pritty well.
Meh i liked the movie, a bit cookie cutter, but i find this as one of his better roles.
His comady is a tad to dry for me.
Man so glad someone made a video on this film, so much potential from some cool source material. It's a shame it didn't work out.
An unexpected and odd piece in Michel Gondry's filmography. But neither his flair, or Christoph Waltz's presence, could save it from being forgettable.
Bruce Lee would be very disappointed with this version of The Green Hornet.
Yeah, probably.
They had to slow down the movie to make Jay Chou look fast, which is the exact opposite of what Bruce Lee did in the original
Bruce Lee is in Cuba with Biggie and Pac. He said The Green Hornet was meh.
@@undeadblizzard do you think Chadwick Boseman is in Cuba as well? I hope hes enjoying the weather there.
@@dominiqueodom3099 Yes.
Maybe the error was taking the comics written by Kevin Smith but taking the context out of it. The comic protagonists is Brit Reed Jr., son of the original Green Hornet, who graduated from high school with perfect grades and was a kickboxing champion, but after the death of his mother (Brit former secretary turned wife) lost interest in everything, until Brit is attacked by criminals and Brit Jr. is recruited by Kato to become the new GH along with the later's daughter.
This channel needs to do something on The Phantom
Batman in 1989 was truly something else. This was a time well before the Internet brought us the ability to consume numerous movie trailers. The first thing that captured everyone's attention was the casting of Michael Keaton as a superhero. At that time he was only known as a comedy film actor and he was almost 40 years old. When it was announced he would play Batman in a dark live action film it surprised everyone and then Jack Nicholson was announced as the Joker and people were pretty excited because he was an iconic actor and the mix of him and Keaton was intriguing. Eventually the trailer began to run at theaters and people were hooked. I remember the first weekend it opened I went to the theater and the line was wrapped around the outside of the building. The line was so massive that I chose to leave. I lived in one of the most densely populated places in America but back in 1989 there weren't as many movie theaters and back then theaters had only one copy of a film so it wouldn't be until years later that studios would send out multiple copies so a theater could play a super popular film in multiple theaters to handle the demand. When you saw a film like 1989's Batman you had to wait in line and the theater was completely packed. That's what it was like when Tim Burton's Batman was released.
I still remember watching this, way back in 2011,in tv. my 9 years old mind was blown away by ideas (like that car having different types of weapons and being bulletproof) and visual effects. it was so hilarious and cool.
This movie did have a great premise: Heroes pretending to be villains, so the real villains believe things like taking hostages is pointless.
Unfortunately, it was the only remarkable thing about the movie.
Perfect casting as Seth Rogen as "an incredibly unlikeable character with no redeeming qualities. "
I loved this film. However my son and I rewatched it recently, and oh boy… did it not age well. Also Jay Chou could have been an English language pop star. That man has so much charisma.
I genuinely watched this so many times in 8th grade. It was a favorite of my friends and I. It has no right being played so often in my house lol.
I loved the first Resident Evil movies when they came out and thought they were the shit. Green Hornet is way less dreadful than that in retrospect.
This is so weird bc I think about this movie way more often than I should
"I wasn't alive in 1989" way to make me feel old
I actually really liked this film when I was younger. I might have to rewatch it and see how i feel as an adult.
I thought being Taiwanese and listening to Jay's songs for years made me biased when I found his character more interesting. I'm glad to find out there's some objective foundation to that preference 😅
It’s an inverse Batman: The Green Hornet is just some yuppie that bankrolls the operation where Kato invents all the cool gear & actually knows how to kick ass. And Jay Chou & Bruce Lee both really stole the show!
Congratulations on the puppy.
Still had fun with it, it's good good actors, funny lines, the directors hand can be seen here and there, even the action is cool and fresh-ish.
Here’s my take as a huge Green Hornet fan: The Nolan Batman movies more closer in tone to The Green Hornet than they are Batman.
As a fan of the 60’s show, the Britt Reid thing has always bothers me. My problem is that everyone pretends that he’s this character who’s constantly being one upped and that Kato does the work... but if you watch the show that’s not the case. He IS an interesting detective character and he and Kato work as a good team. Kato doesn’t really do all that much in the show, other than be Bruce Lee (which is all he needed to do, honestly)
I’d really like a Green Hornet movie that played like a detective noir and shows them as equals. Britt solves the clues and does the detective work, while Kato does the fighting and action stuff. It’s a really fun dynamic I’d like to see more of and to have them break out of the “The Green Hornet is an idiot who constantly needs to be saved by Kato” misrepresention.
My dad had a cassette tape that had The Green Hornet theme song on repeat and we played it sometimes while driving. It was Amazing
Let's be honest, We only watched the 1960's Green Hornet for Bruce Lee.
Really liked this film. Even decent watching it now
Idk about green hornet back then and i was just a casul movie watcher kid and Green Hornet was the best movie for me. It's still a decent movie ignoring the actual Green Hornet source material. I just see this as it's own movie up until now.
Same
I like the coffee scenes
"Britt Reid as shown in this film is an incredibly unlikable character with almost no redeeming qualities" .... so in other words he's Seth Rogen
The other place Jay Cho stands out is as Storm Shadow in the GI Joe movies. Where he was one of the few elements that worked. I also kind of wish we had gotten Kevin Smith Green Hornet, even though he to sucks at directing action. He wrote the character for a number of modern comics and it was quite good. One of the other big flaws in this movie has to do with how the licenses get split up. Such that it separates the Green Hornet from his legacy and back story. In the original stories Britt Reid is the Grandson of Dan Reid. (Well probably great grandson in the modern era). The slain older brother of John Reid aka The Lone Ranger. Being the last living descendant of the Lone Ranger is a bit more character motivation than bored rich playboy.
Mark my words, this will go on to become a cult favorite. When me and my buddies saw this, we loved it. I haven’t really met many people that saw it and didn’t like it. It’s a lot of fun, really funny, and very slick in how it’s shot.
My father, younger brother, and I watched "The Green Hornet" while it was in theaters. We *all* hated it! 😅
I actually really loved this film as a kid for some reason. One of my favourite films.
“Apparently, there’s another reboot in development,”
When I heard that I went PLEASE! because the green hornet should get more irritations to polish up Reed and make his friendship with Kato be something to care about (which was my favorite aspect of the Seth Rogen movie).
I'm literally mind blown right now I specifically remember John Cho playing Kato. Mandela effect working it's magic.
"I wasn't alive in 1989..." - Way to make me feel old!!
The green hornet walked so that Preacher/The Boys could run
I like this film. Its kind of like what would happen if batman was real. A guy who lost his parents and inherited a shit ton of money. Instead of going to a therapist, he fights crimes to workout his daddy issues. Using expensive gadgets and paying a guy to fight for him makes more sense in someone of his position. Also the main villan was hilarious. He doesn't have any personality, so he just uses an unique gun trying to look cool.
Kind of irrelevant to the Green Hornet but when I watched this movie as a kid I watched for Jay Chou and had a good time with it despite knowfully it wasn't very good. He was super super big and was my favorite Taiwan pop-star. He also starred in some good movie too: Secret (his own directed movie) and "Curse of the Golden Flower" directed by Zhang Yimou .
Other than that I remember him mostly for his song. All those movies has incredible soundtrack and his music videos also directed like a short movie as well.
I only just noticed, but when the cars flip @8:22 to reveal the Black Beauty, the red coupe opposite is a 1937 Lincoln Zephyr--the original crime-fighting car from the Green Hornet serials.
There's a radio station that plays classic radio shows on Sunday. I've listened to a lot of Green Hornet and it was a really neat radio show.
I actually don't mind this film but it's definitely a failure. Looking forward to the vid!
Nic Cage: "I want the character to have nuance."
Nic Cage: "I want to play him with a Jamaican accent and prosthetic lips."
oh my gosh congratulations on the sponsor it does looks good!!!
I love your videos, Cap. And I really like your use of the smooth jazz music. Makes for a relaxing view
I don't mind for this film for taking many liberties from the source material but they kept the core at least. I enjoyed Jay Chou's role as Kato. Seth Rogen is still funny.
Aww I really enjoyed that movie! It was so fun. And so silly. But I only remember it fondly.
Before watching the video, I can tell you the easy answer. Seth Rogen as the Green Hornet was the failure.
Honestly, I think it COULD have worked if he had been willing to drop the weight and get into shape or at least do a better job of hiding his weight. I mean Micheal Keaton did well as Batman and the reaction to his casting was much the same. He didn't lose weight or anything but at least they hid his body with bulky clothing and the Batsuit was like armor.
A better script and more effort could have made it work.
@@LibraGamesUnlimited or as the video mentioned, less studieo meddling
Though i thought he did a good job as the green hornet
@@akimbofurry2179 I think hiring an out-of-shape comedian was the wrong way to go. I seem to recall it pissing a lot of fans off.
I guess it CAN work. Keaton wasn't exactly known as a major dramatic actor when he did "Batman" and he didn't exactly hit the gym but Rogan is no Keaton.
Maybe it's because I just don't like Seth Rogan in the first place.
The Green Hornet was one of my favorite radio shows when I was a kid, How dare you remind me that this movie existed!
I legitimately thought this movie was a fever dream until I saw this video
"Why wasn't the Green Hornet better? I remember wanting to like it."
Seriously, I said this to myself about a week ago, and here you are with another banger video. God, I wish this movie was better.
I've seen this movie and literally forgot it existed until a minute or two into this video
I'd love to hear you talk about the Rocketeer. That movie was really ahead of it's time.
Remember when the stuntman Cliff Booth threw Bruce Lee into a car door on the set of The Green Hornet?
And rich brat Green hornet played by Rick Dalton roasted people with flame thrower for being hippies.
Oh man always happy when you post these even if I have no idea about what you're posting.
I also remember reading that Kung Fu Hustle’s Stephen Chow was gonna direct this film and star as Kato early on before dropping out because him and Rogen/the studio didn’t agree on certain aspects of the story. Like I think Chow wanted a scene where Kato controls Britt’s actions using a joystick at one point. It makes you wonder if his ideas would have improved the film in general, like it could have also tied in with the dark satirical approach you outlined.
really liking how varied your content has been lately! Keep up the great work x
Man...I remember watching this movie back when it released and just...never thought about it again since then, until this video. I think that perfectly sums up what went wrong: this film does nothing to be memorable.
If you notice the different costumeS that GH & Kato go through, they are taken from the cover of the comic books starting with just a yellow banda around the face and driving googles. Kato can’t swim is taken how the Kato are honor bound to the Reids, Brett is the great great grand nephew of the Lone Ranger.
cool
I’m surprised you didn’t mention the film adaptation of Dick Tracy from 1990 with Warren Beatty, Al Pacino, and Madonna. That was really where the pulp revival kicked off.
In 1989, I was six years old and I remember my mom taking me to see Batman. Congratulations Captain Midnight, I officially feel old! 😂👵🏾
Green hornet will always have a special place in my heart. It's the first superhero movie i watched using my own money. I remembered reading a lot about it in blogs and news post saying it predated superman and batman. Wasn't it the precursor to the superhero genre or something like that? To me the story is easy to follow, the green hornet's drive was clear. He had great character development too. Keto was super cool. He got both the brains and the brawn. And man was the black beauty an iconic car for me. Was a fun watch. Would watch it again.
Congrats on the pup, Captain!!! ❤
Seth Rogan and Ryan Reynolds should team up to form a “my 2011 superhero movie with green in the title had potential but was ultimately disappointing” club.
A think a good way to pump up the Hornet next to a character like Kato would be to play into the investigation part of his journalism, sort of like the dynamic that The Question and Huntress had in the JLA.
Just make him unnaturally good at detective work, to the point where his conclusions come off as conspiracy until he finally has enough evidence to convince others.
i think what happened was that most of those properties made into movies like The Phantom and The Shadow were in the public domain. Then in 1998, the Copyright Term Extension Act (the Sonny Bono one) kicked in but things already in the public domain couldn't be removed.
Not taking the material serious and making it an action comedy was the main big mistake, and that's why it failed...
I remember watching this movie at a friend's house and we literally got so bored that we fast fwd'ed til like the last 20 mins and we literally lost nothing from skipping ahead.
They just need to make a movie of Masks, by Dynamite Comics, where Green Hornet, Kato, The Shadow, The Spider, and the Black Bat team up.
That sounds like a comic crossover made a few years ago.
Don't forget this movie literally features Dante, from the Devil May Cry series
I vaguely remember the trailer.
Your puppy is adorable.
I remember watching the 2011 film as a kid, I had no idea it was a long and old franchise lol
Ok so my friend asked if I wanted to see this film, so I went along thinking it was Green Lantern... cue a very confusing first 30 mins. I actually really enjoyed it in the end though, I just forget that it existed.
Superbad is by far the best film Rogen has made. Probably the best teen coming of age comedy made to date.
Sadly Rogen seems to have gone completely bonkers of late.
How so ?
How so?
I remember watching Observe and Report thinking that Seth Rogen had the potential to play a badass, violent vigilante. I was actually excited for this movie...
If only Green Hornet had the level of action that Observe and Report (which was supposed to be primarily a comedy) had.
Here’s a way to make it more interesting since Kato was the best part: Britt Reid dies and Kato steps into the role to figure out who killed Reid. We get a decent plot and the one character everyone wants to see more of.
I was 3 years old for that Batman. You must be a real youngin.
Dude.... you're in your 30's lol
I always had regrets towards this film because of a very specific thing: Gondry decided to film this in Hollywood instead of collaborating with Björk in her Biophilia Documentary Film to be in 3D around the world. I felt as if he indeed sold out considering the finished product. His worst proffesional choice tbh.
Artists like money too. And to be given to direct a high budged summer movie is great opportunity. If you prove that your work can bring money back to the studio - then its a lot easier to get all other movies that you want made.
Tbh I loved this movie as a kid, and still do
You should make a video on Judd Apatow’s career. His immense comedy empire of the early 2000’s is quite interesting and relates to many of the career videos you’ve done before, Jonah Hill, Paul Rudd, etc.
We need Captain Midnight to cover Chronicle and Jumper.
Green Hornet would work much better as a series. Cause honestly, you can't make him super compelling in less than 2 hours. Needs atleast 8 episodes to really show what he's all about. And what makes him stand out.
There are parties who have been trying to being the character back to TV. There are two pilots (well, clips of a potential pilot) on YT which shows what could be done. I agree he would work better if he's on a TV series or a long series of films like James Bond. It'd be more fun to set it back in the 60s just because!
Hey captain i'd love to see a video about the phantom. I really enjoy your videos.
I was 12 in 1989 and you couldn't go anywhere without seeing that Batman logo or hearing Prince's song.