The Green Hornet

This Green Hornet is more of a superhero send-up than an update of the popular 1930s radio serial and short-lived '60s TV series starring Bruce Lee. After obnoxious, hard-partying slacker Britt Reid (Seth Rogen) becomes heir to The Daily Sentinel newspaper owned by his wealthy and influential (yet despised) father—publisher James Reid (Tom Wilkinson)—Britt and his dad's super-efficient, gadget-minded valet/mechanic Kato (Taiwanese pop star Jay Chou) evolve into vigilante crime fighters, cruising around L.A. in “Black Beauty,” an old Chrysler sedan tricked out with a new grille and a staggering assortment of weaponry. On the sidelines are Britt's secretary Lenore Case (Cameron Diaz), crooked district attorney Frank Scanlon (David Harbour), newspaper editor Mike Axford (Edward James Olmos), and villainous Benjamin Chudnofsky (Christoph Waltz). Another boorishly irreverent bromedy studded with implicitly gay innuendo and lots of special effects, The Green Hornet is a misfire from unconventional French director Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), who shows no particular flair for making action films. Optional, at best. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary (by director Michel Gondry, star/co-writer Seth Rogen, co-writer Evan Goldberg, and producer Neal H. Moritz), a segment on “Writing The Green Hornet” (11 min.), a gag reel (8 min.), “The Black Beauty: Rebirth of Cool” featurette on the car (7 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are a “Cutting Room” option (allowing viewers to create their own scenes), deleted scenes (27 min.), and behind-the-scenes featurettes on “The Art of Destruction” (14 min.), “Trust Me: Director Michel Gondry” (10 min.), “The Stunt Family Armstrong” (8 min.), and “Finding Kato” on costar Jay Chou (6 min.), as well as the BD-Live function. Bottom line: a fine extras package for a disappointing film.] (S. Granger)