Reviews are out for today's featured adaptation is "Green Hornet," a decades-old franchise that has spanned every medium except of stone tablets. The story of Britt Reid, the media mogul turned crime-fighter, began as a 1930s radio serial, and has been retold via books, comics and TV. The movie includes other memorable characters, including trusted assistants Kato and Lenore "Casey" Case. Here are excerpts from reviews (and here are reviews for many more adaptations):
Los Angeles Times -- An anemic, 97-pound weakling of the action comedy persuasion, "Hornet" is a boring bromedy that features mumblecore heroics instead of the real thing. ... Invention, however, is what's lacking in this latest version. Neither director Michel Gondry nor star Seth Rogen (who also co-wrote with Evan Goldberg) have been able to bring even a semblance of life to an inert enterprise that did itself no favors by converting to 3-D late in the game.
Washington Post -- I will grudgingly admit that much of the movie was really funny. Sure, I didn't laugh - in lieu of laughter, I emit a harsh sound like a dog's cough - but all around me, the crowd really seemed to be enjoying themselves. Rogen and Jay Chou, the charismatic Taiwanese pop star who plays Britt's partner, Kato, have real chemistry.
New York Times -- "The Green Hornet" is not terrible, just pointless, and it offers further proof that superheroism is, at least for now, pretty well tapped out as a vein of lucrative pop-cultural bounty.
New York Daily News -- Michel Gondry has crafted an irreverently funny, ultramodern take on the 1930s radio serial, with a vibe so casual you half expect star Seth Rogen to amble off screen and put his feet up on the seat next to you. That slacker attitude is an act, of course. A movie this determined to entertain requires hard work. And no one had to work harder than Rogen to prove he could play a classic hero.