Gondry is Killing It

Got to catch the visual mastery of Michel Gondry in his latest flick- The Green Hornet, starring the cleverly casted likes of Seth Rogen, Christoph Waltz and Jay Chou.  A far, removed experience from the last few Gondry films I have seen-- Be Kind Rewind, The Science of Sleep and The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind-- but in the same manner where his artistic elements are more explicit on those films, we see his hand in a more subliminal, invisible means with The Green Hornet.

Like the success of Red before it, Green Hornet is also stymied by the expectation of this being just another comic/hero flick-- which does no justice for the filmgoer with that preconceived mindset.  But maybe that's the beauty of what made this film so entertaining.

Rogen murders the audience with his comedic spontaniety and though I appreciate this is geared towards a fam-friendly audience, I would have personally appreciated him puffing the pakalolo to add another layer to his "green" namesake.  Chou rocks with his acrobatic martial arts and allows Gondry to steal back his pioneered "bullet-time" in some fight sequences but doesn't allow it to overstimulate the action.  What is it about Asian popstars that just make the best ninjas?! (Just playing, loved him in the under appreciated epic- Curse of the Golden Flower).

 

And perhaps the best new villain across any film genre (sorry Kevin Spacey but you know it's true) is the man- Christoph Waltz.  As the eccentric, over-the-hill crimelord aka "Bloodnofsky" he does what only comes natural on the big-screen-- steal the show.  You will love the witty, hilarious writing that is perfectly delivered by Waltz minus the catchy one-liners.   

Gondry balances enough screen time between his allstar cast and supportive talents- Tom Wilkinson, Cameron Diaz, Edward James Olmos and one of the greatest opening performances by the always hilarious James Franco. 

This genre-bender will keep you entertained from the massive explosives, uber-sexy Black Beauty and raging comedic romp led by your fave funnyman with that jewfro- Rogen.  Big O outro.



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big O