Finally decided to take in a showing of The Green Hornet before it bowed out of theaters. 

I'm not familiar with the original iterations of The Green Hornet -- having never watched nor read a single serial, TV show, or comic book, I won't be the one to ask for adaptation accuracies.  The basic premise appears to be intact with Michel Gondry's version, however, naturally brought up to modern times.  High tech weapons and gadgets are on prominent display, while a nostalgic nod is given to the 1960s models of the Imperial Crown as the duo's iconic "Black Beauty" vehicles. 

There's a sturdy foundation in place here for a decent action movie.  Stylistic camera shots bring the cinematography to life, with some deft use of slo-mo and sped up frames where needed.  The fight choreography is up to snuff, the bulk of the more impressive looking stuff going to Jay Chou's Kato.  And the finale is one wildly entertaining extravaganza of a set piece. 

The supporting cast is about fair; Christoph Waltz provides a mildly colorful villain in Benjamin Chudnofsky, but alas, he does not possess the same scene-stealing charisma as he did in Inglourious Basterds.  Cameron Diaz provides a nice buffer between the duo with her character Lenore Case, and proves to be a surprisingly useful asset in advancing the plot.  I'd have no qualms with them bringing her back for future sequels.  Where the film really stumbles, though, is with Seth Rogen.  Here, he dials up a persona so overly obnoxious, that he goes to 11.  His Britt Reid/Green Hornet is so outwardly boob-ish, whiny, and full of himself, that his mere presence onscreen is stifling.  If they were trying to illustrate the contrast between himself and Chou's subdued, more with-it Kato, then they've succeeded.  Somehow, I doubt that the original Green Hornet was ever this useless and insufferable. 

The Green Hornet is an average summer popcorn-like flick that feels mildly out of place for debuting in winter.  I doubt it'll leave any sort of lasting mark by year's end.  It also gets some serious points docked for its miscast star; I was slightly under the weather going into the theaters last night, but I didn't think I'd come out any more nauseated than I already was.  Rogen is just that irritating in his performance.

I fully agree with you on every account for this one, Angela.

Another agreement here.  The middle plodded along quite horribly in my opinion, and worst of all, the 3-D aspect of the movie was completely unnecessary (about the only good it did the movie were the credits). 

It was probably meant as a summer tentpole flick, but once they got the finished product in their hands they were probably like WTF?!!?  =p

I'll second Angela's opinion.

I'd like to address the Kato/Green Hornet conflict, too, wherein the duo's disdain for each other feels like it never really has any definite closure, making it seem somewhat likely it'll make a return in the sequel. I really hope it doesn't, as it was probably my biggest gripe with the movie.

It was decent, as has been said, but I really don't like Seth Rogen that much. At the risk of sounding like a pretentious hipster, his brand of comedy seems too manufactured.

With regard to the star: I seem to recall reading somewhere that Rogen was the one that wanted to bring the movie into being in the first place.  He was the driving force behind its inception, which explains his prominent role in the final product.  In that case, his ego would be responsible for his miscasting.

I was kind of interested in seeing this one, but I just wasn't sure if it was worth it from only the trailers. Based on your thoughts, Angela, it sounds like it's a fun time with some flaws. I suppose I'll wait for it to end up at the cheap theater and then decide whether or not I still want to see it.

3D isn't really a big deal to me anyway. Saving money on the other hand... XD