There was always something very strange about the prospect of seeing Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind director Michel Gondry helm a $120 million superhero blockbuster with Seth Rogen in the lead role, but such unusual parts turned out to be the least of The Green Hornet‘s concerns.
While the film was a reasonable success at the box office after earning $229 million during its theatrical run, Rogen didn’t mince his words in the aftermath. In various interviews following the release of the tepidly-received action comedy, the actor admitted that both he and Gondry weren’t used to the compromises that needed to be made in crafting a big budget project under the scrutiny of a major studio, and he even went so far as to describe the experience as “a nightmare”.
There was plenty of ambition and flashes of imagination on show as Rogen’s Britt Reid assumed the titular mantle, partnering up with Jay Chou’s Kato in an attempt to take down Christopher Waltz’s criminal kingpin, but it was all a touch flat. To be fair, the leading man explained why, and it was bizarre to see the Gondry’s signature sensibilities so frustratingly reigned in.
Naturally, a reboot is in the works as we speak, but it’s the 2011 bust that’s been taking to the streets of streaming to thwart villainy. As per FlixPatrol, The Green Hornet has emerged from the ether of cinematic purgatory to seize a spot on the Starz global rankings, an unlikely return to form for what’s got to be deemed one of the most forgettable superhero stories of the last decade.