The Green Hornet, created by George W. Trendle, has been around since the 1930s, first as a radio show, then as a series of movies and television shows in the 1940s and 1960s, respectively. It’s a classic from the early days of superheroes, so you would expect the 21st century movie version to be made with definite haste. But that did not happen. Talks of a new Green Hornet movie were going on as early as the 1990s, but for reasons that followed one after the other, production was shelved. But, finally, after pre-production delays and casting changes, the film was finally made for release as early as December 2010 (or January, 2011).

The new The Green Hornet is directed by Michael Gondry and stars Seth Rogen as Britt Reid—the Green Hornet. Kato, the Oriental sidekick and chauffeur once played by the legendary Bruce Lee, is played by Taiwanese singer and actor Jay Chou. Other actors involved in the movie already have household names, such as Cameron Diaz and Edward James Olmos. Rogen, a relative newcomer from Canada, is nevertheless a veteran screenwriter, producer, comedian, and voice talent who’s worked in movies like Johnny Darko, You, Me and Dupree, Zack and Miri Make a Porno, The 40-Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Superbad, and many more. Chou, his supporting actor, is also already experienced in show business.

Unlike the old Green Hornets that have come before, this new one is somewhat of a comedy. You simply cannot take the characters seriously. It’s like the movie was written for comedy—which is Rogen’s specialty, after all. Rogen also wrote the screenplay and it wouldn’t come as a surprise if there are lots of quips in the script and loads of exaggerated acting (at least for Rogen). Rogen and Chou actually play opposite characters. Rogen depicts Reid as a man who’s irresponsible and self centered. But even as he morphs into The Green Hornet, he still acts like the dumb guy. Chou’s Kato is almost always serious and practically acts more like Reid’s Jiminy Cricket—giving advice to him when needed—which is almost always.

Rogen’s character is reminiscent of those played by Will Ferrell. In fact, you can actually imagine Ferrel playing Rogen’s Green Hornet/Reid. Rogen’s appearance actually resembles Ferrell’s in many instances and their comedic manner has similarities. But, observations aside, viewers of The Green Hornet will really give credit to Rogen for coming up with a refreshing and light take on The Green Hornet that would bring out chuckles from the audience. The addition of Cameron Diaz as Lenore Case (left) completes the formula, since she's also a great comedienne.

This take on the new Green Hornet makes it appealing to a modern audience and to a wider base of viewers, from young to old. If it’s not for the comedy alone, people will want to watch The Green Hornet for the action and gadgets inspired by ideas from the mid Twentieth century, and most of them are in the Green Hornet’s car, the Black Beauty (left), a classic Chrysler-style vehicle which was patterned after the original 60s version.

For those not yet familiar with The Green Hornet, it's about the son of a newspaperman who fights crime by putting on a mask and rubbing shoulders with the bad guys and then hitting them when they least expect it. Of course, the cops always think that the "green" guy is in cahoots with the criminals (Spider-Man sometimes has the same problem). The Green Hornet capitalizes on the classic Sun Tzu saying: Keep your friends, close; keep your enemies closer. In this movie, Rogen's Reid only has to know which is which in order to do his job well (and not have Kato clean up his mess).

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