The Green Hornet - Blu-ray Review

4.6 Stars (out of 5)

Synopsis

Seth Rogen and writing partner Evan Goldberg (Superbad) apply their trademark humor to the superhero genre in this big-screen action-adventure about a newspaper-publishing playboy (Rogen) who dons a disguise to fight crime after hours. As the Green Hornet, Britt Reid's power is no longer limited to the printed page -- and thanks to a nimble martial-arts expert (Jay Chou), he has the skills to expose the city's roughest criminals. (Buy Now $19.99)

Starring:

Seth Rogen, Jay Chou, Cameron Diaz, Tom Wilkinson, Christoph Waltz, David Harbour, Edward James Olmos, Jamie Harris, Chad Coleman, Edward Furlong

Director:

Michel Gondry

Blu-ray Release Date:

May 03, 2011

Subtitles:

English, English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese

Rating

Overall rating weighted as follows:
Audio 40%, Video 40%, Special Features 20%, Movie - its just our opinion so take it with a grain of salt

Audio 4.8 Stars (out of 5)

Dolby and DTS Demo Discs used as basis for comparison
●        Subwoofer - 4.5 Stars
●        Dialog - 4.5 Stars
●        Surround Effects - 5.0 Stars
●        Dynamic Range - 5.0 Stars

English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, French: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1, Portuguese: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1

There's so much to like in this Blu-ray's audio presentation. It takes full advantage of the surround effects, and bestows good dynamic range. Bomb shrapnel flying passed the couch, bees buzzing on flowers, explosions that vibrate the room, and car crashes that crunch are all great and entertaining audio events in the film. However, one of my favorites was the Green Hornet's gas gun, I haven't really heard anything like it and rewound it a few times just to hear it again. One of the only places I can mark down the audio was in the dialog. I had to watch the film with subtitles on because it was so hard to understand Kato.

Video  4.8 Stars (out of 5)

Spears & Munsil Benchmark Blu-ray Edition used as basis for comparison
●        Color Accuracy  - 5.0 Stars
●        Shadow detail - 5.0 Stars
●        Clarity - 4.5 Stars
●        Skin tones - 5.0 Stars
●        Compression - 4.5 Stars

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC, Resolution: 1080p, Aspect ratio: 2.40:1, Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1

The Green Hornet's video performance is top-notch. All scenes display with fine crisp detail, and are constantly sustained throughout the film. What impressed me the most was the performance in dark scenes. Blacks are deep and dark without sacrificing color or clarity, and it makes the dark scenes seem rich and lush. Close-ups on the actors reveal tiny wrinkles and razor stubble. Fight scenes look great thanks to "Kato Vision", where everyone else slows down except for Kato. Yes, its a visual trick, but it looks darn cool.

Bonus Features 4.0 Stars (out of 5)

• The Green Hornet Cutting Room: Piece together your own The Green Hornet clips and share them online.
• Audio Commentary: Actor/Producer Seth Rogan, Producer Neal Moritz, Director Michel Gondry, and Writer Evan Goldberg
• Deleted Scenes (1080p, 26:33): 9 Deleted and extended scenes.
• "Awesoom" Gag Reel (1080p, 7:18).
• "Trust Me" -- Director Michael Gondry (1080p, 9:33): Cast and crew discuss Director.
• Writing The Green Hornet (1080p, 10:35): Writers Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen discuss the writing process.
• The Black Beauty: Rebirth of Cool (1080p, 7:17): Creating the Black Beauty
• The Stunt Family Armstrong (1080p, 7:39): Featurette about the stunt choreographers.
• Finding Kato (1080p, 6:00): The processes casting of Jay Chou.
• The Art of Destruction (1080p, 14:04): Showing how Hollywood destroys buildings and sets for movies.
• Previews (1080p): Additional Sony titles.
• BD-Live.
• The Green Hornet PS3 Theme.

Movie - 4.0 Stars (out of 5)

Review

The Green Hornet is a fun comedy action film that's a little off the beat and path of the many superhero movies popping up these days. At it's core the Green Hornet is a buddy cop movie. I like to think of it as Rush Hour with superheroes and a really cool car. The Green Hornet's automobile the Black Beauty can beat any one of James Bonds vehicles. The film is full of good performances and likeable characters. Oscar winner Christoph Waltz has a convincing performance as the bad guy, and the friendship of the Green Hornet and Kato is believable. However, Seth Rogan's character Britt Reed is a jerk most of the movie. Even though he is a likeable jerk, it's hard to root for someone you don't really care for.

Bruce Lee was Kato on the original Green Hornet TV show. You can easily tell they did not want to offend Bruce Lee fans because Kato was more of a superhero than The Green Hornet was. While Kato drives the car around or beats up the bad guys, the Hornet just sits back and watches, asking if Kato needs help. Its sorry to say but the Rogan's character never really grew on me. He was funny, but I never though of him as a hero. I think of the Green Hornet as a crazy spoiled millionaire who loves adventure and has Daddy issues.