The Green Hornet - 1 1/2 smiles

The only memorable aspects of “The Green Hornet” are sidekick Kato, Taiwan pop star Jay Chou, and the Black Beauty, a pimped-out 1966 Chrysler Imperial, which is very cool. It’s certainly not Michel Gondry’s directing, Seth Rogan’s script (he co-wrote) or Seth Rogan’s acting and it’s absolutely not the 3D version. Gondry, who directed the quirky “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” doesn’t seem to know what to do with the script. His action sequences have a been-there-seen-that feel and his characters are underdeveloped. Rogan, especially, is miscast; he portrays another man-child and that character doesn’t work in this movie. Nor is everything he says or does funny.

Christoph Waltz, who won an Oscar for his chilling performance as Nazi Col. Hans Landa in Inglorious Basterds, is stuck in the role of Chudnofsky, an insecure bad guy who worries about his attire and whether he’s scary enough. He’s too silly to be an effective villain, but you have to wonder why Waltz chose this role as a follow-up to Landa. Chou is the only person who works, despite being English-challenged. On screen, he comes across as intelligent, competent and cool. Too bad we can’t say the same for “The Green Hornet.” 1/16/11