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3D Blu-ray Review The Green Hornet 3D Blu-ray Review - THE HTF 3D ADDICT (1 Viewer)

Ronald Epstein

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What can I say?  I love 3D!  From the moment I began watching 3D content in my home I quickly discovered that I needed more content.  I suspect that those of you just purchasing your first 3D hardware will acquire the same ferocious appetite.  That's why I became the HTF 3D ADDICT.  I personally love images that pop off the screen and come inches away from your face without becoming overly gimmicky.  However, I certainly appreciate the nature documentaries that offer beautiful depth and separation.  These are not necessarily reviews of the film themselves.  I am not going to concentrate on story or supplements -- you can find the 2D reviews elsewhere on this forum.  My job is to let you know exactly what kind of 3D experience to expect from the titles that are being released.   As I will be receiving a handful of new product from the studios expect to see more title coverage.






THE GREEN HORNET



Studio: Sony

Product Release: May 3, 2011

Ratio: 2.40:1

Audio: DTS-HD MA 5.1, English and French

Running Time: 119 Minutes

Rating: PG-13


3dsmall.jpg

ON A SCALE 0-5

Overall 3D Presentation Rating: 3

3D Separation: 4

3D In Yo' Face Factor: 2



Green with Disappointment




Created for radio in the 1930s and adapted for television

in 1966, The Green Hornet has had a rather popular run

with generations of audiences.  When the series was brought 

to television it was done so off the back of ABC's very popular

BATMAN series, though it was soon apparent that lightning would

not strike twice and the show ended up lasting for only a

single season.


Director Kevin Smith originally took interest in making

a film version of The Green Hornet nearly a decade ago

but the project somehow ended up in the hands of Seth

Rogan and Evan Goldberg who wrote the script and brought

it to Sony.


One may think it kind of odd that this film ever was

"greenlit" for motion picture production, that is, until you

consider that the characters are not licensed by Marvel

and that the studio probably saw this as a cheap opportunity

to cash in on a super hero film. 


...and "cheap" is exactly what you get in this rather

boorish film that gets off the ground running and then

falls completely flat before the film's mid-point where

things just become loud and clumsy.



The Green Hornet follows the exploits of Britt Reid (Seth

Rogan), a spoiled playboy who suddenly inherits his

father's wealthy media empire which includes the Daily

Sentinel Newspaper.   Living alone in a huge mansion,

Reid befriends his father's mechanic, Kato (Jay Chou),

a martial-arts expert who has a knack for creating elaborate

gadgets -- most of which can be found in a tricked-out,

souped-up 1965 Chrysler parked in the garage and dubbed

the name, "Black Beauty."


Upon thwarting a robbery, the two realize that they could

do some good for the crime-rampant city of Los Angeles by 

becoming crime fighters.  What ensues is a bunch of wannabees

taking on the entire Los Angels crime syndicate headed

up by a villain by the name of Chudnofsky (Christoh Waltz).



As you sit and watch the opening moments of The Green Hornet,

you get the feeling that you might actually be in for the ride

of your life.  The film starts off most promisingly with a terrific

scene involving James Franco as a crime boss who faces off

against Christoph Waltz.  Waltz's presence in this scene is

very reminiscent of his role of Col. Hans Landa in Inglorious 

Basterds.  However, once Seth Rogan and Jay Chou hit the 

screen, you realize the film has nowhere to go but down.  

The two actors are so entirely mismatched and have nothing

to rely on other than Rogan's lifeless dialogue which is void

of any humor whatsoever.   And poor Christoph Waltz -- the

Academy-Award winning actor's talents are entirely wasted

as he is reduced to a role of a buffoon.  By film's end, it

seems that a script absent of fresh ideas resorts to throwing

in the kitchen sink withon an obnoxious over-the-top car

chase sequence.


The Green Hornet was not originally intended nor shot for 3D.  

That means all the upconversion was done in post-production.  

With that in mind, I was still rather pleasantly surprised at the

results.  The film definitely has a cardboard cutout feel to it  --

where you get the sense that you can reach in and move

various objects around the screen.  Most of the film is based

on CGI effects, all of which is nicely enhanced in 3D.  A car 

explosion in the first few minutes of the film features falling 

flames and rising smoke that really defines the depth between

background and foreground. The drawback to the upconversion

is that nothing ever really leaps off the screen at the viewer.  

When watching scenes that involve splashing water -- the

spattering of sparks -- or the spray of bullets towards the

viewer, the effects work suddenly stop short of spilling out

of the screen.  Most of the film takes place in dark L.A. street

settings, despite which, ghosting is just about nonexistent.  



Sony has provided us with a beautiful transfer that provides

stunning imagery for the left and right eye.  This is as pristine

a transfer as anyone could expect with definition and clarity

that is unsurpassed.  It's flawless.  Colors are vibrant and

hues are persistently "in check."   Black levels are exceptional.

Take a look at Kato's hair, the couches in the office of The 
Sentinal, or even "Black Beauty" to marvel at how rich the

blacks look here.



The transfer also sports a beefy 5.1 DTS-HD MA soundtrack

with fantastic dynamic range and an over-abundance of effect

noise, expertly mixed, that pans across the channels.  Although

I found the LFE bass to be a little weak to my liking, I still 

consider this soundtrack to be demo material.


The Green Hornet comes packaged here in a combo-pack

that features 3D Blu-ray, 2D Blu-ray and DVD.  The Blu-ray

features a filmmaker's commentary and 3D animated storyboards.

The 2D Blu-ray carries the wealth of supplements that include

deleted scenes, a gag reel, and various featurettes and interviews.



CONCLUSION



If you feel that you really must watch The Green Hornet, be

prepared to invest as little emotion into it as possible.  This 

dumb, pointless, noisy spectacle of a film never really knows

what it wants to do with itself.  The 3D imagery is decent, though

suffers somewhat from being done in post production.  


If you are deciding between the 3D combo-pack or just

the Blu-ray, for the $5 difference, I would definitely recommend

the 3D version.



Images are for illustrative purpose only not representative of the picture quality of this disc. 


Equipment


LG 60PX950 THX Certified 3D display

Oppo BDP-93 3D Blu-ray Player

Denon 3311CI Receiver

Atlantic Technology H-PAS AT-1 fronts, 4400 center; 4200 rear speakers

SV Sound Subwoofer



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Tina_H_V

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Tina
This is a birthday buy for me--as well as the first-ever Blu-ray 3D title I have ever owned!!!! I am not set up for 3D yet, but I am future-proofing myself for when I add a 3D HDTV & 3D Blu-ray Disc player--which, I hope, will be in time for the holidays later this year!!!!
 

TheBat

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Real Name
Jacob
if you have a ps3, you can watch it in 3d from the vudu program.


Jacob
 

Matt Hough

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I watched this last night in 3D. The 3D presentation was pretty much as I expected it to be since it was a 3D conversion rather than filmed in the process from the start. As Ron said, it still managed to convey great depth and things might not fly out from the screen, but they do come awfully close to spilling out which was kind of fun. It was a great video and audio presentation otherwise.


As for the film, it's a mass of missed opportunities. A stumble bum for a superhero might have worked with better writing and better slapstick. There was no camaraderie AT ALL between Rogan and Chou, and for those characters to engage us, they need to be finishing each other's sentences at some point. And they really should have dubbed Jay Chou's voice in post production. I had a very hard time understanding much of his dialogue and ran it back several times to catch what he was saying.


That mass destruction climax just wore out my patience. If all else fails, blow stuff up and destroy everything. Not funny and not fun.
 

TJPC

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Terry Carroll
Sorry to resurrect this older thread, but I just bought a 1 disc version from Amazon for $7.99. The menu gives a choice of watching in 2D or 3D. The 3D is the only way to go here, because as noted above, it is truly one of the dumbest movies ever made. What is it about Seth Rogan? He seems like a nice "fella", and I like him on talk shows, but he seems to make the most unfunny self indulgent movies ever.
 

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