The big-screen adaptation of The Green Hornet was a production that had trouble getting off of the ground, with various companies claiming rights to the character, and the original star and director, Stephen Chow, bowing out due to "creative differences". Some reports say that Sony balked at Chow's desire to put in his trademark old-school "nonsense comedy" in the proceedings, but at any rate, Chow was replaced with Jay Chou in the role of Kato and Michel Gondry as director.

Gondry seemed to many to be an odd choice to helm this film. Better known for White Stripes music videos and independent pictures such as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Gondry's resume didn't seem to be copasetic to creating a big-budget superhero movie. Combined with a 3-D retrofitting and American theatrical release during the doldrums of January, most critics and analysts predicted that The Green Hornet would be a major bomb.

While it did come out to mostly negative reviews -- the film is currently sitting at 44 percent on Rotten Tomatoes -- it did take in a very respectable $227 million worldwide. Much of this was due to foreign box office, especially in Asia, where Jay Chou is a very popular singer and the same January release that was slow in the US was boffo in the region due to the timing with the Lunar New Year holiday.

With all that being said, how is the actual film itself, at least when it comes to a jaded Hong Kong film fan's perspective? I have to admit that I went into this viewing with very low expectations, but I found myself enjoying The Green Hornet more often than not. Yes, in the realm of superhero movies, it's nowhere close to the pinnacle set by entries like The Dark Knight, but it's still a fun brainless way to kill off a couple of hours.

Surprising, especially given his track record in Hong Kong movies, the real standout here is Jay Chou. I'm not as big of a detractor of Chou as some other internet critics, but I will say that many of his appearances in HK pictures make him out to be a dullard with the range of a damp piece of cardboard. In his first English-language role, Chou shows more personality here than all of his Hong Kong roles combined. I'm not going so far as to call him a good actor, but he was at least fun to watch as Kato.

Of course, since the role of Kato was made iconic by the legendary Bruce Lee, one has to draw some comparisons between Lee and Chou in the fighting department. Unfortunately, many of the fight scenes overuse a gimmick called "Kato vision", where apparently Kato's years of playing Max Payne have paid off, as he can slow down time and highlight enemies. It's actually a decent effect the first time it's used, but by the third or fourth, it gets a bit overblown and tired.

There are also a few other problems with The Green Hornet. Even though this is more of a comedy than your usual superhero movie, it's still hard to buy chubby stoner Seth Rogen as any sort of hero. The very talented Christoph Waltz, fresh off of winning an Oscar for Inglourious Basterds, is woefully underused as the movie's villain and given little chance into making his character anything other than a series of bad puns.

It also feels like the film could have been trimmed somewhat, especially with Cameron Diaz's character. Besides looking haggard and in desperate need of a cheeseburger, she really adds nothing to the story besides convienent plot exposition and a few scenes where Rogen and Chou both awkwardly try to pick her up.

Overall, though, The Green Hornet's good parts are enjoyable enough to at least somewhat offset the lesser ones. While it's not a great film in any sense of the word, it does offer up some decent action and a good amount of laughs, and is the sort of material that's perfect for a rainy day Redbox rental or late-night insomniac cable viewing.

RATING: 6.25