RENEE MONTAGNE, Host:
"The Green Hornet" goes on display in theaters this week, and our critic Kenneth Turan has this review.
KENNETH TURAN: The Hornet is technically not a superhero at all. Like Batman, The Hornet fights crime from behind a mask with just his ordinary human powers - plus some nifty inventions.
(SOUNDBITE OF MOVIE, "THE GREEN HORNET")
JAY CHOU: (as Kato) We'll need a car.
SETH ROGEN: (as Britt Reid/The Green Hornet) Hells, yes. We'll need a car.
CHOU: (as Kato) With some weapons.
ROGEN: (as Britt Reid/The Green Hornet) Hmm.
CHOU: (as Kato) And armor.
ROGEN: (as Britt Reid/The Green Hornet) Cool rims. Spinning rims.
CHOU: (as Kato) I can do that.
ROGEN: (as Britt Reid/The Green Hornet) Kato, I want you to take my hand. I want you to come with me on this adventure.
TURAN: An unexpected death shakes Britt up. He teams with Kato, played by Taiwanese pop star Jay Chou, to form a crime-fighting team that is never quite sure what it's doing.
(SOUNDBITE OF MOVIE, "THE GREEN HORNET")
ROGEN: (as Britt Reid/The Green Hornet) Kato, I think this was the greatest moment in my entire life.
CHOU: (as Kato) I know. Mine, too.
TURAN: The performer who looks really lost in these ruins is Cameron Diaz, playing the woman whose affections the boys ineptly battle each other for. Girls are such a bore, the Hornet proclaims at one point - not as much of a bore, however, as a hornet without its sting.
(SOUNDBITE OF "GREEN HORNET" THEME MUSIC)
MONTAGNE: It's MORNING EDITION, from NPR News. I'm Renee Montagne.
STEVE INSKEEP, Host:
And I'm Steve Inskeep.