Green Hornet, The (2011) MPAA Rating: PG-13 Entertainment: +2 Content: -4

Directed by Michel Gondry. Actors: Seth Rogen, Jay Chou, Cameron Diaz, Christopher Waltz.

FILM SYNOPSIS: The death of the owner of the Los Angeles Sentinel catapults playboy son Britt Reid, the sole heir, into a clueless self-anointed super hero, the Green Hornet (Seth Rogen). He teams up with brilliant mechanic and inventor Kato (Jay Chou). The odd couple challenges Los Angeles’s crime lord, Chudnofsky (Christopher Waltz) in an endless series of action scenes filled with violent killings and destruction. Cameron Diaz plays Britt’s secretary, who is much smarter than her boss. The comedic antics and sometimes clever wisecracks are not enough to make The Green Hornet fun to watch. Action fans will find Spiderman or Batman movies better choices.

PREVIEW REVIEW:The Green Hornet’s PG-13 rating illustrates just how lenient the MPAA rating system has become. Not only is the incessant violence graphic, but the dialogue is filled with obscenities, profanities and crude humor. Portraying killings, life-threatening attacks and explosions as a form of recreation is not the message our youth need, especially in light of the recent Tucson massacre.

The absence of sex, nudity or f-words should not be an excuse for a PG-13 rating. A teenager attending the screening thought the movie was fun. He said that the public high school he attends only allows G or PG rated films in the school, as though that was really unreasonable. This reviewer agrees with that school policy, but clearly the students don’t understand the impact the media have on their hearts and minds.

Preview Reviewer: Mary Draughon
Distributor: Sony