'Green Hornet' falls short of expectations

Maybe they should have called it “The Chartreuse Wasp” or something else. Because today’s “The Green Hornet” recycles some details, but is unfaithful to the suave essence of that 20th-century cult icon. If you have prior affection for the earnest character, anticipate disappointment. Yet this mildly quirky bit of revisionism isn’t a bad attempt at satirizing the superhero genre. By finally mounting a feature about the legendary masked crime fighter, filmmakers retained little. There are broad biographical similarities, plus some of the TV show’s 1960s stylishness and tricked-out Chrysler Imperial known as the Black Beauty.