Kick Ass!

[Jagos]

Yeah, I'm a sucker for superhero movies (http://www.wired.com/underwire/2010/02/nsfw-kick-ass-trailer/)

Take a dose of Wanted, mix in Napoleon Dynamite, add a hint of Iron Man with a dash of Spiderman.

You get this guy. I wanna watch. Anyone else?

[Dracorion]

Fuck yeah.

[Archbio]

Fuck no.

[DFM]

I dunno.

[Meister]

I dunno either but I do note that apparently a 12-year-old girl forces a grown man to shoot himself in the head in this film. Jodie Foster ain't got nothing on this.

[Sithdarth]

This has some serious so bad its awesome potential. In fact that seems to be in general what they are shooting for. Sort of like Zombieland but for superhero flicks.

[Funka Genocide]

I have to see this movie. I'm not entirely sure I consciously want to, but I'm quite sure I'll find myself seated in a theatre with this movie playing on the screen.

I'm a sucker for super hero deconstructionism (is that a word?).

[Shyria Dracnoir]

Zombieland but for superhero flicks.
That alone is enough to keep me interested. Argue what you will about it's actual merits, Zombieland was fucking awesome

[Jagos]

Shyria, I like you. You have good taste. :)

[The Artist Formerly Known as Hawk]

HOLY SHIT!

I do not know what I expected when I clicked that link, but it certainly wasn't sheer awesome! That looks ace. It really does look like a combination of Wanted and zombieland, but about superheroes. I love all 3 of those things. This cannot fail.

[Lost in Time]

I regrettably want to see that movie so bad now.

[Archbio]

It's like a combination of Wanted, Zombie Land, Spiderman, Citizen Kane and the five first Pink Panther movie!

[Funka Genocide]

I can't believe no one has mentioned Mystery Men yet in their critical alchemy.

[Krylo]

I can't believe no one has mentioned Mystery Men yet in their critical alchemy.

Well these heroes appear to be effectual, so they're really nothing like Mystery Men.

[Wigmund]

Forgot to throw in some Boondock Saints into the mix.

This movie is going to be great.

[Kyanbu The Legend]

This looks to be pretty awesome. I might go see it if nothing prevents me from going.

[RickZarber]

Anyone who hasn't read the comic: they just put out a lovely hardcover trade of Kick-Ass last month. I highly recommend picking it up if that trailer gets your juices flowing.

I've been excited for this movie for a long time now. Did you know it was independently financed? No studio would foot the bill for it unless it was significantly toned down, so the director raised the money himself and then shopped it around to distributors after it was shot! There's some passion and some freakin' balls for ya.

Only one month and change to go! I'm stoked!

[Eltargrim]

A similarly NSFW trailer starring Hit Girl (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjO7kBqTFqo).

Saw this one first, and I thought the movie would be centred around her. Now I'm even more intrigued :)

[Kyanbu The Legend]

Anyone who hasn't read the comic: they just put out a lovely hardcover trade of Kick-Ass last month. I highly recommend picking it up if that trailer gets your juices flowing.

I've been excited for this movie for a long time now. Did you know it was independently financed? No studio would foot the bill for it unless it was significantly toned down, so the director raised the money himself and then shopped it around to distributors after it was shot! There's some passion and some freakin' balls for ya.

Only one month and change to go! I'm stoked!

Okay now I have to see this movie.

[Gregness]

Holy shit! Definitely getting the Zombieland vibe from this movie. I will be seeing this.

[Premmy]

I just know that the comic is apparently drawn by John Romita Junior. I LOVE john Romita Junior's art, and my people tell me this comic was pretty awesome. Probably going to see it.

[RickZarber]

Oh man, Romita's art is gorgeous.

EDIT: Less spoilery example
http://www.majorspoilers.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02a/marvelmay2009/KICKASS008_COV.jpg

[Meister]

As long as we're talking influence I think I'm spotting some Robert Rodriguez there, what with the kid superheroes and violence. And also the independent financing. Pretty sure I'm gonna see this and take a look at the book, too. There hasn't yet been a movie that I thought really pulled off the juxtaposition of superhero and everyday normal life consistently, but this looks like it might do the trick.

[Archbio]

I just noticed how much they were ripping off Lady Gaga!

[DFM]

She's the little one with the purple hair, right?

[Funka Genocide]

Well these heroes appear to be effectual, so they're really nothing like Mystery Men.


I didn't say Mystery Men was the foundation, I am just smelling some obvious topnotes. (And to be fair the only truly ineffectual members were The Spleen, Mr. Furious and The Invisible Boy, the latter two having crowning moments of awesome near the finale which validated their suspect super heroism. The Blue Raja, The Shoveler and The Bowler were offbeat but I wouldn't call them ineffectual, especially the Shoveler, that dude was a beast.)

[The Sevenshot Kid]

I managed to read the first three issues and they were kicka- awesome.

The movie appears to be pretty faithful and should be enjoyable. The one thing about it that makes me uneasy is Nic Cage. I just can't take him seriously in any of his movies, but that might actually be a good thing for this one.

[RickZarber]

Keep in mind though that the book was only finished last month. Therefore the movie will probably be less and less "faithful" as it goes along, as they were likely working only from story outlines for much of the final act.

Also, just from the few short scenes online, Nic Cage's version of the character seems 400x more interesting than the totally humorless, grizzled Big Daddy of the comic (who honestly only becomes interesting in the final issue).

[KittenMittons]

tthis movie looks like it could possibly be funny

[NVash]

Compared to the comic, this movie looks like trash. Nick Cage is nowhere near Big Daddy material and it's made by Disney making it that much worse.

I'm expecting this to be horrible.

Keep in mind though that the book was only finished last month. Therefore the movie will probably be less and less "faithful" as it goes along, as they were likely working only from story outlines for much of the final act.
Did not know that. I'll try to be a little nicer in my judgment of the movie now. But if anything, I'd at least prefer Big Daddy to look big and grizzled. I mean, the man is like a stick figure. How in the World did he get the name 'Big Daddy'?

[Krylo]

How in the World did he get the name 'Big Daddy'?

You've obviously never seen Nicholas Cage with his pants down.

[Marc v4.0]

You've obviously never seen Nicholas Cage with his pants down.

I have. Still not sure how he keeps the tiny diving suit from falling off.

[RickZarber]

and it's made by Disney making it that much worse.

I'm expecting this to be horrible.

Did you read this bit?Did you know it was independently financed? No studio would foot the bill for it unless it was significantly toned down, so the director raised the money himself and then shopped it around to distributors after it was shot! There's some passion and some freakin' balls for ya.Not made by Disney, dude. If it turns out horrible, that will not be the reason.

[Nique]

Where's this Disney stuff coming from? Isn't out from Lion's Gate or some-such oddball production co.?

Anyway. This looks like a great concept. Too bad it's predated by exsisting (terrible) films like 'Superhero Movie'.

Personally though, I'm not thrilled by the prospect of masturbation jokes and hyper-violence (12-year old girl murderering some dudes in the trailer? Blech). I think I'll pass.

[Arhra]

'Tis a fine movie, but 'tis no Zombieland.

Saw it last Wednesday. It's a bit of an indecisive deconstruction. Characters are flat. Surprisingly violent. They really needed to show Kick-Ass doing more stuff.

It sort of had two directions they could have taken it, and they went down the middle.

That being said, virtually everything Hit Girl says or does is fantastic. Some very funny bits too. Like the thing one of the bad guys had always wanted and that keeps popping up.

[The Sevenshot Kid]

I just finished up with the comic and the movie looks like it will be exponentially superior.

[Eltargrim]

Having never read the comic, I loved Kick-Ass: The Movie. My friends who had were a bit disappointed, but on it's own it's a great popcorn flick: lots of laughs, violence, and some surprisingly good acting from Nick Cage.

[Magus]

I wasn't sure if I should see it or not because Roger Ebert didn't like it but then upon reading the review I discovered he didn't cover a single aspect of the plot or characters or anything like that as a negative but instead went on a long rant about how this was going to cause little kids to mutilate one another. (http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100414/REVIEWS/100419986)

It seemed somewhat uncharacteristic for Ebert to do this, so I should probably go look at Rotten Tomatoes.

[The Sevenshot Kid]

This movie was a masterpiece. I can't imagine a better movie being released this year. It had everything going for it!

[Doc ock rokc]

I work at a movie theater restaurant so i deliver some food to kick ass alot. I have to say I never have laughed so hard at a movie as when i saw Hitgirl's introduction. I am Really going to pay to see this movie rather then waiting two weeks.

[Nique]

Ok let's be a little fair becuase here's the actual relevant part;

This movie regards human beings like video-game targets. Kill one, and you score. They're dead, you win. When kids in the age range of this movie's home video audience are shooting one another every day in America, that kind of stops being funny.

To me this sounds less like 'movie's like this are destroying america youth by making them murder each other' than 'in light of the horrific violence and general disregard towards life we are exposed to in real life, this paticular movie seems in bad taste'. Which, whether you agree with that or not, is a little more substantial than the reactionary response you credit him with.

And, really, if the movie (or any movie) features violence for it's own sake as the de facto means of entertaining the audience, as opposed to using it in a more relevant way to further the story or character development, he might have a good point. At the very least he might be one of the few individuals to open up a relevant dialog about violence in media that ventures beyond the nagging back-and-forth 'it does/ it doesn't' arugument that characterizes the public disscussion of the issue. For instance, Ebert suggests that a conversation about the morality of their actions may have benefitted characters like Big Daddy & Hit Girl;

Big Daddy and Mindy never have a chat about, you know, stuff like how when you kill people, they are really dead.

[Magus]

It just seemed like pointlessly reactionary rhetoric to apply to an R-rated film which is going to be viewed by adults. Parents should be intelligent enough not to take their kids to an R-rated movie just because it has an 11-year old in it. I KNOW they aren't, but they should be.

If the killing grew pointlessly monotonous he should've said so, it would be a better argument not to see it. If it's just the level of killing it seems contradictory to earlier reviews, such as giving Punisher: War Zone two stars instead of one. All in all it just seemed out of character for the man. In any case the critique would be of more aid to me if he pointed out specifically if the killing made the movie boring or something.

Overall he's been pretty good at pointing out what is wrong with films, though, so maybe he has a point, it just seemed like he could've made the point in a different manner, especially the monotony argument.

EDIT: And he seriously brought up teenage gang violence in his review, please don't tell me that isn't exactly like a "Think of the children!!!" argument.

[Nique]

And he seriously brought up teenage gang violence in his review, please don't tell me that isn't exactly like a "Think of the children!!!" argument.


Unless he comes out and says so, I think it's unfair to put his review exactly under that label. One idea was that the film's usage of violence being in bad taste due to said teenage gang violence. Another was that it is morally reprehensible to depict or watch as entertainment an 11 year old murdering people for no other discernable reason than the sheer violence. Not that these depictions of violence are the direct cause of real life violence.

Now I didn't see Kick-Ass so I don't know that the last idea there is accurate. But the first one is certainly more subjective. Either way I think there's certainly room for critisizing pointless depictions of violence.

It just seemed like pointlessly reactionary rhetoric to apply to an R-rated film which is going to be viewed by adults. Parents should be intelligent enough not to take their kids to an R-rated movie just because it has an 11-year old in it. I KNOW they aren't, but they should be.

The problem with that argument though is that media has assumed an extremely high level of influence and exposure in our lives and I think that warrents an equal amount of responsibility/ accountability that isn't quite there, or at least misses the mark by either censoring the wrong things or not censoring at all.

But I mean, of course, parents who take their 8-year old to see 'Saw' or whatever? 'Eff those guys.

[Eltargrim]

Relevant story: in the theatre, before the trailers started, I said something to my friends along the lines of "This is going to be fucking awesome". Lady in front of me turned around and said "Do you mind? I have my son here." (Son looks to be about 13).

My response: "Look, do you have any idea what this movie is about? My swearing is the least of your concerns right now."

She glared, turned back around, and dragged her son out pretty soon after it started.

Some people.

[Nique]

Haha what? The name of the movie is a cuss-word, what did she think was going to happen? You should write that up and submit it to notalwaysright.com (http://www.notalwaysright.com)

[Eltargrim]

I can see someone being offended by fuck, but not by ass, but I mean come on, any investigation at all into the movie indicates that it is has earned its rating.

And if I was working, I would have, believe me. D:

[Julford Hajime]

I'll just go ahead and pose this situation and then question, since it seems the most appropriate place.

I love super hero movies in general, and especially ones that don't take themselves all too seriously. Mystery Men is a good example here, I suppose. In this regard, I'm super-excited about seeing Kick-Ass with the family this next week.

However, I absolutely HATE it when a movie/show/whatever swears just for the of making the joke "Haha we had a little girl say 'fuck' we're awesome". Based on every preview I've seen, the movie seems to rely on "People say fuck" for a good two-thirds of the laughs.

Is it as prevalent as this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQwAvfb_Xfs&feature=related) trailer makes it seem?

[Nique]

Oh god. Mystery Men. I need to rewatch that. Ben Stiller's only good movie to date.

[The Sevenshot Kid]

You'll be pleasantly surprised to learn that very little of the humor is derived from shock value.

Seriously, the movie was just great. Not a single flaw, in my opinion.

[Magus]

Yeah, I saw it yesterday, it was pretty great, I have no big complaints. But it does have some flaws. One is that you can tell they compressed what is an apparently pretty lengthy comic book or series (I think it's a limited series?) into a two-hour movie. This seemed only really apparent in Kick-Ass's relationship with the girl going from her thinking he's gay to them having hot sex to her pining and worrying for him all in the same movie. It's the sort of arc that took Spider-Man three movies to go through. So there's that.

Another flaw would be that it starts out pretty gritty and realistic but by the end was insane. It does this gradually enough for a two-hour movie but by the time they introduced the jet pack with gatling gun attachments, the movie felt like a different beast, still equally good, but different.

Finally, character actions end up seeming out of character. Kick-Ass starts out as a super-do-gooder, with non-lethal stick weapons, but by the end of the movie is suddenly capable of blowing people away with guns. I'm thinking this is another facet of the compression, as I've seen artwork of this comic with Kick-Ass with bloody sticks, as if capable of beating people to death, so either they compressed his transformation, or the movie got either the character "wrong" or the events of the ending "wrong".

Other than that, this was a really great movie. It was very enjoyable, humorous, and did not get boring or monotonous in the least. I don't think the trailers are a very good indication of this movie's tone or style, though. For example, from the trailers I got the idea that Kick-Ass was like a James McAvoy in Wanted character. He is not at all. He is very much just like Peter Parker, and maintains a level of innocence throughout. This is perhaps belied by the actions they put him through in the plot, but the actual character is not a "total badass" by any means and is quite different from what the trailer seemed to be trying to get across. He's quite likable. I also liked Big Daddy and Hit Girl, which I was surprised by. I mean, I'm not really a Nicholas Cage fan, but they give him just enough to do here that he's funny and actually enjoyable to watch without ruining everything by being in it too much. Cage should continue to be given side character roles for the rest of his career, because this is where he shines.

As for Hit Girl, the movie actually addresses her "desensitization". It could've been done in more detail and more convincingly, but Big Daddy does bring up that he's made killing into a "game" for her because he needs someone to fulfill his vengeance but by creating the "superhero" mythos around himself and her he wants to attempt to retain some vestige of her innocence. Otherwise Big Daddy wouldn't dress up in a ridiculous Batman outfit, nor have his daughter do something similar.

All in all, I really enjoyed the movie. It's flawed but what's great really outshines the minor details I disliked.

EDIT: Oddly enough, despite this movie being filled with lots of violence, much of it committed by a minor (OH NO, better call Common Sense Media, or Roger Ebert now), I still think it's a better call to take your kid to this than Watchmen, which had no less than a dozen kids attending it, some as young as five or six, and even some grandmas. Parents are so silly. It's like they can't read the letter "R" or something.

[Terex4]

In our culture today, parents don't do research. They allow their kids to do whatever they want, then wonder why they grow up to be murderers and thieves. My observations supporting this are an entirely different beast and a complete thread derailing so on to how awesome Kick Ass is.

If I didn't know better I would have assumed Tarantino had made it and I'm a huge Tarantino fan.

It was way over the top which gave it most of its humor value and shows the world the answer to "why hasn't anyone actually suited up and tried this?" in the example of Kick Ass when he first starts out.

All in all I'd see it another few times.

[Osterbaum]

Kick-Ass went straight up to my Top 5. It was great, I liked how it was well balanced all around. The music was kicking ass aswel.

[The Sevenshot Kid]

I flipped out in the theater every time they would play some music from one of Boyle's films. Big Daddy's factory scene really stands out in my mind.

[Azisien]

So I...really thought this movie was Kick Ass?

[Carade]

I thought that it was pretty good. Although one major flaw is that it was emotionally schizophrenic and didn't balance the drama between the humor well. I mean having a Modern Warfare reference right before Big Daddy being burned alive was kind of a level breaker

[Magus]

I flipped out in the theater every time they would play some music from one of Boyle's films. Big Daddy's factory scene really stands out in my mind.

Yeah, I knew that song was from something else but heck if I could place it. What movie was it from?

EDIT: Never mind, it was 28 Days Later. Knew I recognized it. And in fact that song was used in 28 Weeks Later too so it was quite recognizable.

[TDK]

Oh my god Kick Ass was amazing I just saw it

I don't even

Holy crap

[Osterbaum]

Although one major flaw is that it was emotionally schizophrenic and didn't balance the drama between the humor well.
I actually though it did exactly that pretty well.

[Jagos]

Kick-Ass went straight up to my Top 5. It was great, I liked how it was well balanced all around. The music was kicking ass aswel.

Only Zombieland is currently higher. I like the movies of people that are normal but capable of kicking ass, given the right circumstances.

With KA though, it never felt too out of place. It was just on < this side of believable without going too over the top and suspending my belief that I could do a few things similar. Kickass' growth was believable and did a fine job in the first few fights of being a guy that was trying to get better.

Even though KA was getting beat down, I felt sorry for him to take a beating and keep trying to win a fight that he should have lost. All in all, there's not much that could have gone better.