Kick-Ass: More like Ass Kicked

(Keep in mind: I’ve never read the comic.)

I have a confession to make, I was a little hesitant to see this movie. Sure, the previews looked good and the premise of a normal guy throwing on a wet suit and getting his ass kicked, while also kicking ass, peaked my interest. What turned me off to the whole movie was Hit Girl, the 11-year-old who kicked as much, if not more, ass as her dad, the gun-toting Batman Big Daddy.

kickass-hitgirl-school Let her say “cunt” and “fuck” all she wants, it was the fact that she could kill so easily. It made me uneasy. Yes, it was fiction, but it was still a child, and I don’t like seeing any children put in ultra violent (or any violent) situations, whether it be fictional or real. I remained uneasy through out the entire movie (more so at the very end), but I accept that is how I am wired, and I didn’t let it take away from my enjoyment of the movie as a whole. Did I like her character? Yes, very much so. She was  strong and independent and really good at what she did, and Chloe Moretz did a fantastic job. She was a vulnerable kid with a skewed innocence when she needed to be, and a take-no-shit vigilante when she put that purple wig on.

As far as the movie… it was interesting. Our titular character, Kick-Ass, or Dave, had good intentions when he donned the wet suit and batons, but he had no skill. Basically, Dave is a comic book fan, wonders why there are no super heroes in real life, and decides to become one himself. He stumbles onto Big Daddy and Hit Girl, two people already in the masked “hero” game and gets tangled up with their mess. So, while the movie focuses on Dave, the story is driven by the actions of Big Daddy and Hit Girl.

Some bad things.

And a couple of good things.

But mostly bad things.

kickass-with-baton While this movie had its fair amount of serious moments, it’s not in the same serious vein that many of the graphic novel/comic adaptions of the last few years have fit into. It reveled in its comedic moments, and its pop culture references — especially its call back to Adam West’s Batman vernacular. But when it switched modes and became serious, it was deadly serious. If Matthew Vaughn intended to take you on a bipolar roller coaster, then he accomplished it.

Most of the reviews I’ve read in major publications lambast this movie for being dweebish, too geeky, trying too hard to be “cool.” And you know? It’s kind of all those things, because the characters in the movie are dweebish and geeky and trying really hard to be cool and awesome and kick some ass. It’s what people do, in real life and in this movie. I don’t see that as being a negative thing.

This is a See In Theaters movie in my book.

(Did the adaption live up to the comic? I don’t know. I’m afraid I’ll have another Wanted experience if I try to read it, so you tell me.)

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