"Kick Ass" Review Thread

[Flying Spaghetti Monster]

I never said that comparing the films wasn't justified, what I meant to say is that they're two completely different films, yes they're based on satire but they deal with two different subjects. If you are attempting to claim that "Kick-Ass" as a satire isn't funny and is boring then that's fine...I disagree completely. I and most the of the theater laughed through two thirds of the film, got all of the jokes, and reacted where they were supposed to. Perhaps you should read the graphic novel...the satire and commentary comes across a lot better in the book.

Well, if I wanted to compare it to a film that it was more like, I would have picked any number of superhero films.

my point is that if it is a satire, it didn't quite succeed. To do a satire you have to master tone, technique and writing. You have to be a virtuoso filmmaker.

Instead of being virtuosos, they just crammed all the elements of their satire onto the screen and hoped it came across as a satire.
There was more wit and great dialogue in the TYFS trailer than in the entire running time of Kick-Ass.

 

[Admiral_Young]

I again suggest reading the graphic novel and then re-watch the movie...but if you didn't like that and are set with your opinion then that's fine.

 

[Flying Spaghetti Monster]

Maybe I will, but I shouldn't have to. i didn't have to with TYFS.

 

[Admiral_Young]

Fair enough.

 

[Broccoli]

[/obscurity]

I had a long post written, responding to various people. Through the magic of the internet, it got deleted. Perhaps it is for the best.

In short, Kick-Ass the comic is satirical. Very much so. Personally, I wouldn't classify the movie as being a satire (though it had satirical moments). I look at it as being more of a send-up of the superhero genre. I hesitate to call it a parody, because I feel that term has been tarnished by the string of [something] Movie films that have come out over the past 10 years.

The film was mis-marketed and some areas of the media attacked it for reasons it shouldn't have been attacked. Some will like the movie and some won't.

Also, Kick-Ass and Hit Girl never hooked up, nor was that ever implied in the film once. People who are still convinced of this...well, there are no words.

[obscurity]

 

[Admiral_Young]

I don't know how a person couldn't see the film as satire as already has been explained but whatever.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

I can't believe how hard the critics were on this movie. The mega-violence was supposed to be depraved and over the top! That was the "comedy" part.

I wonder why it flopped at the box office? Maybe the lead was too bland. He just didn't have the spark that other actors bring to the "young nerd with delusions of heroism" role. Mark Hamill and Toby Maguire make it look easy but it's probably tough to make that type of role stand out when you're competing with scene stealers like Chloe Mortiz and Christopher Mintz-Plasse.

However, it's not really satire. You can't satirize violence just by being violent. Starship Troopers already tried that schitck and failed.

And it's not a movie about people trying to be superheroes in the "real world" because there's way too many cartoony elements (the central-casting mafiosa for starters, and the carefully PC mixed-race gangs, a trope of comics) for me to believe this movie takes place in the real world. A movie (not necessarily a comedy) about a guy who tries to be a superhero in what is actually the real world might be interesting, but this movie isn't it. (Hmm, that sounds more like a premise for reality TV.)

Anyway...bring on Kick-Ass 2!

 

[Hyperspace05]

OK, I finally saw the film on DVD. (been avoiding this thread) I liked it. A *B+* grade.

I was one of the more vocal on the forum that was bothered by Hitgirl in the trailer - and it did still bother me. Although not as much, since the trailers/spots gave away most of the extreme stuff she did (well except her beating at the end).

However the rest was quite good. And I was really caught up in the end... UNTIL THE JETPACK. Ugh. That killed what was up to that point an excellent and fun film and dragged it down for me. It was just one bridge too far for me.

But it is a bit symptomatic of the film as a whole - It is trying to have its cake and eat it too. It tries to straddle the line between realistic take on a wanna-be superhero, and full-on comic mode. And coming after the most brilliant scene of the film (Hitgirls rescue and goodbye to her father), that final tonal change unfortunately bothered me a lot.

 

[Jax]

I wonder why it flopped at the box office?

Budget = $30 million

Box Office = $96,043,739

And this sort of film will sell very very well on DVD/Blu Ray so I would not call it a flop and yes indeed bring on KICK ASS 2, which seems like a go...

On 31 August, Millar stated that due to the home video success of the film, that a sequel has been green-lit and that Vaughn will begin pre-production on the film when he finishes X-Men: First Class

 

[JacksonArcher]

A lot of box office analysts will call a film either a success or failure purely on opening weekend alone when the age of Blu-Ray/DVD home media, Internet distribution like Netflix and other forms of entertainment media have changed the way we see our entertainment.

To call Kick-Ass a flop or failure would be inaccurate, however it was called one based on the mediocre opening weekend figure. That's because the film admittedly had a lot of hype and I guess expectations were consequently higher, but the film is by no means a flop or a failure. For a film that was made outside of the Hollywood system for only $30 million, which went on to make nearly $100 million worldwide (three times its budget, which is very much so considered a success) and then another $30 million in DVD sales in its first week of release, I would call that a verifiable success.

 

[Admiral_Young]

Well said Jackson...a TON of GREAT films are missed because people either don't know about them or don't see them based on their box office numbers, I personally think not seeing a film because of it's box office numbers is foolish, some people actually subscribe to this though which is unfortunate because they're missing a boat load of great films.