The low-down on the plotline for those who don't know (or Mark Millar haters who don't WANT to know):
Kick-Ass tells the story of average teenager Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson), a comic-book fanboy who decides to take his obsession as inspiration to become a real-life superhero. As any good superhero would, he chooses a new name — Kick-Ass — assembles a suit and mask to wear, and gets to work fighting crime. There’s only one problem standing in his way: Kick-Ass has absolutely no superpowers. His life is forever changed as he inspires a subculture of copy cats, is hunted by assorted violent and unpleasant characters, and meets up with a pair of crazed vigilantes, including the 11-year-old sword-wielding dynamo known as Hit Girl (Chloe Moretz) and her father, Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage).
Ok, my opinion. I believe this shows a film that will do what is says it does; Kick Ass. The action and the comedy seem to be solidly in place for some mindless free-for-all in a 'real world'. However, I am not convinced that it will be the wildest of rides, namely in involves the idea that Lizewski would instantly become a success (I DON'T READ COMICS, if this is a plot point, forgive me) and spawn copycats. The idea of subculture does highlight some cool mojo that could be in place here ala 'The Warriors' but what I really want to understand is that what obsticals does Kick-Ass have to actually face except the lack of powers.
Thinking about it, Batman doesn't have powers (they do mention Batman by the way in the trailer), which leads me to believe that in the trailer, this world has no concept of masked vigiligantism? Well, take a news report with some idiot in a costume (I am not talking about Fathers for Justice, they are not idiots) and there you go.
Problematic. As well as this, the first teaser highlighted it well: The Insanity Aspect. In a normal Superhero film, liberties are taken with this aspect. Helps with my theory of why the Punisher films never succeed as one of its ingredients. We have seen in the trailer, Big Daddy and Hit Girl are fully capable of destorying opponants and it might look cool but 1.) Two distinct personalities of a father and daughter and 2.) A FATHER AND DAUGHTER INVOLVED IN WHOLESALE KILLING. I am alright with this aspect of unbelievablity but I cannot really get into the idea that they are trying to make it realistic but not actually showing the real insanity that these characters have (minus Kick-Ass).
But really, if I don't think about it, it will be a fun film for... all the men in life (and women, because they have to put a kissing scene in a fraction of a second to keep the girls happy and allow their boyfriends to take them. Can't people stop with that? RANT ON I mean, come on, women do not always need that type of stupid mockery. Of course do it for a RomCom because you expect it, but for this type of film, that is just being biased to societal mistreatment. RANT OVER).
Brainless but fun. Synder and Tarantino would be proud with its overstylization and reckless violence (and in the case of Synder, needless), and could be a fun ride to see in the cinema.
Performance wise, I actually enjoy it and I love the inclusion of Mark Strong as the villian for he is one of the best character actors working today and Nicolas Cage is getting better again until Season of the Witch comes out and reminds people of how bad he is sometimes. The main role looks like a career making start and generally, the character seems like the nicest guy to start knowing outside of a criminal situation. Maybe in a comic book shop.
I could not get a good hook onto the other characters but stock friends help in a respect to the pathelic character, and Hit Girl seems like a one-note joke that every fanboy will go mental for.
All in all: SEE.
I SUMMON FLIP THE PAGE FOR HIS OPINION (if he has time, and I did promise a cookie)
*SHAZAM*
SOCKAMAGEE! Turns out that as well as being a revived Black Lantern, noir-style mutant detective AND a comics critic I'm also CAPTAIN MARVEL!
*ahem* Anyway, I'm here for once (on my OWN SITE?! Say it ain't so!) to throw in the comics fan's opinion on this stuff. What can I say? I've never read Kick-Ass out of a want to A) not risk the sort of Millar error that can happen with crap like Wanted and B) it helps to not read a comic before the movie version. only bad things can happen. So it's with a relatively uninformed mind that I can say that this is pretty bloody cool.
It has that dangerous element in making a comic book fan the centrepiece of the story, something that can either lead to great empathy on the viewer's part or the feeling that you're being horribly insulted throughout with how our horrific community is represented. Thankfully from the new trailer this is looking more like the former and less like Superboy Prime levels of hate. Whether the film maintains this is the crucial point in whether this will go down as a classic or as just another offensive action wank-fest.
Not that wank-fest is the best choice of words here, because the most significant girl role is the horror that is Hit Girl. It's not that there's anything in particular about a swearing ultra-violent kid that puts me off this movie except EVERYTHING ABOUT HER! I get that it's supposed to offend my sensibilities but it comes off as the sort of juvenile crap that most people think goes hand in hand with a 'mature' comic nowadays.
But then despite those gripes this looks genuinely good. It looks like it falls somewhere in between the Fox side of things where everything is changed to the point of barely resembling the source material and the Snyder side of things where it's so exact that the fun is taken out of the movie for the most part. And THAT, ladies and gentlemen, is the place that any comic book movie would want to be.
That and Nicholas Cage actually seems to be good in the trailer, which is bloody unprecedented for this decade!
Now I must fly off to help fight off the waves of bad characterisation coming from the realms of comicdom and to... attempt to write my own articles instead of piggybacking off of my dear regular guest writer. CAPTAIN MARVEL AWAY!
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