SXSW: Geekscape’s Brent Moore Reviews Kick Ass!
Since Jon and I both are going to post our thoughts of Kick Ass, one of the most highly anticipated movies of the year, I’ll try to keep this fairly short.
You know about Kick Ass, whether you’ve read the comic or just got caught up in the media blitz. This is Mark Millar’s attempt at a “realistic” super hero story. One that takes place in a real world with no super powers, just a kid with a lot of free time and imagination. The comic was kind of an instant classic. Kick Ass wasn’t some bad ass, he was just a kid trying to rise above his unhappy existence by doing something great. The comic was outstanding in that it didn’t show the general hero’s journey. Dave Lizewski didn’t rise to power and become the ultimate bad ass, he mostly just got beat half to death and rejected by the girl he loves. The cool thing about Kick Ass was that he just kept going, despite near constant failure. That was something inspiring. It was real.
Kick Ass the movie is the exact opposite. It takes everything that was good about the comic and destroys it, I kind of hated it. I can’t give my honest opinion without some spoilers so here is your warning:
SPOILER ALERT!!!!!
Kick Ass the book ends with Dave having been rejected by the girl and having his balls electrocuted. Kick Ass the movie ends with Kick Ass winning the girl and flying in a jet pack equipped with Gatling Guns. This is all you need know. It’s ridiculous. It loses the realism of the book. It loses the inspiring story of a kid who won’t give up his ideals despite not having the ability to see them through. It takes a character-driven and emotional book and turns it into a glossy, traditional action flick devoid of character. All of the great stuff between Dave and his father is excised, which removes the emotional weight of the character. Big Daddy goes from being a comic book nerd accountant to being an ex cop avenging his dead wife. Red Mist is revealed as a villain right from the beginning so we lose the twist at the end when he turns on Kick Ass. Literally everything of importance was changed about the book and there is absolutely no reason for it.
END OF SPOILERS!!!!!!
Ok, so I’ve got my spoilery grievances out of the way. Now for some positives. Nic (Big Daddy) Cage and Chloe (Hit Girl) Moretz are awesome. Their performances are a joy to watch. I am upset about the changes to their characters but I could not be happier with the way these actors realized them on screen. This really is their movie. You will leave the theater thinking of them, not the main protagonist. Hit Girl is given all the best scenes and is clearly the coolest character, and the movie knows it. It actually kind of fetishizes her a bit, which can be uncomfortable at times. Sexualizing an underage bad ass is not something we haven’t seen before (see Leon: The Professional) but it feels extra creepy here. However, she is totally bad ass and Chloe is going to be a force to be reckoned with in the future. I can’t say the same about the two leads though. Kick Ass, as played by Aaron Johnson, is fairly bland and his voiceover is beyond grating. Christopher (Mclovin) Mintz-Plasse is just an odd choice as Red Mist when compared to his comic counterpart and he’s impossible to take seriously. Which I suppose it what they were going for.
The action scenes are all fairly well done, although awfully derivative of other films (one of Hit Girls biggest action scenes is lifted completely from “Wanted”). Director Matthew Vaughn is someone who I don’t feel has found a voice as a director, and that is evident here. He borrows heavily from others, and while it’s a good imitation it still feels like an also-ran. There is also a surprising lack of violence here. Now, that’s not to say it’s not violent, because it is very much so, but the buzz leading into this made it out to be the hardest of R’s. I went in believing I would see the most hardcore violence in a mainstream film since Robocop, and that’s not the case at all. I’ve seen many more violent mainstream films just in the last year (District 9 is more graphically violent than Kick Ass). The hype probably came from the fact that the violence is coming from a ten year old girl, which is certainly eyebrow raising, but taken on its own the violence is nothing special. Gore hounds will not find much here to love.
The lack of violence and unique vision are actually fairly minor complaints at the end of the day though. What does the movie in is just simply the fact that they took a great premise that wasn’t compromised in the comic version and took every bit of realism and humanity and emotion out of it. Kick Ass is pure Hollywood. It’s as glossy as movies get and as shallow. If you haven’t read the books then you will probably walk away pretty entertained (as is evidenced by the overwhelming positive reaction after the screening) and even if you have read the book you will be able to enjoy the delightful performances from Cage and Moretz. However, if you loved the book or if you just think of the movie that could have been if they had not given into to convention, then this will feel like a blow to the chest.
