- Roger Ebert's Review of 'Kick Ass'
Ebert used to be my go-to guy for movie reviews. Unfortunately for me (alright, alright... more so for him), he had a stroke, and now he's about as reliable as that mood ring I purchased at Afterthoughts in the mall circa 1993. While he's never been much for appreciating the element of surprise, often relying on revealing entirely too much about the plot in his reviews, I can almost always find something we both agree upon. In this case, he points out in his scathing review that the movie has untapped potential. I wholeheartedly agree, but it's where that potential lies that Rog and I disagree.
'Kick Ass' flip-flopped a bit too much for me. It's like it couldn't quite decide what kind of movie it was. Am I watching a satire on comic books? Or on comic-book-inspired movies? An homage? A farce? Forgiving myself for not being familiar with the original material, I ignored these questions and just decided to roll with it. But they kept popping up. There's a scene when our heroes are in dire straits and the familiar voice of the protagonist narrates that the audience member is probably reassuring himself that everything is going to be okay... but that he should stop expecting a happy ending. Besides, hadn't we seen 'Sin City'? This voice-over made the wannabe-cinephile in me wish there was more of this kind of material, crafted towards those in the audience who were "in the know." But that's been done... sort of... (The best example I can think of is 'Hot Fuzz' for action movies... I'm having a hard time thinking of a comic-book-specific example... if one exists.)
And while the dark humor of the movie (i.e. the way we're introduced to Big Daddy and Hit Girl, involving some father-daughter target practice) might point to making fun of the genre, I never really felt like that's what director Matthew Vaughn was trying to convey. So, let's just assume the ludicrousness of it all is supposed to lead to its inherent awesomeness. I can dig that. (But then again, other parts of the movie seem to be throwing reality in the face of the typical comic book plots: Our hero's first attempt at fighting crime almost sends him home in a body bag.) As one article states, "Yes, it’s transgressive to have a young female character portrayed as a non-stop killing machine, but no more so than it is absurd, and therein lies the zest of the comedy."
The early scenes give promise of an entirely different comedy. Aaron Johnson has a certain anti-charm, his problems in high school are engaging, and so on. ... Say what you will about her character, but Chloe Grace Moretz has presence and appeal. Then the movie moved into dark, dark territory, and I grew sad.
Yet again, Strokey McStrokerton is back to his old tricks. Don't be sad, Roger! That "dark, dark territory" redeems the entire movie! Maybe I'm cynical, or trying too hard to be one of the cool kids, or maybe it's because the back of my drivers license reads "Firearm Safety" because of that course I took in 6th grade (age 11, for the record). But speaking for myself, I could have done with less mediocre teen comedy and more shoot-outs and martial arts scenes.
That's literally my only complaint about the movie. It seemed a bit disjointed: one minute we're chuckling at the awkward teenager jerking off to droopy boobs, the next minute we're watching a guy explode in an industrial-sized lumber microwave. I realize movies need to set up the characters, but come on, it's rated R! Maybe it was a pacing problem. Once I caught a glimpse of an 11-year-old going all "Bride on the Crazy 88's" and saving Kick Ass's ass in that apartment, I thought we had left the land of slightly funny coming-of-age B.S.; I was ready to buckle my seatbelt for the rest of the movie. Sadly, I had to wait until the very end for the climactic shoot-out scenes to be fully satisfied.
But oh, what a climax. I wish I could fulfill the prophecy that is the name of this blog and give it all away, but that goes against my principles. :) The first time I'd ever seen a shoot-out sequence filmed in pitch black was in 'Equilibrium' and I was blown away then, too. The addition of a maniacal Nic Cage and the shooter being prepubescent made it all the more epic. Roger Ebert would probably call me a bloodthirsty sociopath for thinking there needed to be more of this kind of thing in 'Kick Ass' -- but at least I remain a safe distance aware from "square," because that's obviously what it's all about for us crazy kids.
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