Escape to the Movies: Kick Ass 2

[SpaceGhost]

Oh hey look, another person on the internet taking a pop at Man of Steel for no good reason. That's what you became for a moment then Bob. Not a respected member of a field, another person on the internet.

This. Bob should totally have, like, done a video review for the movie...and maybe even another video to argue/explain his opinion!

And if he didn't want to be just another person on the internet, he should have posted these videos on a major popular culture website!

Shame on you, Bob!

p.s. And get a nickname, Bob! Don't you understand branding???

 

[Carpenter]

Oh hey look, another person on the internet taking a pop at Man of Steel for no good reason. That's what you became for a moment then Bob. Not a respected member of a field, another person on the internet.

This. Bob should totally have, like, done a video review for the movie...and maybe even another video to argue/explain his opinion!

And if he didn't want to be just another person on the internet, he should have posted these videos on a major popular culture website!

Shame on you, Bob!

p.s. And get a nickname, Bob! Don't you understand branding???

So having your opinion stated over and over again on a "popular culture website" makes you something other than just another guy on the internet?

That must be why you post here.

 

[Aurini]

Hmm, you're tempting me - it sounds like one heck of a movie - but I'm standing by my boycott of Jim Carey after his ignorant, scatalogical, gun-control video, especially given the hypocrisy of playing a vigilante character.

Jim Carey has the right to hire armed guards and engage in vigilante fantasies, while us mere mortals are to be disarmed, and drool vapidly while watching his films.

 

[Yuuki]

Call me strange but I usually consider RottenTomatoes to be at least a semi-decent reliable source of criticism, sometimes I feel it's a bit off but usually they sit well with how I feel about the movie (since it's a compilation of a whole variety of critics).

Which is why I don't get why the difference between Bob's opinion, the public opinion and the critics' opinions differs so MUCH:

I loved the first Kick-Ass and one of the reasons was the sprinkling of comedy during all the killing, primarily just how out-of-place it felt to see a father teaching his little girl how to kill people...which is something you almost never see outside of anime

If Kick-Ass 2 is just more of Kick-Ass then what's with the sudden drop in ratings...

 

[OmniscientOstrich]

Hooray! I've actually seen something before Bob gets to review it for once.

Spoiler: Now, for my thoughts on the film

Overall, I really enjoyed this film like I did the previous installment though I have a few mostly niggling complaints that I'll get to a little later. I think what these films seem to do best is get you swept up in the adrenaline and instill you with this sense of earnestness and triumph, then sweeping the rug from under your feet and letting you plunge face first right back down to cold reality. It gives you a sense of hope, but then quickly reminds you that in the real world (not to say the Kick-Ass universe is remotely representative of the real world, but roll with me here) actions have consequences and their are people in this world who you really don't want to fuck with, but it does at least offer a sense of closure by the end of things. All of these characters are kind of demented to an extent, they have to be to actually go out and do this, but they have a sincere desire to want to help people and make their city a better a place without reducing it to dust in an effort to save it like the latest incarnation of Superman did (for the record I rather like that film overall but it does have some glaring faults). Their hearts are in the right place. Honestly some of the best parts in this movie for me were seeing the Justice Forever crew in action, imbuing that aforementioned feeling of 'if we just band together and make a stand, we can really make a difference' kind of thing. Even those small scenes of them working at the soup kitchen was really nice, reinforces that altruistic sincerity and gives the impression that no job is too small for them. I really liked (and barely recognised) Jim Carrey and I think it's a shame that he gets killed off so early on, kinda takes the wind out of the sails of the Justice Forever movement pretty quickly up until the final conflict. That's one problem I have actually, the film runs for 103 minutes and things can feel a bit rushed. The Colonel and Dave's dad dying didn't really have much time to sink in or leave a real impact because we have to keep moving things along and a lot of the newly introduced side characters don't have a lot of time to really grow beyond their origin stories.

I really liked Chris D'Amico/The ************ (I'm not sure what the cannon spelling is but I personally prefer it as all one word) in this as well. In the first film, he's a spoiled brat who's in way over his head and wants to be a 'hero' for the glory and to live out a fantasy. But his dad dying gave him not only a motive for revenge, but also unleashed a more sadistic edge to him, an excuse for him to carry on playing his little game. He's funny to watch, he's hedonistic and he's an idiot, but he's also ruthless and has no shame in taking shortcuts. The Toxic Mega Cunts are right down to the name a reflection of just how shallow he is, a crew of hired help to do his dirty work for him dressed and named after ethnic stereotypes just because it sounds cool and it's comic book. I love it. It's stupid, it's politically incorrect and it totally works coming from him. The costume is pretty bitchin' too. Kind of looks like a dominatrix samba dancer. Mother Russia is basically the Rule 63 version of Ivan Drago. That should tell you all you need to know. And I agree, the scene with her taking out the cops was awesome, especially that bit with the lawnmower, that was pretty brutal. XD

My biggest gripe with this film and I guess by extension the first one is what they do with Katie. She shows up for about 30 seconds and then drops off the face of the earth. When I saw the first film, I looked up on the comics and while I haven't read them I do more or less know the major plot points and where they differ from the films. By and large, I'm glad they changed things especially when it comes to the comic's twist with Big Daddy which is just demonstrable but I wasn't really happy with how either one of them handled the Katie situation. I don't buy that she'd be so quick to forgive and immediately shack up with him after he confessed that he wasn't gay, but I also don't buy that she would have him beaten up and then send him a pic of her blowing another guy. I think it would be a lot more down to earth for her to just say 'okay, get away from me, I don't want to see you again' which is really perfectly reasonable given the circumstances. I objected to the way the film went about things but I see why they did it and I could roll with it, the relationship gave Kick-Ass a reason to hang up his boots, it offers the character a confidante to understand what they're going through, it adds to the tension during the attempted snuff film as there's someone watching who knows who's behind the mask and it makes things a little less bleak for the audience. I can understand the advantages, but I think if you're going to go down this route and make the character something of a major staple in the series then you have to follow through with that. The Katie in the first film seems genuinely nice, very patient with Dave's antics and harbours some pretty strong feelings for him by the end of especially when she nearly saw him get killed.

Yet here, she doesn't even wait for any kind of explanation or possibility that there's a misunderstanding, even he mentions 'it's a ****-Ass thing' which she actually knows about. Instead, she just immediately ditches him for some other guy purely on the basis that he has a bigger dick and then you never hear from her again. It seems drastically out of character and looks like the writer just wanted a quick and easy means of getting her out of the way and did so with a cheap throwaway joke. Admittedly I laughed at said joke, but that's not the point. They seem to have ousted here so they get a few quirky chuckles out of Dave and Night ***** shacking up and to set up the possibility of him and Hit Girl getting together but not quite yet because she's not old enough so we'll save that for the next one, though I really hope they don't end up going down that road, it just feels wrong. >.> I really don't know why so many films are incapable of having two main characters of the opposite gender share a platonic friendship.

2:36-2:48 Yeah, I noticed that too and I don't recall them explaining that either. Dave even refers to her as a '15 year old girl' in the film which means if he's still attending the same school then he would have had to have been 15 or so himself in the first movie unless he got held back a year or something? Like you say, it's a minor detail but just something that kinda bugged me. Though I have to say, in regard to the whole Hit Girl going to high school thing; as fun as it was to see her make the blonde bimbo shit herself the whole Alpha ***** [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AlphaBitch] gambit just feels really played out as this point. It's satisfying to see her comeuppance and she's easy to hate but it's only because she's designed to be hated, she's designed to be a caricature with no redeeming qualities and it just feels lazy. Also it feels really out of character for HG to go weak at the knees when that boy band came on, her reaction should have been along the lines of 'who the fuck are these poncy twats?' I get that they're trying to put across that she's getting older, discovering boys and hormones and all that jazz but a 15 year old metalhead isn't going to suddenly start giving a modicum of a shit about Katy Perry or whatever just because she's stacked. If you're going to make her fawn over someone for establishment purposes, at least make it someone who isn't the kind of person she would normally despise, but again this isn't nearly as big of an issue as the length of my complaint would suggest.

But like I said, overall I really enjoyed it, the film is funny, endearing, well acted and has some great action scenes. On a side note, I have to second the notion that I don't think an age gate was really necessary just because you say the word 'fuck' a few times especially when you consider what Yahtzee's videos contain on a weekly basis.

 

[Calabi]

Well this is one I disagree with Bob on and agree with the Rotten Tomatoes ratings though maybe not for the same reasons.

I liked the first Kickass alot, but this one was just, dull, boring and predictable(nihilistic). None of the characters I cared about or were interesting or made any sense. It was trying to be real and serious one second, then over the top and unreal the next. The action wasnt even interesting or exciting. The mean girls and boy band nonsense. The budget looked cheaper than the first film.

 

[RTR]

The day we lose Nic Cage will be a sad, sad day.

 

[RTR]

Considering that this month we got Elysium, this movie and World's End next week, this is probably the best August for movies in a long time.

 

[Pinkamena]

Well, definitely going to watch this. Loved the first one!

 

[JimB]

How didn't Superman act as Superman in Man of Steel?

Superman is not a character so much as he is an archetype, or an exemplar, or something. Superman is hope, stopping only just short of being a literal personification of hope the way Morpheus and Daniel are personifications of dreaming in Sandman. Superman hopes not only for himself, but he is hope for everyone else: He is the hope that, as you are falling off the roof and the unbreakable grip of gravity is pulling you down to your death, something or someone impossible will happen to save you.

Man of Steel likes to talk about hope, but its actions do not suit its words. Kal-El does not dare to hope that things will turn out okay. Instead, he broods and skulks and hides himself away, living in constant fear not of the world but of what the world might be or might do, and if hope is a perception that the future might end well, then fear of it ending badly is the very opposite of hope. Even after he's donned the suit, Kal-El takes no risks in the name of hope, perhaps best exemplified by his decision to kill Zod: Kal-El could have responded to that situation any of a dozen different ways, whether covering Zod's eyes with his hands or flying up into space or using his obviously superior leverage to turn Zod's face away from innocents or just asking him, "Look, dude, as much time as it's taking you to just look at these people you're threatening to kill, it's obvious you're trying to force me into killing you. Do you maybe want to just talk about your problems?" Instead, he lets his fear of Zod's actions rule him and he makes a decision to kill.

Likewise, no one in the world of Man of Steel has any reason to believe Kal-El will save them. He won't. He will tear through major metropolitan areas like the villains he opposes, causing billions of dollars of property damage and killing thousands, because he does not give a damn. He doesn't care. He doesn't like humanity, let alone love it. He saves...what, two people? Some army guy, and Lois Lane? Everyone else has to save themselves. For all that Jor-El talks about Kal-El being an example to others, you'll note the only humans to act compassionately and risk themselves to help others are Perry White and Jenna Olsen, people who never saw Kal-El save anyone and who couldn't have been inspired by him. They were already better than Kal-El before he ever got there.

Finally, Superman is not Kal-El, like this movie thinks. Superman isn't even Clark Kent. Clark Kent is Superman. Clark Kent is a boy who was raised as human by good, human parents, who grew into a good, mostly human man. Superman is the disguise he wears, not the other way around. Superman is a super man because of the man Clark Kent is, not because of the super powers Kal-El got as an accident of birth.

Also, not for nothing, but Superman didn't act like Superman in Man of Steel because the movie is so ashamed of Superman as a concept it won't even let the movie call him that, and when it starts to do so, it does while apologizing for it.

 

[PH3NOmenon]

Is the age difference thing off by more than a year? I have no clue what ages US high school actually takes on, but if it's only a single year then that's easily explained by Kick-Ass having to redo the year in which he got beaten to a pulp and started his crime-fighting spree, no? I mean, how much time to study do you have between all that?

 

[soren7550]

I thought that the age gate would be due to the gang rape of a minor and the shooting of kids, but instead, it's because Bob said '************' without bleeping it? Weird, considering that most other video contributors get away with saying such things uncensored all the time, and without age gates.

Speaking of, my big question of the film is 'does it include the gang rape and/or the shooting of little kids from the comic'?

 

[Sejborg]

How didn't Superman act as Superman in Man of Steel?

snip

Meh. This was his origin story. He must first learn to step into the light, and learn to be the symbol before he can have the humans join him. Superman saves lots of lives in Man of Steel. In fact he saves the world from total destruction at the end. He saves all the kids in the bus as a kid. He saves all the people at the oil platform. Not just two people.

The movie is as much about Superman getting ready to take on the role, as it is of humans being ready to accept something like him amongst them.

 

[RTK1576]

I can't say I was a fan of KA1. Call me crazy, but I instinctively have a problem with Hit Girl. An eleven-year-old butchering and killing people (even if they're bad guys) is not something to get giddy about. If the movie was more a solid deconstruction of superhero stories, I'd understand. But as Movie Bob states, the movie franchise loves its characters too much to go that direction. And for me, it's a bit of a turn-off.

Still, I'll end up seeing KA2 when it comes out on DVD. I mean, why not?

Man of Steel note: Bob, I think it's time you revisit it. Make a column or Big Picture episode. Get it out of your system. I got angry last time when you focused too much of your time on Amazing Spider-Man, and you didn't do that here. I applaud that, except that I can sense that you really do want to correct the record. And this time out, I'd support it. Because much like you, I felt like my reaction to Man of Steel was more positive initially. But then time, thought, and fandom reaction wore down my opinion.

It was much like my reaction to the finale of LOST, which I liked... until I thought about it.

 

[Trishbot]

How didn't Superman act as Superman in Man of Steel?

snip

Meh. This was his origin story. He must first learn to step into the light, and learn to be the symbol before he can have the humans join him. Superman saves lots of lives in Man of Steel. In fact he saves the world from total destruction at the end. He saves all the kids in the bus as a kid. He saves all the people at the oil platform. Not just two people.

The movie is as much about Superman getting ready to take on the role, as it is of humans being ready to accept something like him amongst them.

Eh, he still lets his father die when he could prevent it, still causes billions of dollars of property damage and likely kills thousands of people himself accidentally in the Zod fight, straight-up kills Zod himself (that whole deal made no sense; can Zod, like, not just turn his gaze slightly to the side? Why are those civilians not even attempting to get out of the way? Can Superman not just, I don't know, yank him away or fly away with him like he does in tons of other fights?)... Superman didn't feel like Superman to me...

Then again, I am a purist. I'm the same person who was pretty pissed that Batman lets Ra's Al Ghul die in Batman Begins, gets fooled by literally every villain (seriously, stop getting duped), is the world's worst detective, can't fight worth a damn, growls like a chain-smoker gurgling gravel, and has the subtlety of driving a tank on rooftops. But I guess Batman: The Animated Series spoiled me.

 

[Saltyk]

Thank you, Bob. I will probably be going to see it with some friends this weekend. I had no fear that it would be good, but I think you got me excited for it.

The most memorable part of kick ass one for me was when kickass was helping a dude being beated up by 2 dudes and kickass intervene but got his ass kicked instead, then one of the thug ask "what's wrong with you man, you gonna die for someone you don't even know?"

Of which kickass reply "what's wrong with me? 2 dudes ganging up on one guy while everyone just watches and you wanna know what's wrong with me?"

I don't know what but that brought a tear to my eyes, maybe it just brought out the idealistic youth I have inside of me which was nurture by disney movies but now buried deep inside by real life practicality.

Yes, I loved that scene. I think for much the same reason. Kick Ass was just so earnest in that moment. He really didn't want to just let these guys beat up on a guy. He didn't know who they were or why they were doing it, but he knew he wouldn't allow it. And that was just beautiful. Plus, they didn't try to pretty up the fight. Dave was clumsy and awkward and the fight was ugly. But that added to it's weight and realness. Probably my favorite scene in that movie.

Hit Girl was awesome the whole way through, though.

 

[Mr. Q]

Honestly, unlike other commentators, I'm not gonna get my nipples in a twist over the age restriction thing. Same thing happened with this week's Movie Defense Force and it had an actual reason behind. Either way, I'm not upset about it and that's the least of my worries regarding this weeks episode.

Regarding Mark Millar, I have a hard time understanding what is going on inside his head. At times, he does some good things like the first two Ultimates volumes and his assistance to stop online stalker(s) from harassing female comic creators like Gail Simone. But there are times when he does shit that piss me off, most his independent work like the Kick Ass comics and his flippant attitude towards the press when his overuse of violence and rape in his books. I never fully got into his early works like The Authority (was never big on my heroes being ultra-violent and extreme) but I went through Wanted and first Kick Ass books and I couldn't finish either one. Also, there were moments in Ultimates 1 that made me cringe (Hank Pym's more violent attack on Janet Van Dyne for starters). Mark Millar's total "Fuck comics and its fan base" outlook towards his work and the world around him is a definite sign that he should retire from this gig and find something better to do with his life (seeking professional help would be a good first step). At the rate he's going with this, Millar may be ending up as another "insane in the membrane" creator like Frank Miller. Given his love of ultra-violence and douche-bag characters, I almost want to say Millar and Michael Bay would be perfect for one another but I don't wanna give Hollywood anymore bad ideas (they have enough already).

That said, I preferred Kick Ass the movie because it removed the worst aspects of the book and make the characters deranged but likeable. I'm willing to give the sequel a look this weekend.

As for Bob's predictions of which call Olga Kurkulina will receive, I'm betting on Expendables 3 but it depends. They already, according to rumor, brought in Mel Gibson, Antonio Banderas, and Harrison Ford after Bruce Willis asked for too much money and I haven't heard much casting of female roles. Maybe hire her for one of the possible female Expendables movie projects currently in pre-production. Perhaps have her team-up with Chloe Grace Moretz, Gina Carano, Lucy Lawless, and Zoë Bell. Just a thought.

 

[Stabby Joe]

Well this is jarring. The critical consensus has not been positive, despite Bob being in line with it with the first film. Then again he's been like that in the past (Sucker Punch and the Amazing Spider-Man, different reasons of course).

Personally, I'm not so sure. I've had less time than usual to go the cinema and while I am interested to see where these characters go next since i enjoyed the first so much, anything that's critically less than decent is low on my priorities for time reasons.

 

[level27smartass]

The main point of the Kickass comics was to shit on the characters. The author puts them through all this horrible stuff because the series isn't about superheroes, it's about consequences. Dave becomes a superhero and loses everything as a result. You can say that it's ripping on all the people that want to be superheroes, and it should, because while wanting to be a superhero is pretty much natural, actually becoming one is stupid beyond reason. Saying that the comics aren't good because they're too bitter isn't good reasoning. They're supposed to be bitter because the entire point is that they're bringing reality into a fairly childish fantasy. The reason that the characters are all stupid is because one would have to be stupid (or suicidal, I suppose) in order to dress up and pick a fight with mobsters in the real world. Now obviously if every comic did that, it would suck, but one comic doing it? Where's the issue? If you want to say Kickass sucks, point out the reliance on shock value, or the schizophrenic tone, but saying "I don't like the comic because it's honest" is just... silly. I'm also not sure where these accusations of racism and misogyny come from. I've only read two works of Millar, but both of them featured strong female leads who put most of the men to shame, and I must be missing the racism part because I'm drawing a blank.

Anyway, good to see the film is alright. I can imagine that there are a few scenes that won't fit in, and that's fine. As long as it makes me want to see Kickass 3, it's doing an alright job.

Well Kick Ass 2(comic) did come off as needlessly brutal as well as pretentious. It just if you hate medium and its fan then by all means write something criticizes both. How ever if just use the opportunity to write a whiny fuck you that for lack better term is 2edgy while not presenting an alternative or something of quality then your being a whiny fuck. Take for example Dante's Inferno;that book is an extended fuck you to every one who Ruined Dante Allegri's life who ever what keeps interesting is his prose and writing.

 

[Strain42]

Okay, I have a serious question to anyone who has already seen this movie.

How gory is it? I know that's a silly question, but I'm pretty squeamish, and whether I see this movie or not really does depend on the answer to it.

Is it like the first one? (which I had no problems with) or is this more like Super, a film I found so grotesque with its gore that I didn't make it past the first half hour.

If there is gore, is it campy/cartoony or do they really try to dial it up to eleven and make it look real?

I'd like to see it, but if it's too gory, I'll have to pass, as I tend not to enjoy movies that might cause my body to throw up.