Alright, so I just watched Kick-Ass (haven't read the comic book). My verdict? It's...OK.
I believe it to be an entertaining pastiche of the superhero genre of comic books, but it's somewhat overrated. Hit-Girl, in particular, seems to exist more for shock value than anything, and the novelty of an eleven-year-old girl nonchalantly killing criminals with a katana wears thin after a while. None of the characters are that original; Dave or "Kick-Ass", the main character, is a more underwhelming version of Peter Parker who fulfils the cliché of the awkward comic book nerd who starts thinking with his dick the minute the typical school princess comes onto the scene. The storyline isn't original either; there just isn't that much to say about it other than..."meh".
Then again, maybe that wasn't the point. It's meant to be the creator's perhaps personal love letter to comic books, with amusing insider nudges and a relatively realistic context. I think the best scene was when Big Daddy broke into D'Amico's warehouse, beat up the goons and set it alight before leaving.
I recall that the creator made a note of the violence, saying he was trying to be realistic with how much damage the characters recieve in contrast to mainstream comics that tend to shy away from that, which is one of its best qualities. But even then, I don't get why people were waving their arms about in celebrating over it. Is it because it's a comedy of some sorts? The cartoonish bloody violence does play a big part in the humour in that respect, but that's hardly the main thing I'd talk about in terms of why it's good.
Overall, it's hard to think of it as anything above average, but it's still a nicely entertaining film.
I believe it to be an entertaining pastiche of the superhero genre of comic books, but it's somewhat overrated. Hit-Girl, in particular, seems to exist more for shock value than anything, and the novelty of an eleven-year-old girl nonchalantly killing criminals with a katana wears thin after a while. None of the characters are that original; Dave or "Kick-Ass", the main character, is a more underwhelming version of Peter Parker who fulfils the cliché of the awkward comic book nerd who starts thinking with his dick the minute the typical school princess comes onto the scene. The storyline isn't original either; there just isn't that much to say about it other than..."meh".
Then again, maybe that wasn't the point. It's meant to be the creator's perhaps personal love letter to comic books, with amusing insider nudges and a relatively realistic context. I think the best scene was when Big Daddy broke into D'Amico's warehouse, beat up the goons and set it alight before leaving.
I recall that the creator made a note of the violence, saying he was trying to be realistic with how much damage the characters recieve in contrast to mainstream comics that tend to shy away from that, which is one of its best qualities. But even then, I don't get why people were waving their arms about in celebrating over it. Is it because it's a comedy of some sorts? The cartoonish bloody violence does play a big part in the humour in that respect, but that's hardly the main thing I'd talk about in terms of why it's good.
Overall, it's hard to think of it as anything above average, but it's still a nicely entertaining film.