Jason KingKick Ass (9.5/10)
April 8th 2010 05:23
:
I HEART HIT GIRL
Category: No Category
WARNING: RED BAND TRAILER AT END - CONTAINS VULGARITY
REPOSTED TODAY AS NOW RELEASED.
A new comment from me on the controversy surrounding this film. Richard Wilkins slammed this film this morning because he believes no teenagers should be able to see it. Of course every single teenager that watched his article now wants to watch it - nice work dickwad!! This film contains a 12yr old girl who swears like a trucker and is legally not allowed to see her own film. I, and many other critics out there, think this movie is pure gold. Myself for the reason that it challenges boundaries and pushes the limits of what we are used to. If this happens and a side effect is a 12yr old girl dropping the "C" bomb then so be it. A 9yr old told me a few weeks ago he knew the worst word possible and he did. Get out from behind your blinders people - the world is growing up without you!!!
What a great comedic superhero surprise this film was. Massive thanks go to Supanova for inviting Sammy and I to the screening Tuesday night and again it was awesome to meet up with half of the film writing duo of Cinefools.com. Whenever we meet up for a film viewing we always seem to watch something brilliant and it's awesome to chat with similarly minded film geeks.
Kick Ass is definately the best superhero film since The Dark Knight and is the first comedy film I have seen in the "Superbad" vein that I have absolutely loved. With most of these comedies they start out absolutely hilarious and then fall into a moment of drama and then finish off with mediocrity. About 45min into Kick Ass the film did stall for about 20min and I thought it was going to tank but then "kapow" it started rolling again, with gusto, and ended with one of the best action sequences I have ever seen on film.
Kick-Ass tells the story of average teenager Dave Lizewski (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 an 11-year-old sword-wielding dynamo, Hit Girl (Moretz) and her father, Big Daddy (Cage).
Johnson is brilliant as the geeky teen wannabe superhero and he reminds me of a nerdy Elijah Wood. There are a few close up scenes and you can see he has those similar big blue eyes. He also embodies his character remarkably and as I have heard this is set to become a trilogy I cannot wait to see more of him. Nicholas Cage is actually superb in his character of Big Daddy - his role is fairly minor but it swelters with insanity and craziness and his goal is to train his 11yr old daughter to become the best murderous super hero around. In one scene he actually shoots bullets into her vest protected chest to train her on how it would feel like. It is bloody hysterical. Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Red Mist has some great scenes but his role also appears more minor. The person who steals the show and makes this entire movie is Chloe Moretz as Hit Girl (soon to be playing the vampire role in the Let The Right One In remake); seriously, I fell in love with her and believe she is literally the best onscreen hero I have ever seen. She is the most agile murder machine you will ever witness and has the mouth of a life sentence prison inmate. I am quite confident her character will offend many sensible types - imagine seeing an 11yr old girl dropping not only numerous F bombs but also bringing out the C bomb - for me - the insanity of it made me cry with laughter but I am sure some will not like it. She will go down as one of the most iconic film characters and is set to skyrocket to fame. Although I doubt she will be invited to tea with the Hollywood ladies
.
This is the REDBAND Hit Girl trailer to give you a small dose.
The version of the film we got to see was not 100% complete. We were told it was only music and credits that had not been finalised however I am pretty sure there was also one flashback scene for Big Daddy that was incomplete - if not then it was out of place. The scene went into a story board style and could pass as comic book drawing, which the film is, however it never occurs anywhere else. This may be in reshoots? The joy of the incomplete sound we saw and heard was that every single superhero soundtrack was in the film. In the driving scene in Red Mist's car we heard the Dark Knight music; during the opening credits we got the opening credit music from Superman. There was also music from Spiderman, other Batman films and I am sure many more hero tracks that I did not pick up on. It is a HUGE shame this will not be in the final cut as the music added to the success of the film. The film unintentionally parodies every superhero film and this music just made it for me. Do not get me wrong - this film is no parody - it is a humorous, dark comedy of superheroes and excels where many have failed. I am so surprised I loved this film so much.
It is also good to see Nic Cage in something enjoyable, I actually enjoyed The Knowing, but keep that quiet - I have a reputation after all But in this he becomes the crazy, however subtle, hero he has been in other films, but in this it works. From the smallest nervous giggle he has to the disguising of his voice during his first meeting with Kick Ass to sound like James T Kirk the entire audience laughed their asses (pun intended) off.
This film is the most irresponsible and politically incorrect film ever made, and I love it!! The violence is of a top notch level and is never the same kind of violence, it is always a different kind of death to view, and the lack of morality means you get to see most of it carried out by children. To quote another reviewer "The film flirts with Looney Tunes violence but always comes down squarely on the side of bone cracking, blood spewing, limb hacking reality." Beautifully said
The film is brilliantly directed by Matthew Vaughn on a fairly limited budget - Vaughn has produced heaps of well known blood curdling films from Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, Mean Machine to Layer Cake and even Stardust. He has a small but impressive Directing CV - Layer Cake, Stardust and now Kick Ass - all succesful and all good. Me likes him and I hope he gets the gig for the remaining two Kick Ass films. I think the success lies in the fact that the film was not made by a studio. From what I have heard, and I could be wrong, this was independantly funded and therefore Vaughn got to make his version - not a version decided upon by a panel of bean counters and market researchers. The film also has a lot of its success in the pace that Vaughn sets, he builds it up with ingenious violent scenes but never does the one action scene seem less than the last, every one builds until you get an absolute cinematic delight of violence and mayhem. He also uses the film as a parody of the effect of violence on the media on kids, but he does it by punching the audience in the face. He makes his point but has no desire for the film to be a lecture on violence - he wants it to be a violent cinematic masterpiece, and he does it well. He also gives a cartoonish surreal effect to romance scenes and the whole film has an effect of watching it through kaleidoscope eyes - it is trippy and insane, like a screwed up alternate reality.
The film is releasing on April 8 in Australia and I cannot wait to see the 100% finished product. Sammy's mini description - "It's a mix up of Superbad and Kill Bill - and I love the way they mesh intense comedy with some serious drama - it's the best action I have seen since Dark Knight" - it should be noted that Dark Knight is Sam's favourite film. The film is fucking brilliant - and if that offended you I recommend you avoid the film at all costs. Otherwise bring the shit on - the film totally Kick's Ass - worth 9.5 out of 10.
REPOSTED TODAY AS NOW RELEASED.
A new comment from me on the controversy surrounding this film. Richard Wilkins slammed this film this morning because he believes no teenagers should be able to see it. Of course every single teenager that watched his article now wants to watch it - nice work dickwad!! This film contains a 12yr old girl who swears like a trucker and is legally not allowed to see her own film. I, and many other critics out there, think this movie is pure gold. Myself for the reason that it challenges boundaries and pushes the limits of what we are used to. If this happens and a side effect is a 12yr old girl dropping the "C" bomb then so be it. A 9yr old told me a few weeks ago he knew the worst word possible and he did. Get out from behind your blinders people - the world is growing up without you!!!
What a great comedic superhero surprise this film was. Massive thanks go to Supanova for inviting Sammy and I to the screening Tuesday night and again it was awesome to meet up with half of the film writing duo of Cinefools.com. Whenever we meet up for a film viewing we always seem to watch something brilliant and it's awesome to chat with similarly minded film geeks.
Kick Ass is definately the best superhero film since The Dark Knight and is the first comedy film I have seen in the "Superbad" vein that I have absolutely loved. With most of these comedies they start out absolutely hilarious and then fall into a moment of drama and then finish off with mediocrity. About 45min into Kick Ass the film did stall for about 20min and I thought it was going to tank but then "kapow" it started rolling again, with gusto, and ended with one of the best action sequences I have ever seen on film.
Kick-Ass tells the story of average teenager Dave Lizewski (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 an 11-year-old sword-wielding dynamo, Hit Girl (Moretz) and her father, Big Daddy (Cage).
Johnson is brilliant as the geeky teen wannabe superhero and he reminds me of a nerdy Elijah Wood. There are a few close up scenes and you can see he has those similar big blue eyes. He also embodies his character remarkably and as I have heard this is set to become a trilogy I cannot wait to see more of him. Nicholas Cage is actually superb in his character of Big Daddy - his role is fairly minor but it swelters with insanity and craziness and his goal is to train his 11yr old daughter to become the best murderous super hero around. In one scene he actually shoots bullets into her vest protected chest to train her on how it would feel like. It is bloody hysterical. Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Red Mist has some great scenes but his role also appears more minor. The person who steals the show and makes this entire movie is Chloe Moretz as Hit Girl (soon to be playing the vampire role in the Let The Right One In remake); seriously, I fell in love with her and believe she is literally the best onscreen hero I have ever seen. She is the most agile murder machine you will ever witness and has the mouth of a life sentence prison inmate. I am quite confident her character will offend many sensible types - imagine seeing an 11yr old girl dropping not only numerous F bombs but also bringing out the C bomb - for me - the insanity of it made me cry with laughter but I am sure some will not like it. She will go down as one of the most iconic film characters and is set to skyrocket to fame. Although I doubt she will be invited to tea with the Hollywood ladies
.This is the REDBAND Hit Girl trailer to give you a small dose.
The version of the film we got to see was not 100% complete. We were told it was only music and credits that had not been finalised however I am pretty sure there was also one flashback scene for Big Daddy that was incomplete - if not then it was out of place. The scene went into a story board style and could pass as comic book drawing, which the film is, however it never occurs anywhere else. This may be in reshoots? The joy of the incomplete sound we saw and heard was that every single superhero soundtrack was in the film. In the driving scene in Red Mist's car we heard the Dark Knight music; during the opening credits we got the opening credit music from Superman. There was also music from Spiderman, other Batman films and I am sure many more hero tracks that I did not pick up on. It is a HUGE shame this will not be in the final cut as the music added to the success of the film. The film unintentionally parodies every superhero film and this music just made it for me. Do not get me wrong - this film is no parody - it is a humorous, dark comedy of superheroes and excels where many have failed. I am so surprised I loved this film so much.
It is also good to see Nic Cage in something enjoyable, I actually enjoyed The Knowing, but keep that quiet - I have a reputation after all
But in this he becomes the crazy, however subtle, hero he has been in other films, but in this it works. From the smallest nervous giggle he has to the disguising of his voice during his first meeting with Kick Ass to sound like James T Kirk the entire audience laughed their asses (pun intended) off.This film is the most irresponsible and politically incorrect film ever made, and I love it!! The violence is of a top notch level and is never the same kind of violence, it is always a different kind of death to view, and the lack of morality means you get to see most of it carried out by children. To quote another reviewer "The film flirts with Looney Tunes violence but always comes down squarely on the side of bone cracking, blood spewing, limb hacking reality." Beautifully said
The film is brilliantly directed by Matthew Vaughn on a fairly limited budget - Vaughn has produced heaps of well known blood curdling films from Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, Mean Machine to Layer Cake and even Stardust. He has a small but impressive Directing CV - Layer Cake, Stardust and now Kick Ass - all succesful and all good. Me likes him and I hope he gets the gig for the remaining two Kick Ass films. I think the success lies in the fact that the film was not made by a studio. From what I have heard, and I could be wrong, this was independantly funded and therefore Vaughn got to make his version - not a version decided upon by a panel of bean counters and market researchers. The film also has a lot of its success in the pace that Vaughn sets, he builds it up with ingenious violent scenes but never does the one action scene seem less than the last, every one builds until you get an absolute cinematic delight of violence and mayhem. He also uses the film as a parody of the effect of violence on the media on kids, but he does it by punching the audience in the face. He makes his point but has no desire for the film to be a lecture on violence - he wants it to be a violent cinematic masterpiece, and he does it well. He also gives a cartoonish surreal effect to romance scenes and the whole film has an effect of watching it through kaleidoscope eyes - it is trippy and insane, like a screwed up alternate reality.
The film is releasing on April 8 in Australia and I cannot wait to see the 100% finished product. Sammy's mini description - "It's a mix up of Superbad and Kill Bill - and I love the way they mesh intense comedy with some serious drama - it's the best action I have seen since Dark Knight" - it should be noted that Dark Knight is Sam's favourite film. The film is fucking brilliant - and if that offended you I recommend you avoid the film at all costs. Otherwise bring the shit on - the film totally Kick's Ass - worth 9.5 out of 10.
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Comment by Wilson Pon
Health 2 Know
Adventure Toes
Techno Stuffs
boxing sound
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I might pay some attention on this "kick ass" film.
Comment by Jason King
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Salty Popcorn
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Thanks for the comment
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
I'm counting the days to this ones release. The comic was awesome and all the promo material seems to have captured the dark comedy of the piece.
Your review just serves to excite me even more.
Comment by Jason King
Sydney Table
Salty Popcorn
Total Randomness
Can't wait to read what you think. Thanks for visiting!!
Comment by ShaunK
Screen Adventure
Comment by Jason King
Sydney Table
Salty Popcorn
Total Randomness
Comment by Jason King
Sydney Table
Salty Popcorn
Total Randomness
Comment by Anonymous
Cinema Voyage
Jason, how do you upload the trailers to your posts? I've tried and tried to do it with the embed option through trailer addict but can't seem to
Comment by Jason King
Sydney Table
Salty Popcorn
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Comment by ShaunK
Screen Adventure
I really was not expecting this - I agree with everything you said!
I'll do a review shortly - and kindly participate in my little a-z film favourites game I did as part of my last post - apparently I'm not ranked high enough to get the whole of orble to join in
anyway - I digress, 'Kick Ass' kicked ass - you can see the director was channeling a ton of Asian cinema. look out for my review coming in the next day or so.
Comment by AmyHuang
Project Job Search
Travel Debate
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from the preview it looked stupid to me - and didn't some country or place banned it because it features 12 year old girl wearing school uniform swearing her head off and killing people?
I am not convinced!
Comment by Jason King
Sydney Table
Salty Popcorn
Total Randomness
Yes Amy - I not only like it I thought it the best film I have seen this year so far. I do explain all about the swearing and the young girl above in the review. The film is totally kick ass. It is not for everybody but for film lovers it does new things and livens up the regular mundane. It's innovative, exciting and bloody brilliant! Richard Wilkins, idiot entertainment guy, hated it because of the swearing. If conservative you may hate it. If you need convincing of what you think about it - go and see it!!!