Kick Ass

[Kitsune]

The comic was a better story; it was uncompromisingly realistic in its view.  The movie basically pussed out in spots and made the violence ridiculous to dampen the impact; a hallway full of people gunned down Woo-style is pretty squeaky-clean compared to the unkind deaths in the comic.  The hero didn't get the girl, who was a shallow bitch anyways, and who he just liked because she was hot.  Big Daddy and Hit Girl had a vastly better origin.  Since the whole deal with the story was a 'what if people really dressed up and tried to fight crime?', losing that realism made me sad.

Still liked the movie just fine, of course.  I just wish they hadn't made the changes they made.

[Sheepherder]

That sounds too much like a teen coming-of-age movie to me.  Which always get it utterly fucking wrong.

[tazelbain]

The comic was a better story; it was uncompromisingly realistic in its view.  The movie basically pussed out in spots and made the violence ridiculous to dampen the impact; a hallway full of people gunned down Woo-style is pretty squeaky-clean compared to the unkind deaths in the comic.  The hero didn't get the girl, who was a shallow bitch anyways, and who he just liked because she was hot.  Big Daddy and Hit Girl had a vastly better origin.  Since the whole deal with the story was a 'what if people really dressed up and tried to fight crime?', losing that realism made me sad.

Still liked the movie just fine, of course.  I just wish they hadn't made the changes they made.

Monocle crowd at io9 where bitching about this.  I wonder about the kinda person who finishes watching the movie and thinks "That really could've use more realistic violence."  Comics are inherent unrealistic medium so any attempt to add realism is tempered by the medium.  Movies are different. I am glad this movie isn't Sin City or Kill Bill, that'd kill the fun.

[Kitsune]

Sin City and Kill Bill are both the opposite of realistic violence.  The violence in the comic wasn't glamorous or awesome, it was scary and bloody and unfun for the people involved.  Exactly what would happen if some kid in tights busted into a drug dealer's apartment.  It was that unflinching realism in the comic that gave it its edge.

[Samwise]

Sin City and Kill Bill are both the opposite of realistic violence.  The violence in the comic wasn't glamorous or awesome, it was scary and bloody and unfun for the people involved.  Exactly what would happen if some kid in tights busted into a drug dealer's apartment.  It was that unflinching realism in the comic that gave it its edge.

I dunno, I felt that pretty strongly in the movie.  During that scene (until Hit Girl showed up) every nerve in my body was screaming GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT.

[Wasted]

Sin City and Kill Bill are both the opposite of realistic violence.  The violence in the comic wasn't glamorous or awesome, it was scary and bloody and unfun for the people involved.  Exactly what would happen if some kid in tights busted into a drug dealer's apartment.  It was that unflinching realism in the comic that gave it its edge.

I dunno, I felt that pretty strongly in the movie.  During that scene (until Hit Girl showed up) every nerve in my body was screaming GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT.

And even that scene when Hit Girl did enter it was still pretty scary for Kick-Ass.  That was the only real scene where Hit Girl is pretty fearless too.  The girl who played her was awesome, in pretty much all the violent scenes that followed with her you could feel how scared and worked up the character was, calculating the risks, taking in her environment.  Sure the choreography was stylised for the film but the fear was definitely still there.

[Quinton]

Saw this tonight and absolutely loved it.

I don't think it was particularly better or worse than the comic -- it was a different take on the story (not quite as dark in a number of ways, in particular compare the origin story of HG & BD in the comic... wow), but it still worked for me. 

I think if they represented the violence as starkly as it was done in the comic it would have been rough to watch. They seemed to strike a reasonable balance between scary and cartoony.  I think being 1:1 with the comic would have been just over the top gruesome in places.

I did like the comic book sequence showing us the origin story BD was drawing.

[Arthur_Parker]

And even that scene when Hit Girl did enter it was still pretty scary for Kick-Ass. 

I was blown away by the theme song they used for that scene.

[rk47]

Sin City and Kill Bill are both the opposite of realistic violence.  The violence in the comic wasn't glamorous or awesome, it was scary and bloody and unfun for the people involved.  Exactly what would happen if some kid in tights busted into a drug dealer's apartment.  It was that unflinching realism in the comic that gave it its edge.

I dunno, I felt that pretty strongly in the movie.  During that scene (until Hit Girl showed up) every nerve in my body was screaming GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT.

Yup. Some of the good scenes punched me in the gut with thoughts like "This is what could happen if someone is stupid enough to do this IRL" Especially when kickass got stabbed by random punk. What I had to suspend my belief for is someone able to overcome the trauma from being stabbed and rammed by a car only to run out there and do the same thing again right after recovery.

But the 'batman with guns' scene put me back in action movie mood instead of realism.

[Lakov_Sanite]

I think kickass put it very well, just like a serial killer he was compelled to do it again.  It's kind of a watchmen nod to being a superhero as a sort of fetish.

[HaemishM]

Saw this today and it was goddamn AWESOME. The final action scene had me laughing my ass off. The story had Mark Millar's fingerprints all over it and I loved it.

[stu]

Wanted to see this before it left theaters. Just got back and, man, this movie was much more than I expected. I haven't read the comics yet. On it's own, Kick Ass was well worth the price of admission.

[UnSub]

The story had Mark Millar's fingerprints all over it and I loved it.

I think "Kick-Ass" really benefited from just having Millar's fingerprints on it, rather than his whole hands. Ultimately the film liked its characters more than the comic did e.g. in the film the guy gets the girl, in the comics the girl hates the guy and has her boyfriend kick the crap out of him when he reveals he's not gay and Kick-Ass.

[Lakov_Sanite]

That was nice, though technically in the end he 'doesn't' get there girl, she's with one of his friends.

[Cyrrex]

That was nice, though technically in the end he 'doesn't' get there girl, she's with one of his friends.

Um, what?  If you are referring to the movie, he most certainly gets the girl.  Wasn't the last scene a shot of him with the hottie girl and fat kid with the other girl?  Pretty sure it was.

[SurfD]

That was nice, though technically in the end he 'doesn't' get there girl, she's with one of his friends.

Um, what?  If you are referring to the movie, he most certainly gets the girl.  Wasn't the last scene a shot of him with the hottie girl and fat kid with the other girl?  Pretty sure it was.

Yeah, it's easy to miss though.  It actually took me about 3 times watching the end to realise that Kickass is the guy with the girl on the right in the booth, NOT the guy by himself centred in the shot on at the end of the table.   Blame the framing and the shortness of the shot.

[Teleku]

The fact that he fucked her in an alley wasn't also a tip off he got the girl?   

[Lakov_Sanite]

The fact that he fucked her in an alley wasn't also a tip off he got the girl?   

haha, i dunno.  during the ending monologue i sorta got a whole "things don't always work out perfect but hey its alright"  vibe.  so in that way him not getting the girl seemed fine.  Either way it's a minor detail.

[UnSub]

That was nice, though technically in the end he 'doesn't' get there girl, she's with one of his friends.

Um, what?  If you are referring to the movie, he most certainly gets the girl.  Wasn't the last scene a shot of him with the hottie girl and fat kid with the other girl?  Pretty sure it was.

Yeah, it's easy to miss though.  It actually took me about 3 times watching the end to realise that Kickass is the guy with the girl on the right in the booth, NOT the guy by himself centred in the shot on at the end of the table.   Blame the framing and the shortness of the shot.

I appreciated that bit - the one friend who doesn't get a girl. At least he still has comics. 

[SurfD]

That was nice, though technically in the end he 'doesn't' get there girl, she's with one of his friends.

Um, what?  If you are referring to the movie, he most certainly gets the girl.  Wasn't the last scene a shot of him with the hottie girl and fat kid with the other girl?  Pretty sure it was.

Yeah, it's easy to miss though.  It actually took me about 3 times watching the end to realise that Kickass is the guy with the girl on the right in the booth, NOT the guy by himself centred in the shot on at the end of the table.   Blame the framing and the shortness of the shot.

I appreciated that bit - the one friend who doesn't get a girl. At least he still has comics. 

Remember, he is saving himself for Hitgirl.

[Bunk]

Three straight days of "La  La  La, la,la la la" repeating in my head...

Best part of the movie - the big bodyguard's facial expressions, especially just before saying "I'm getting the bazooka"

[Merusk]

Three straight days of "La  La  La, la,la la la" repeating in my head...

The Banana Splits Theme song?

Hmm.. apparently so.. Hilarious.  I use that to torture my kids and wife or sing it while farming in WoW.

[Slyfeind]

Rise from your grave!!!

Just saw this on DVD. I'm glad I didn't see in the theater, because it's not the sorta thing I see in the theater; more like, sitting at home in my sweatpants, drinking a bunch and laughing and going "oh shit" all the time. Very freaking fun. If the comic was more realistic, I'm glad they didn't go that route. That's just not a fun movie. (I'm glad they upped Watchmen's action too.) When you see a fight in a movie, it's more a representation of the intentions. Real fights are weird and confusing and even a little bit boring. It would have been a better payoff to see the bad guys in more fear rather than just exploding blood bags, especially the boss screaming before he blew up, instead of a long-shot. That's my only gripe.

[Threash]

I just caught this one too, loved it like everyone else.  I hope they are cranking out the sequels before the girl who plays Hit-Girl gets too old, you know as soon as she gets any boobs they are going to sexualize her and one of those "this long until shes 18" countdown websites is gonna pop up.

[Morfiend]

Saw this last night. I enjoyed it. I never read the comic so I cant compare, but I enjoyed the mix of "this is scary shit" and comedy.

[Lakov_Sanite]

I just caught this one too, loved it like everyone else.  I hope they are cranking out the sequels before the girl who plays Hit-Girl gets too old, you know as soon as she gets any boobs they are going to sexualize her and one of those "this long until shes 18" countdown websites is gonna pop up.

Clearly you are new to the internet sir, allow me to welcome you.

[Threash]

Yeah i kinda figured as soon as i posted that i was crazy for thinking that site didn't already exist.

[Ratman_tf]

Saw it. liked it. IMO it had less to do with wanting to be a superhero and more to do with wanting to run around and hit people with sticks. Dressing up as a superhero is just the demented justification for that.

And it still doesn't answer the question of what would happen if someone actually tried to be a superhero, since everything after Kick Ass recovers is hollywood magic.  

[Samwise]

I just realized that Kick-Ass's "super power" was the same as Oofty Goofty's.

Asbury said that Oofty discovered after being thrown out of a Barbary Coast saloon onto a hard cobblestone street that he felt no pain. Afterward, he would tour San Francisco, baseball bat in hand, and invite anyone who would listen to strike him with the bat for 50 cents. Asbury ends his account saying that boxer John L. Sullivan ended Oofty's bizarre career when he struck him across the back with a pool cue, fracturing two vertebrae.

[angry.bob]

Yeah i kinda figured as soon as i posted that i was crazy for thinking that site didn't already exist.

It's a pretty frequent topic at 4chan. Frankly, some of the outfits (such as a miniskirt with a "powergirl" style boob window) she's worn on talk shows lend credence to the theory that she's intentionally trying to sexuallize herself already.

Anyway, the movie version of HG creeped me out, I thought book version was a lot better.

[Cyrrex]

Creeped you out?  I never read any book/comic to compare it to, but I absolutely thought the HG character was wonderful, in a very non  sort of way.

[Der Helm]

... the theory that she's intentionally trying to sexuallize herself already.

 

[angry.bob]

... the theory that she's intentionally trying to sexuallize herself already.

 

Care to explain that a little bit? English may not work exactly the way you think it does.

Creeped you out?  I never read any book/comic to compare it to, but I absolutely thought the HG character was wonderful, in a very non  sort of way.

Eh, the movie version just seemed like an adult character stuck into a kid's body. Other than the one little bit where she's working the balisong and saying "Look at me daddy, look at me, you're not watching!" there wasn't anything childlike about her. It looked and felt like an old chubby neckbeard at a D&D session trying to roleplay what they imagined a little kid would act like. I guess what really creeped me out was it brought back a lot of creepy sessions where people would roleplay kids or hot women, but were just horrible and icky about it. Anyway, the book version was all little kid that just happened to be great at killing people, especially when she cried about loosing her dad.

[Lakov_Sanite]

At this point I would ask what bobs experience as a little girl was like growing up and how it differs from the portrayel in the movie.

Joking aside, hitgirl was NOT supposed to be a normal girl, she was effectively brainwashed by her father into being a killing machine, that's the point.  You would get glimmers of an actual child in there if you pay attention but they are brief and rare. 

[Threash]

She looked very childlike whenever she screwed up or was in actual danger.