TR Review: Kick-Ass

?I actually don’t think I need to do a short, spoiler-free version and a longer, spoiler filled version this time — I think I can do this all without spoilers of a lot of words.

Kick-Ass is pretty entertaining, but it’s certainly not for everybody. If you can go in just looking for an incredibly violent, goofy, not even slightly deep action flick, you’re in good shape — think Hard-Boiled, but without any subtext and with superheroes. Is it actually “kick-ass”? Overall not really, although it certainly has its ass-kicking moments (mostly Hit Girl). I also think it was a little too long. I’m not badmouthing Kick-Ass; I actually liked it, but seriously, don’t go in expecting anything but a dumb, fun, very very violent movie.

Kick-Ass has gotten at least as much hate as it has praise (most famously Roger Ebert’s 1-star review) and I think I’ve figured out why — it’s the disconnect between the material and its presentation. I mean, most people –people who don’t know Mark Millar’s work, I’m betting — see the characters, see the costumes, see the goofiness, and despite that R-rating, expect a superhero flick like Spider-Man or X-Men or Fantastic Four. But that R-rating is there for a reason (again, mostly Hit Girl, who graphically kills and/or dismembers people, and also has the shit kicked out of her herself). I don’t think most people can wrap their heads around that dichotomy — that Kick-Ass is an incredibly immature film with incredible mature content. That’s clearly not for everybody.

Does Kick-Ass have any redeeming moral or social value? No, but I doubt Millar intended the original comic to have any either, and I’m certain director Matthew Vaughn wasn’t hoping to add any to the film version. It’s just a fun, entertaining and let me remind you just one more time an incredibly violent movie. If you’re good with that, you should be good with Kick-Ass.