Review of Kick-Ass (2010) by Sebastian — 03 Jun 2011

Both the favorable and unfavorable reviews miss the moral question at the center of Vaughn's film: why are we bystanders? Kick-Ass' world is riotous, self-deprecating, and awesome; but it is the exact opposite of irresponsible.

Rather, it unmasks an adult world in which police officers operate on both sides of crime, citizens are voyeurs into one another's suffering, and we all wonder who is going to change it. By now, it is clear that neither adults nor teenagers are willing to risk their routines for their neighbors.

At least teenagers still fantasize about doing something. So the obvious answer is a little girl who, with some sidekick mockery from Nic Cage, makes Batman look like a man dressed up like a bat. To echo other reviewers, Hitgirl is the new standard of awesome.

But, until Kick-Ass' moment of transformation, she is also the last human willing to offer an embodied answer to injustice. That Vaughn hides this seriousness in such absolutely brilliant awesomeness might confuse some, but it should not be misinterpreted as a statement of "coolness" or teenage hormonal self-gratification.

It's saying much more than that.