Review of Kick-Ass (2010) by Jacobh. — 16 Apr 2010

Sometimes flicks are just too damned schizophrenic. Kick-Ass is of those movies. It can't decide if it wants to be a biting satire or a celebration of movie-goers' unquenchable thirst for indiscriminate bloodshed.

This results in a film that spends the first third of its story setting up a joke that is then dropped, on a dime, in favor of a second and third act filled with nothing but what the film seemed to want to hate.

The Hit-Girl character is the most infuriating aspect of this flick. She kills without remorse, and spouts vulgarities as if she was fathered by Kevin Smith (a less talented Kevin Smith, that is), which is funny.

The first time. But nothing is done with this. Nothing of substance analyzed. Nothing of importance poked or prodded at by this character. She is just there to be a tool of that aforementioned indiscriminate bloodshed.

Something that wouldn't fly, and would be typically labeled as painfully cliche and pointless; but she is young! So that makes it fresh! And as such, Hollywood's continually deteriorating definition of 'fresh' is exposed once again.

I am going to base my theory on what this film's tone was supposed to be upon what I was set-up for in the first act; a satire. This is never capitalized on. This is never even paid attention to.

This movie wants so much to be Tarantino-esque. But it doesn't have the the substance, the knowledge, nor the talent to tread those waters, let alone try and dive in. But it did anyway, and was swept under in a heartbeat, ripped apart by whatever lied beneath.

What drifts to shore is something so lost, hurt and confused that one's first reaction is to pity it. Then you remember it jumped in willingly.