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Kick-Ass

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Grames

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R rated for good reason, don't take your wide-eyed innocent children to this. On the other hand, they will just catch it on video behind your back anyway. And realistically, there is nothing in this movie kids don't already know about. So go ahead take your kids, just don't let them catch you laughing out loud or otherwise exhibiting approval. However, that might be challenging.

About Nicholas Cage - he is a supporting character and does a fine job of not ruining the movie. Don't worry about him here.

As this is a first post on the first full day after release, I will avoid the spoiler problem by not writing anything further for now.

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Here's my review at Superhero Babylon, where I compare and contrast the book to Watchmen and Rand's The Romantic Manifesto. .

Rand was dissecting Watchmen and Kick-Ass decades before they were written in her reviews of such "tongue-in-cheek thrillers" like The Avengers and the James Bond movie franchise, calling their creators out on their "bootleg Romanticism." Rand calls such tongue-in-cheek thrillers cowardice: "What are such thrillers laughing at? At values, at man's struggles for values, at man's capacity to achieve his values...at man the hero."

"Kick-Ass: The Watchmen of the Myspace Generation?"

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Have you seen the trailer, and if so would you say it's a good representation of what to expect from the movie?

I've only seen the trailer and the idea I got from it was a bunch of kids trying to be funny as "superheroes". Plus Nicholas Cage, but you already addressed that. Judging from the trailer the movies seemed painfully bad.

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Here's my review at Superhero Babylon, where I compare and contrast the book to Watchmen and Rand's The Romantic Manifesto. .

Rand was dissecting Watchmen and Kick-Ass decades before they were written in her reviews of such "tongue-in-cheek thrillers" like The Avengers and the James Bond movie franchise, calling their creators out on their "bootleg Romanticism." Rand calls such tongue-in-cheek thrillers cowardice: "What are such thrillers laughing at? At values, at man's struggles for values, at man's capacity to achieve his values...at man the hero."

"Kick-Ass: The Watchmen of the Myspace Generation?"

This (edit for clarity - the full review at your website) reads like a literary review of the comic, not a review of the movie. I have not read the comic, but the movie well demonstrates the rejection of cowardice in the arc of the main character. That comes across sincerely. Cage's character and his daughter (the girl steals every scene and could have carried the entire movie if it was about her) are single-minded but utterly competent and not psychotic. There is humor but no "trying to be funny". Everything is played straight, not for laughs. This is no tongue-in-cheek thriller but moving story about people you come to care about experiencing courage, betrayal, loss, loyalty.

I suspect the only failure of this movie is the failure to be an accurate translation of the comic into film.

I liked it.

Edited by Grames
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This (edit for clarity - the full review at your website) reads like a literary review of the comic, not a review of the movie. I have not read the comic, but the movie well demonstrates the rejection of cowardice in the arc of the main character. That comes across sincerely. Cage's character and his daughter (the girl steals every scene and could have carried the entire movie if it was about her) are single-minded but utterly competent and not psychotic. There is humor but no "trying to be funny". Everything is played straight, not for laughs. This is no tongue-in-cheek thriller but moving story about people you come to care about experiencing courage, betrayal, loss, loyalty.

I suspect the only failure of this movie is the failure to be an accurate translation of the comic into film.

I liked it.

Yes, I should have said it was a review of the book.

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I'm not sure how the creators of the film/comic wanted it to be perceived, but I thought it was a stylized depiction of what superheroes in the "real" world could be.

There has been a lot of controversy over Hit Girl, with her cursing and mass murder (not giving anything away, its in the trailer, at least a taste of it). But you know, I don't see what people have a problem with, other than perhaps that much cursing isn't ideal (though, it sort of works for a beat-em-up-n-kill-em superhero). She doesn't kill innocent people, she kills murderers, or in self-defense. She knows the difference between right and wrong, good and evil, and understands the concept of justice thoroughly. She also seems to be quite intelligent, and has a loving relationship with her father. Seems like a pretty good daughter/human being to me.

Indeed, I think the visceral cause of the uproar is because she's Hit GIRL and people seem to think that girls should play with dollies and pretty pink horses, anything else being an abhorrent deviation from what a girl/woman should be. Which is offends me, and I'm male. Haha.

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Rand was dissecting Watchmen and Kick-Ass decades before they were written in her reviews of such "tongue-in-cheek thrillers" like The Avengers and the James Bond movie franchise, calling their creators out on their "bootleg Romanticism." Rand calls such tongue-in-cheek thrillers cowardice: "What are such thrillers laughing at? At values, at man's struggles for values, at man's capacity to achieve his values...at man the hero."

Interesting, though I once read a CapMag article that explained the Bond franchise's enduring popularity as having to do with Bond's confidence, competence and triumph, an explanation similar to the one given about why sports are so popular.

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Interesting, though I once read a CapMag article that explained the Bond franchise's enduring popularity as having to do with Bond's confidence, competence and triumph, an explanation similar to the one given about why sports are so popular.

If remember correctly, when Rand discussed the Bond films, she liked the first 2 or 3 and disliked the later films which were campier and seemed to poke fun at Bond.

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If remember correctly, when Rand discussed the Bond films, she liked the first 2 or 3 and disliked the later films which were campier and seemed to poke fun at Bond.

I'm thinking this coincides with the switch from Connery to Moore. The Connery films tended to be on the more serious side and the Moore films somewhat more humorous in my opinion.

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‘Kick-Ass’ Is the Quintessential Libertarian Film

What Ebert is really offended about is the fact that the underage “Hit Girl” isn’t a victim. It’s okay to have young actresses brutalized sexually or engaged in salacious situations involving drugs and sex as long as they maintain the leftist party line that women are helpless victims. The movie “Precious” depicts a young girl who is brutalized by her family and must turn to the state for help. Awesome! Four stars. “Hit Girl” doesn’t take sh!t from anybody, avenges her family, drives a hot rod, and has $3 million in cash in a suitcase. She doesn’t need anyone or anything. My, my how offensive!

Its a good essay, but surely there is an even better "quintessential libertarian Film" somewhere. Serenity was more explicitly political.

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Well, the comic was really fatalistic and cynical. The movie actually totally changes the ending, and makes it not such a piece of trash. It's actually a pretty great movie, but don't expect the same message from the comics. I don't know why the movie was so different, if nerds are outraged or what, but this is definitely a step above its comic book origins.

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I've always liked Nicolas Cage - Raising Arizona, Leaving Las Vegas, The Rock, Con Air, Faceoff, City of Angels, National Treasure were all very good movies. Leaving Las Vegas, The Rock and Con Air are among my favorites. I always thought he did a good job portraying what an objectivist might do in so-called lifeboat situations.

"Put... the bunny... back... in the box."

"Sorry boss, but there's only two men I trust. One of them's me. The other's not you."

Now I'm looking forward to Kickass, as well as the Sorcerer's Apprentice.

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Yes, I should have said it was a review of the book.

That said, after seeing the movie...well, besides commenting on some superficially significant changes, (Big Daddy's origin twist is gone, and the guy gets the girl) it's pretty much the same, and I'd use the same review, with some additional points though...

The picture of Atlas hanging on the wall of the hero: Not accidental; Mark Millar, writer of the comic, had Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four reject the notion of "shrugging" in the Marvel CIVIL WAR miniseries. And when the hero of KICK-ASS says that "with no power comes no responsibility...only that's not true...", the Atlas picture on the wall reveals its meaning.

This ain't no libertarian movie.

Edited by spaceplayer
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  • 2 weeks later...

I just saw this movie tonight. Boy, was it great! Hit Girl was by far the best character, although Kick-Ass himself is very sympathetic as well and not totally lame considering that he begins the film as, well, totally lame.

The best part of the movie was the unrelenting commitment to seeing justice done on the part of the main characters.

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