A less than stellar review of Kick-Ass
I watched Kick-Ass yesterday, and I went into it not really expecting to like it. However, the reasons I ended up hating it were not what I was originally expecting.
Let's get this out of the way. I didn't actually stay for the full movie. I walked out of the theater after the first hour because it pissed me off severely.
Overall, the movie felt like it was being edgy for edginess's sake. There wasn't a point it seemed to be trying to make, and there were so many little things that added nothing to the story or the movie in general except that they managed to be a thousand little needles in my side.
What didn't I like in specific? BULLET POINTS TIME!
- The main character was virtually unlikeable and unsympathetic to me. I could tell that they were trying to make him sympathetic, but really, he's an asshole. Take the Nice Guy idea, give him a costume and a sense that his own morality needs to be enforced everywhere, and you've got the main character. (Can you tell that I don't like the idea of vigilantes anymore?)
- He and his friends constantly throw around "pussy." In fact, it seemed to be one of the most used words in the movie. Yep, geek culture! Totally post-feminist!
- Also, we've got a case of the token chick (a little girl who partners with her dad to fight crime) being more misogynistic and homophobic than the male lead. If you're a girl and want to fit in with the boys, you've gotta throw around "gay" and "pussy" (and "cunt!") like they're going out of style! Bonus points if you're also a psychopathic killer!
- When our hero first dons his suit, he is stabbed and nearly dies. He tells the medic not to tell anyone what he was wearing when he was found, so the medic told everyone he was naked when they found him. This leads to a HILARIOUS subplot where everyone thinks he got raped by his attackers, and that you know, when you're a guy, and you're raped, you must be gay! It is the only logical conclusion. And oh the hilarity of this mixup! Because it leads me to my next point.
- THE GAY BEST FRIEND SUBPLOT OH GOD! So because of these rumors around school, the girl that the main character has a crush on thinks he's gay! And she wants to be friends with him because of this! So she invites him on a coffee date, and OH MY GOD HE'S GOING ON A DATE because he doesn't know that she thinks he's gay. Then they meet up and she's into comics OMG! But then she's all, "I've always wanted a friend like you! Oh wait. I hope that wasn't homophobic (Kinda but this whole plot is worse, so whatevs, girl!) or anything." And he proceeds not to correct her, but to allow her to continue to believe that he is gay. AND THEN THERE'S THIS TANNING SCENE WHERE THEY'RE BOTH NEARLY NAKED TOGETHER AND HE'S RUBBING TANNING CREAM ON HER BECAUSE SHE THINKS HE'S NOT INTERESTED IN HER SEXUALLY. A few minutes after this scene is when I walked out. But I hear that when he revealed everything to her, she was all, "YOU BROKE MY TRUST OMG!" and a few minutes later was all, "LOL BUT YOU CAN STAY OVER ANYWAY!" Because it's totally cool for someone to pretend to be someone they're not just to get close to you. Writers! WRITE WOMEN NOT LOVE INTERESTS!
See, I thought it was going to be the violence that got to me like it did in Sin City, but I was clearly mistaken! Then again, the feelings that I got from this movie are not anything new. In fact, if you go back and look at my post on Fanboys, I'm sure you'll see parallels. I just didn't have the patience to sit through this movie in the hopes that it would get better, and I was apparently right to do that since it didn't get better in those aspects according to my friends.
If you enjoyed Kick-Ass, more power to you. I'm just tired of movies having the same old shit in them. There was nothing new or extraordinary about this movie that I haven't seen done better elsewhere. This was a movie produced by straight, white, geeky males for straight, (white), geeky males just like most other geeky movies. If I want that, I'll take The Gamers: Dorkness Rising, thanks. At least I can enjoy that movie for however many failures it has.
Let's get this out of the way. I didn't actually stay for the full movie. I walked out of the theater after the first hour because it pissed me off severely.
Overall, the movie felt like it was being edgy for edginess's sake. There wasn't a point it seemed to be trying to make, and there were so many little things that added nothing to the story or the movie in general except that they managed to be a thousand little needles in my side.
What didn't I like in specific? BULLET POINTS TIME!
- The main character was virtually unlikeable and unsympathetic to me. I could tell that they were trying to make him sympathetic, but really, he's an asshole. Take the Nice Guy idea, give him a costume and a sense that his own morality needs to be enforced everywhere, and you've got the main character. (Can you tell that I don't like the idea of vigilantes anymore?)
- He and his friends constantly throw around "pussy." In fact, it seemed to be one of the most used words in the movie. Yep, geek culture! Totally post-feminist!
- Also, we've got a case of the token chick (a little girl who partners with her dad to fight crime) being more misogynistic and homophobic than the male lead. If you're a girl and want to fit in with the boys, you've gotta throw around "gay" and "pussy" (and "cunt!") like they're going out of style! Bonus points if you're also a psychopathic killer!
- When our hero first dons his suit, he is stabbed and nearly dies. He tells the medic not to tell anyone what he was wearing when he was found, so the medic told everyone he was naked when they found him. This leads to a HILARIOUS subplot where everyone thinks he got raped by his attackers, and that you know, when you're a guy, and you're raped, you must be gay! It is the only logical conclusion. And oh the hilarity of this mixup! Because it leads me to my next point.
- THE GAY BEST FRIEND SUBPLOT OH GOD! So because of these rumors around school, the girl that the main character has a crush on thinks he's gay! And she wants to be friends with him because of this! So she invites him on a coffee date, and OH MY GOD HE'S GOING ON A DATE because he doesn't know that she thinks he's gay. Then they meet up and she's into comics OMG! But then she's all, "I've always wanted a friend like you! Oh wait. I hope that wasn't homophobic (Kinda but this whole plot is worse, so whatevs, girl!) or anything." And he proceeds not to correct her, but to allow her to continue to believe that he is gay. AND THEN THERE'S THIS TANNING SCENE WHERE THEY'RE BOTH NEARLY NAKED TOGETHER AND HE'S RUBBING TANNING CREAM ON HER BECAUSE SHE THINKS HE'S NOT INTERESTED IN HER SEXUALLY. A few minutes after this scene is when I walked out. But I hear that when he revealed everything to her, she was all, "YOU BROKE MY TRUST OMG!" and a few minutes later was all, "LOL BUT YOU CAN STAY OVER ANYWAY!" Because it's totally cool for someone to pretend to be someone they're not just to get close to you. Writers! WRITE WOMEN NOT LOVE INTERESTS!
See, I thought it was going to be the violence that got to me like it did in Sin City, but I was clearly mistaken! Then again, the feelings that I got from this movie are not anything new. In fact, if you go back and look at my post on Fanboys, I'm sure you'll see parallels. I just didn't have the patience to sit through this movie in the hopes that it would get better, and I was apparently right to do that since it didn't get better in those aspects according to my friends.
If you enjoyed Kick-Ass, more power to you. I'm just tired of movies having the same old shit in them. There was nothing new or extraordinary about this movie that I haven't seen done better elsewhere. This was a movie produced by straight, white, geeky males for straight, (white), geeky males just like most other geeky movies. If I want that, I'll take The Gamers: Dorkness Rising, thanks. At least I can enjoy that movie for however many failures it has.