Lady Snowblood 2010

Rating: 10/10 (22 August 2010)

Many people mention that Kill Bill by Quentin Tarantino was largely inspired by Lady Snowblood, the 1973 Japanese revenge movie directed by Toshiya Fujita and starring Meiko Kaji. The sub-plot in Kick Ass (Big Daddy/Hit Girl story) is much closer to Lady Snowblood than Kill Bill is, except that the female assassin is much younger and more foul-mouthed.
Having watched quite a few of these Japanese revenge-themed movies from the 70s of late I think I've developed an appreciation of the genre. Kick Ass fits in nicely, and the acting is superb. I hope Chloe Moretz goes on to do as well as Meiko Kaji did.
The main plot in Kick Ass has a lot of depth, touching on many contemporary issues such as apathy, gay-bashing and school-yard bullying under the guise of a coming-of-age story. I see more in it every time I watch it (which has been quite a few times already). Aaron Johnson does a great job with the role, struggling with all the moral and personal issues that the movie raises.
Some have criticised the movie for not fitting into any genre, but I see it as being post-modern in it's breaking out of genres and reflecting on them in a way that transcends rather than satirizes.