Great movie...if you have not read the comic-book

Rating: 7/10 (16 April 2011)

Let me start by saying, as a "stand-alone" movie, this was great. It's Kill-Bill-meets-Batman-cool, with a prominent element of self-sarcasm, plus a super hero that's definitely not "super" at and that is what makes him even more of a hero. So yeah, it's a really fun movie to watch, it brings something fresh to the "superhero" genre and I could easily have given it an 8...if it weren't for the comic book.
See here's the thing: Kick-Ass is the story of an antihero. And in the comic book, the antihero remains an antihero until the end, that's the whole point. He does not get the girl, he does not get to use cool flying devices and he never ever really gets around to killing. That's just not the way he is wired; he is the guy next door until the end and let's face it, the guy next door would seriously freak out if he had to shoot at someone and kill them! Having Kick-Ass kill people and be cool about it is...well basically it's like having Chuck kill people and be cool about it: sure, it does make sense but it kind of ruins the character.
As for Hit-Girl, well I do see how some could be annoyed or offended by a little girl swearing, fighting and killing. And actually, though well...Hit Girl would not be Hit Girl without all the fighting and the killing, I do thing "they" kind of overdid it, particularly with the "bad words". I am no prude, it's just that it does not really do justice to the character. Hit-Girl is a trained warrior, because her father intended for her to be a hero. Bad language was certainly not part of the training! Occasional trash talking is one thing, saying "fuck" and "motherfucker" ALL THE TIME is another and, in this case, it's too much. Plus, we don't really get to see her and her father's story. Basically, her father decided to live as a superhero and he wanted her to live as a superhero as well, because he thought the life of a superhero would be more special and interesting than of "a common man". Part of what made him act this way that was his loneliness - he never had anyone tell him "is that how you brainwash your kid?" (as it was shown in the movie). But we never see that, nor do we see him regret his decision and reveal his lies. We also never see Hit-Girl find out the truth, which kind of deprives her of a real closure.
So what I guess I'm saying is this: Kick-Ass the movie is, plot-wise, a glorified version of Kick-Ass the comic book, plus it's a bit more violent. And that sort of annoyed me. Other than that, I'd say it was a good, enjoyable movie with good performances, particularly that of Cloe Moretz (Hit Girl).