G-rated material, R-rated delivery.

Rating: 3/10 (17 April 2010)

Seeing the commercials for this movie in theaters I was interested to see how things would go, yet skeptical about how well it would turn out in the end. Tonight pretty much gave me that answer.
In the beginning it was exciting to know that this average, nerdy, unnoticed kid was eventually going to wind up as this crime-fighting superhero somewhere further into the story - rather than to find out that, somewhere further into the story, he was still an average, nerdy, semi-noticed kid. With a costume.
My first problem with this movie (there are many, sadly...) is that it's supposed to be a comedy. That's what they aimed for, right? Or did I miss something? I think the only time I truly laughed was at the beginning before the movie even took pace. After that, I was feeling a little caught in between something along the lines of Scary Movie with a violent twist that could put most horror movies to go wallow in a bloodbath of shame. In my opinion, comedies are there to make us go, "Haha! That guy just slipped on a banana peal!" (Okay, totally old-fashioned, I know. Just stay with me here) And not, "Haha! That little 12 year old girl just sliced that guy's leg off with a sword, shot twenty people through the forehead and crushed that man in a wrecking-yard car compactor!" Horror and Comedy are something I prefer to see with a LITTLE distance between them, thank you. Having to laugh after a slaughter just seems like too much of a switch. Half of the time- no, pretty much the whole time, I was being torn between when or if I should giggle or cover my eyes at the gruesome sight on the screen. Everything just felt too mixed up and shaken around for my likes. Kind of like watching one of the Wiggles put on a hockey mask and start slashing people. Which is shameful to say. I myself am ashamed to even put it like that.
Another problem I had with this movie was pretty much the story itself. There really is no background to this wannabe-superhero other than what you see at the beginning. He's nerdy, and weak. It would have been nice to see one of those (real) superhero movie moments where the character goes into depression and is torn between right and wrong and gives the audience a break to see who this character actually is when he isn't killing people in the name of justice. Where he goes everyday, who he talks to, his family and public life. But honestly, the only thing you seem to see after a while is just the action and nothing more. The movie gets a little shallow...
But overall, Kick-Ass himself eventually seemed to get put on the back burner. Hit-Girl, the little 12 year old assassin, stole the show. I have to admit she really entertained me (I'm going against everything I just said about her, yes. And only because she has some really cool moves) and is easily the character I remember the most. Because who doesn't like a skilled assassin taking charge and kicking some bad-guy butt now and then? Even if she IS 12.
How did this review get so long? Well I'll finish up by giving some credit to the amazing and disturbingly bloody fight scenes which were fantastically choreographed and were certainly kick-ass to say the least. If there is a sequel, it will probably have more potential than the first film, and I would even go see it for myself despite this review; since for some reason I started to develop some fond memories about the movie about an hour after I left as opposed to leaving it with my face portraying someone who just got very disappointed. Maybe that's why everyone else liked it so much? Cool trick.
Final score: 3/10. Sadly the jumble of violence and chaos mixed in with parody-style comedy was just too much of a mix for me to give it any more than that in the end, and all my credit goes to the action scenes. Thank you for reading!