Cinemas new low

Rating: 3/10 (18 August 2013)

I watched this film after hearing rave reviews from friends about how good it was. "Good" (at least in the moral sense) however is not a word I would use to describe this film. I have rarely felt so disturbed and dismayed.
Instead of following the usual overdone superhero theme Kick-Ass tries to take a new seemingly cooler edge. Not only is the superhero not a "true" superhero, but the film tries to shock by taking the level of violence to the depraved. If I had wanted to watch torture, a man being burnt alive, an 11 year old girl getting shot, beaten up and shooting others, repeated stabbings and copious amounts of blood, gore and knuckle dusters I'd have rented a slasher movie. I actually had to fast forward some scenes and look away because they were just too disturbing to watch. I found the violence in Kick-Ass to be abhorrent and frankly unnecessary, even though the film relies upon it in order to shock and remain edgy.
I am glad however that the violence affected me, at least it proves I still have empathy and a sense of morality. Something which I believe this film lacks in its entirety. How is it right to portray this level of violence in a "superhero" film that will be seen by young kids despite the 15 stamp purely because of its genre? Especially when the world is full of people shooting and beating up each other. Kick-Ass might have been different if the characters had reacted to what they were doing in an emotional and consequential way...but they just keep killing like it doesn't matter. As a society we really need to think about the messages films like Kick-Ass are sending out to children and indeed to adults.