A laundry list of things your parents DON'T want you to do...

Rating: 7/10 (5 August 2010)

"Kick-Ass" is a film that looks as if the film makers wanted to put everything into a film that parents would be horrified to have their kids see or do...and then they marketed it directly to these kids. Socially irresponsible? Sure...but also quite entertaining. Here is a brief listing of the things horrified parents will see in the film: profuse use of the f-word, lots of intense violence, super-heroes who brutally kill their prey, masturbatory references, brutality that surprised me, teens having hot and sweaty sex, severed limbs, etc.--all things kids are clearly told NOT to do and not to see. Yet much of the time, it IS being done by kids who are teens or even younger. Seeing an 11 year-old using such strong language and eviscerating villains with reckless abandon IS something you don't see every day!
While I could analyze the movie or describe its plot, I won't, as there are 16 bazillion reviews for this film already. Instead, I want to direct this review to parents. While kids really DO talk the way they do in this movie (as a high school teacher, I know) and the film makers captured this well, even if you ignore the hard-core language I don't think you should let younger viewers see this film. My 20 year-old watched it and loved it, but I didn't let my soon to be 16 year-old--she is just not as mature as some kids her age. The violence is just something I think too many teens already are too comfortable with--and this film will only make this worse. Now if you have an older teen, then I say let them see it--or, the fact is, they might be old enough that it really doesn't matter what you say. Just be fore-warned--this is NOT a kids movie or even one for the average teen--it's just too full of stuff they are probably not mature enough to handle. Heck, I'm not even sure if I am!
Coincidentally, last night I saw a Japanese film that was HIGHLY reminiscent of "Kick-Ass". "Lady Snowblood" is a tale of revenge concerning a baby who is raised to exact revenge for her parents--one of the same themes in "Kick-Ass"--and the film is about equally violent and bloody. If you liked "Kick-Ass", then give this other film a look--it turned out to be Taratino's inspiration for the "Kill Bill" series.