Sunday, May 2, 2010

"Kick Ass" comments by Andy

For some reason I thought "Kick Ass" was an indy film. I was dead wrong. I was as wrong as many of the bad guys in the film, in fact.

I also thought the film was simply a comedy. Again, I was wrong. It was hilarious for a large portion of the film, but it was surprisingly dark for parts too.

Chloe Moretz steals the show as "Hit-Girl." Ms. Moretz , andI hope you google your name every-so-often to find this: You are fabulous. Keep doing what you are doing.

I will say, though, that I don't hold much hope for having a good sequel. I think there probably will be one if someone can write a passable script, but I have real doubts that it will be good. Here's why - what made "Kick Ass" so great was that it chronicled a tale of a young man, Dave Lizewski, who decided to be a superhero, and he was horrible at it. He got his hat handed to him in every single situation. He did manage to get a girl, which was what the impetus was for being a superhero, but it was really only through the help of other people.

His tale was interspersed and entwined with another arc of the revenge of the Macready, who were, in fact, superheros. They had the training, the weaponry, the know-how, and the targets to be actual vigilantes. They were really good - in fact Hit Girl was probably the most brutal of them all. And as the story unfolded, Dave quickly realizes that he's not cut out to be a superhero, and that he certainly doesn't have the acumen to fight crime. The problem is he becomes inexorably caught up in the Macready's revenge plot.

The point is, I don't know how anyone would write a sequel that would in any way be true to this movie's characters. Dave never actually becomes a superhero, and even if you say that he has become one, you've left the original premise of the movie. That's just my opinion.

But, wow, what a fun film. Ms. Moretz - you are terrific. Keep making movies.

2 comments:

Jason Pyles, Movie Critic said...

Andy,

I get your concern about a worthy sequel; indeed, that's always the question with sequels, isn't it? — whether they'll be any good or not. (Hmmm. That's something we should discuss in a new format sometime soon. Foreshadowing.)

I guess the fresh, new originality probably couldn't be reinstated in a sequel, but if the same writers returned, I think it could be decent.

You see, as I understand it, the comic book property is Mark Millar's (and John Romita Jr's). But he handed over the screenplay to Jane Goldman and the film's director, Matthew Vaughn.

According to the Creative Screenwriting Magazine podcast ( http://bit.ly/9XjDL4 ) and The /Filmcast's interview with Mark Millar ( http://bit.ly/c2mo5m ), both the comic book and the screenplay kind of grew simultaneously and organically among the writers. I guess Millar told Vaughn and Goldman they could do anything they wanted with the characters, as long as they didn't kill off any of them that weren't already gonna bite it, because he plans on continuing the comics — which tells me, if he can stay fresh with it — this franchise could possibly continue honorably.

It's definitely been successful enough for a sequel. We shall see.

Jason Pyles, Movie Critic said...

P.S. for the Above Comment: A quick glance at IMDb.com reveals that a "Kick-Ass 2: Balls to the Wall" has already been announced and is slated for release in 2012. And yes, as of now, all the same writers are returning.