In lieu of writing my own Kick Ass review, I thought I'd bring up the most recent internet buzz happening. So, if you haven't heard, Roger Ebert reviewed Kick Ass and gave it 1 star. His primary argument was that the movie is an R rated comic book hero film featuring an 11 year old girl chopping up bad guys. Ebert says that the movie regards human beings like "video game targets...Kill one, and you score."
I'm not sure if he forgot that movie going experiences generally tend to be about suspending one's disbelief, or if he figured it was time to give a bad review (Could have picked Clash of the Titans for that one...oh wait.)
After his review, Harry Knowles of Ain't It Cool News decided to post a counter argument to Ebert's lashing, claiming that Ebert is in the wrong.
As someone who has seen the film, I have to show my support for Harry's argument. I personally loved this film and found it to be everything I was wanting in a super hero movie: A blend of black comedy, great action, likable characters, and none of the stupid limitations of being PG-13 like every single hero movie tends to be these days. After all, the source material for this was targeted at adults, and the movie should rightfully be as well!
Ebert thinks this movie is going to somehow corrupt the minds of desensitized American youth, and that simply isn't the case. Harry gave a great example of a school teacher friend of his who has seen much fouler language emerge from the mouths of elementary and middle school aged children. I've done freelance tutoring of my own for a city school, and can vouch for the exact same thing. I've seen the way some students as young as third graders can act, and it is vicious! I didn't know kids that young had such an arsenal of offensive language in their vocabulary, or could be capable of reciting songs like "do da stanky leg". Nor how brutal they can be towards one another over the smallest of remarks.
So, while it's ok to hold on to your values, I don't think you should latch onto them when it is so heavily emphasizing the basis of your review. It's impossible to keep kids as innocent as they were 10, 20, or 30 years ago compared to today with all of the media exposure they get every second. You have to understand that our society and culture are constantly adapting, and what was once considered taboo is becoming more and more commonplace as our exposure to the internet increases. However, good parenting goes a long way towards raising a child who understands fantasy, reality, and morality.
At the risk of going off topic, the real thing to get out of this is that KICK ASS is meant to entertain. It's not the movie you go into looking to get some deep hidden meaning out of, you are going to laugh and see a story about dealing with justice that I'm sure lots of us have imagined in our heads for years. Obviously, it's not the brightest idea to take your kids to see this (That is why there are alternative options, like How to Train Your Dragon).
I think Ebert put it best, posing the question of "Shall I have feelings, or should I pretend to be cool?"
The answer to that one would be: Yep, you're just getting old.
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