on kickass

saw KICK ASS and here's my critique

to start with, for anyone that hasn't seen the film yet, let us get the word out there clear and loud: this is not a comedy. it has cleverness, crispy one-liners, and a satirical approach tot he world of superheroes, but it's not a comedy. 

i learned it the hard way. i was expecting a style of teen to adult comic situations in the same tradition as SUPERBAD has established already. 

it is a genre where fresh faces and people too close to real down to earth, and forgive my word "losers," characters narrate a day in their lives. 

the "losers" films as i will call them, it is full of dynamic situations that approach story telling from a perspective not told before: the side of the supporting characters. and that's what it is. previous protagonists are animated by individuals that are either cool, handsome/beautiful, or exceptionally special in some way or another. the "losers" genre came to shake the movie standards and show a reality that exists everywhere, which is the fact that interesting people are not necessarily cool, popular, rich, pretty, or special. Interesting people can also be those that remain on the background quiet, alone, and conformists. hence the support character no longer sits back, but outshines the protagonists: this is the "losers" film genre. 

KICK ASS approaches the audience with such reality that outstanding characters can also be "losers" in their daily lives. heroes are made out a need to stand up for a conviction: this is the case of these young superheroes. they stand for an ideal to keep the streets safe. the matter is touched with such a sense of reality that embarks the viewer through an experience that both entertains and interrupts: a sense of defamiliarization is born. 

I was up for the ride and enjoying the clever dialogue until, the hero gets stabbed. it is at this point where i clearly began feeling detached from a character that i totally cared for. not because kick ass is one dimensional character, but because i am reminded that this is a story about an adolescent, not quite a teenager, but a boy caught up in between boyhood and teenage. and yet this boy faces a world full of pumping violence where only THE WATCHMEN will be able to exists. and it is what such hyper-violence reminded me of. i could also mention KILL BILL because of the beatings and slicing. so how come i was able to enjoy those mentioned films without feeling detached? for the simple reason that both films are driven by a cast full of adult characters. 

KICK ASS succeeds in making me root for the good guys; it engaged me to the point that i actually enjoyed for the first time in a while the acting of nicholas cage. what i can't seem to accept easily is the inclusion of kids in such a violent world where there"s no superpowers, magic, abilities, or fantasy to support them; it's this same fact that makes me detach from the characters that i like, but i cant approve the decisions or even the defamiliarization that they show for death.