Kick-Ass

[superhero]

Swearing doesn't offend me, but since when was alot of swearing in a film very clever? (maybe only when Tarantino does it )

[nindyz]

I thought the film was brilliant, would be more than happy to see it again, any more free screenings please!!!

[voucherlvr]

I really enjoyed watching Kick Ass, was funnier than I was expecting and one of the best films based on a comic book in a while.

[TheyCallMeMrGlass]

Saw the 1pm screening (and effectively doubling my tally of previews this year to a humgous 2, woohoo). As I expected, I really enjoyed it but I think it is a touch too overhyped. Its sure as hells is a blast to watch but unfotunately I watched it with a sombre audience. Sorry I do enjoy watching these sort of films with a vibrant audience but it seems most have left their vibe at home or at work (guess its the monday blues). There were also absolutely no security there either. Only the ushers making sure you dont sit in the reserved seating.

Interestingly, the whole middle isle section was reserved. When we entered the screen an usher tells all of us to sit on the side isles. Somehow that felt oddly degrading, hey maybe thats why the audience felt somewhat deflated during the film! But then again most of the audience were the ones sitting in the reserved seats, who the heck were they?

The film itself was enjoyable as I said. Being a bit of a first person shoot em up gamer, I loved the send up it did for that genre during the night vision factory sequence. The first half of the movie was actually a superb exposition and moral take on a delusional teenager who thinks dressing up a a superhero and become a crime fighting vigilante is the right thing to do and learns very quickly that it is in fact suicidal. He would have been dead several times but for a few strokes of luck which makes me think he may be the son of Zeus but this movie never mentions anything about Greek methology The geeky comedy has been done better by a hundred other films though. I expected gratuitous violence and the film delivered wether we like it or not. I'm not phased by it but at the same time I dont go "WOW, Check out the blood spurting out of their necks" either.

So what about Hit Girl, well yeah she rocked and I dug her killing the bad guys and taunting them. But that damn goody goody conscience element awoke inside me and started spoiling the fun by lecturing me: 'its effing wrong you sadistic dumbass, dont you think its wrong a director to be telling an 11 year old girl "Now, sweetie, I want you to say "alright c**ts" and "just f**king with you" and then I'll give you a nice big muthaf**ing icecream with lots of money for your parents which you can spend on drugs when you reach 18, and dont forget to call me when you do as I can give you the contact for a good source for that s**t"

Luckily though, I managed to supress my goody conscience and enjoyed the rest of the movie. But its not a movie I'll bother watch again. It wasnt THAT great. In fact I would rather watch Zombieland again which had far more laughs and animated horror than this film.

And I am definitely in the group that think this film should be an 18 cert, not a 15 even if technically, it passes, morally it doesnt.

I'd give it 7/10

Valsa, SimonV were you there too?

[opas]

I also saw this at 1pm. Think I slightly ruined it for myself as I was expecting great things, not that I was overly disappointed. However, I wish I had seen it on that Thursday night when I didn't get in as by then I hadn't seen any trailers or reviews. But I still thought it was very good.

The shock factor was high but practically everything worked. Nicholas Cage was good as was the actress who played Hit Girl. Fantastically set up for a potential sequel and I'm looking forward to that. 8.5/10.

I noticed that all the people who came in to sit in the centre had cups of tea and sandwiches. I guess we weren't invited to that party, lol. I also sat in the centre aisle, but towards the back. I think it was the centre of the centre that was reserved and those seats were clearly marked so we just avoided them.

[TheyCallMeMrGlass]

Oh Nic Cage was good, and his Adam West Batman impersonation was a hoot. There was an excellent story with Big Daddy and Hit Girl but I didnt think it resonated as well as it should.

SO maybe thats why the crowd was quiet, the sandwhiches were probably giving them tummyache But I'm sure Beate would have found a way into that tea party if she was attending...!

And thats interesting about the reservations, the Usher explicitly said sit nowhere in the centre Isle, just the sides!

[opas]

Yeah when we walked in we were told by the lady outside to sit to the sides and leave the centre free. However when we went to take seats to the side we then noticed that the middle seats had reservation papers on them but the back did not have any - and people were already sitting at the back. So we just joined them. We had a mini-debate about this in front of another usher who was standing in the aisle but he didn't say anything or attempt to stop us - he was guarding the centre of the centre!

I do have to say that when we went in it was fairly empty and the back seats did get quite full later on. It looked like the ushers were getting stricter with the 'sit on the sides' rule as it got more busy. The lady then came in and started removing the white A4 paper that said 'reserved' and the VIPs walked in and took their centre seats. I wondered why it was taking so long to start (it started 20 mins late!)- the VIPs clearly hadn't finished eating their refreshments! I also wonder who they were.

[TheyCallMeMrGlass]

HMM...I just noticed on IMDB that Kickass is rated R in America which is equivalent to 18 cert over here...hmm... guess UK censorship is a lot more lenient.

[AYBG]

Well, it's not quite that simple...

NC-17 is much closer to 18 on paper (you have to be 17 to see them), though America's terribly stupid idea of ethics means that NC-17s aren't shown in most cinemas, and are hard to acquire on DVD since Walmart and other major retailers refuse to sell them.
"Won't someone please think of the children!"

That's why Hollywood is very careful to get the ratings they want (and the MPAA is, controversially, kinder to it than independent producers). Someone said earlier on the thread that they submit more material than they think will be passed. That's nonsense. It's extremely rare to find a major film that's had to be cut, and if it has it's been because the MPAA was harsher than had been anticipated.

Another important thing to consider is that when it's an American film, the only concern is the rating in America, not anywhere else. No-one would have been targeting a 15 certificate here.

As for which is more lenient, the BBFC or the MPAA, it's not at all clear-cut. The American films that make up our 15 rating come from PG-13s (think of them as 13As; sometimes it's ludicrous that they should be 15s, e.g. Live Free or Die Hard) and R-rated movies (think 17A). The remainder of R-rated films (it would be interesting to know the actual proportions) become 18s which means you have to be older here to watch them. On the other hand, if a movie fails to get the R-rating in America, it's effectively banned.

So with all these complications it's impossible to judge one system as being harsher/more lenient than the other with only one film as evidence. For the film itself, my own understanding of our ratings system suggests to me that Kick-Ass was very much a justified 15. Which was disappointing from my viewpoint since ultraviolence is frequently used to create meaning (see most recently, Inglourious Basterds), the movie passed on the opportunity. This was not ultraviolent, and I've seen far "worse" 15s.

As for whether 15 year olds should be allowed to see films like this, I could go into great detail about why bloody films like Kick-Ass are far "healthier", "safer" to watch than your typical PG-13/12A blockbuster. It's all about consequence, my friends.

Anywho I shall end this post with some food for thought: in France, Kick-Ass is rated a PG.

[valda]

Oh Nic Cage was good, and his Adam West Batman impersonation was a hoot. There was an excellent story with Big Daddy and Hit Girl but I didnt think it resonated as well as it should.

SO maybe thats why the crowd was quiet, the sandwhiches were probably giving them tummyache But I'm sure Beate would have found a way into that tea party if she was attending...!

And thats interesting about the reservations, the Usher explicitly said sit nowhere in the centre Isle, just the sides!

I was there too. Mr G shame I didn't get to say hello. So, we got there and there was about 5 people sitting down. The usher people come in, saying 'who let them in' and that 'its going to cause problems' they asked one couple to move so they could reserve the seats, but when I asked should I move, he said I'd be ok, so I stayed in the middle towards the back. The reserved seats were for the press so that's probably why there was no real atmosphere in the place. they didn't even look like the sort of journalists who would like the film. Anyway we ended up moving again as we had some noisy girls behind us. As the reserved signs were taken away we thought we'd get there but weren't allowed, so, ended up crammed on the sides - why on earth did I move in the first place?

So back to the film, on my second viewing I still enjoyed it immensley. However, I seemed to remember there being more action and less talking. Strange what the memeory does.