65 replies to this topic

[JimmyBond]

Reading early reviews it seems like Matthew Vaughn has managed to churn out a really good satire on superhero films. And while I have never read the graphic novel it's based on, judging by the (red banded) trailers I've seen this looks like it's going to be something that I can't miss. However I didn't always feel this way:

See, it took the red band trailer for me to really see what kind of movie this was. Before that the only exposure I had to this film was through the TV spots, most of which don't do the film justice at all. The vibe that the TV spots give out is that this is a movie aimed at kids. Why do I say that? Because aside from Nick Cage, the rest of the primary cast is kids, not to mention Hit-Girl, a twelve year old to dons a purple wig to fight crime. So let me tell you when I saw those first rounds of TV spots I figured it was a movie aimed at that age group. It wasn't until I saw the movie was rated R that I decided to do some more research and see what kind of movie it really is.

This isn't only isolated to me though, a lot of people that I see both on youtube and the IMBD are under the same impression I was. That this is a superhero movie for the teen set. Now I know it's hard to fully show R rated content in a green band trailer, but with the way this film is being marketed at the moment I feel a lot of parents will end up taking their young ones to this film and then became shocked and outraged when the movie reveals itself to be what it really is. I'm talking violence on the level of Watchmen here, and while that movie wasn't exactly a hit at the box office, at least that films content was better exemplified in the trailers.

Like I said above, the advance reviews all say this is the film to see and that Vaughn has a really good film on his hands, but could the marketing sink this film? Only time will tell; unlike me though, not everyones going to get online and do further research.

[zencat]

The Hit Girl red tag trailer was the best thing I've seen in a long time.

[Loomis]

I think it looks crap. Superhero satires are nothing new, and I was nauseated by the spectacle of a little girl swearing - it seemed to be there purely for shock value and in the belief that it somehow makes the movie look hip and cool.

What's more, Nic Cage normally stinks up the screen, while LAYER CAKE suggested that Matthew Vaughn is good with striking visuals but bad at storytelling. And his latest comes across like two very different films mashed together.

I have no interest at all in seeing this.

[B. Brown]

I didn't know if it'd be safe to say it, myself ... so I'll let Loomis do it:

I think it looks crap.

[Mr. Blofeld]

I liked Layer Cake, but absolutely loathed his take on one of my favourite books, Neil Gaiman's Stardust; let's hope this film isn't anything like the latter film...

[JimmyBond]

I think it looks crap. Superhero satires are nothing new, and I was nauseated by the spectacle of a little girl swearing - it seemed to be there purely for shock value and in the belief that it somehow makes the movie look hip and cool.

What's more, Nic Cage normally stinks up the screen, while LAYER CAKE suggested that Matthew Vaughn is good with striking visuals but bad at storytelling. And his latest comes across like two very different films mashed together.

I have no interest at all in seeing this.

If it means anything, all the reviews are saying this is one of Cage's best performances in a long while.

As an aside, I wonder if a mod could change the topic line to "Kick-***" Rather than that long mess it is now, I had no idea it'd end up like that, lol.

[dinovelvet]

As an aside, I wonder if a mod could change the topic line to "Kick-***" Rather than that long mess it is now, I had no idea it'd end up like that, lol.

Perhaps the mods could just allow the word to be said. The censorship on CBN is strangely conservative for a forum dedicated to the goings on of a sex and violence prone secret agent - are there really any impressionable children posting in here who would be corrupted by hearing that A-word? By the time they arrive on CBN, its likely they've already heard it, and far worse, in a Bond film.

[[dark]]

As an aside, I wonder if a mod could change the topic line to "Kick-***" Rather than that long mess it is now, I had no idea it'd end up like that, lol.

ing fixed.

[JimmyBond]

I would have been happy with the asterisk's, but this works too. Thanks [dark]

[Safari Suit]

I didn't know if it'd be safe to say it, myself ... so I'll let Loomis do it:

I think it looks crap.

Now, now, come on you two, look at the feast they're offering us! Seems to me this is part Apatow-style hipster/slacker/geek comedy, and part comic book superhero tale! Boy those are two types of film we don't see enough of these days, let alone far too much of! Thank heavens someone had the bright idea to combine the two! And it's based on a comic, sorry "graphic novel", by Mark Miller, the same guy who wrote the "graphic novel" Wanted was based on! That was a totally fantastic and completely memorable film! This is gonna be awesome!

P.S. !!!!!!!

P.P.S. Sod's law is I probably will actually like the film now that I've posted this

[danslittlefinger]

http://www.people.co...z/atthemovies//

FILM REVIEW: KICK-
28 March 2010
Films

Layer Cake director Matthew Vaughn has been getting stick about his comic-book comedy Kick- because of its violence and foul language.

He told one journalist during an interview: "F*** them all. It's a free country and you don't have to watch it."

It's a point of view, but Vaughn's movie has escaped with only a 15-certificate by the UK censors - and his argument about free choice is unlikely to work on impressionable teenagers.

In the US, Kick- has been given an R-rating which means kids under 17 are not allowed to attend unless accompanied by an adult. But in my view this doesn't go far enough. Kick- is an exhilarating yet deeply flawed movie that should be for adults only. So is our moral compass all askew? Interestingly, it's a question touched on by our would-be screen hero, who asks: "Why does everybody want to be Paris Hilton and nobody wants to be Spider-Man?" The answer to that one, it turns out, is because it hurts being a superhero.

New York teen Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) discovers the painful truth after he dons a green and yellow wetsuit to become crime fighter and vigilante Kick-.

Overcoming all odds, the eager young lawenforcer quickly becomes a phenomenon, capturing the public's imagination thanks to the power of the internet and social networking websites.

[dinovelvet]

Yeah I pretty much don't understand this. Apparently some of the appeal/outrage here is hearing a 12 year old girl yelling obscenities, but one can generally find that going on in any British shopping center on a Saturday afternoon for free.

And is that really a "review" from People, or is it sort of a "what the fillum is about" description from someone who hasn't seen it?

[JimmyBond]

And is that really a "review" from People, or is it sort of a "what the fillum is about" description from someone who hasn't seen it?

I felt the same way, until I clicked on the link. There's more to that review than just the description he posted.

[danslittlefinger]

Yeah I pretty much don't understand this. Apparently some of the appeal/outrage here is hearing a 12 year old girl yelling obscenities, but one can generally find that going on in any British shopping center on a Saturday afternoon for free.

And is that really a "review" from People, or is it sort of a "what the fillum is about" description from someone who hasn't seen it?

It's a review from a film critic in the 'Sunday People', a UK tabloid not People magazine.

Yes sorry in my haste I only posted half of the review. Here's the rest:

"However, he's not the only superhero out there. Meet the fearless father and daughter crime-fighting duo of Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage) and Hit Girl (Chloe Moretz) who have been slowly but surely demolishing the evil empire of Mob boss Frank D'Amico (Mark Strong).

At the same time, though, Kick- gets drawn into the bloody and violent world of Frank's no-good son Chris (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), who also leads a double life as Red Mist.

Their final showdown becomes a battle between the forces of good and evil.

As a slice of very adult entertainment, this movie nearly works.

It is extremely funny in places, the action set-pieces are magnificent and the likes of Cage and Strong are excellent. But the real scene stealer is Chloë Moretz as the 11-year-old Hit Girl.

Chloe, who has since turned 13 in real life, gives an incredible performance for someone of her tender years.

Yet there is something not quite right about a little girl slicing and dicing her way through the bad guys and using language that would make even a sailor blush. Ultimately, the movie fails because you are much more interested in Hit Girl and Big Daddy than in the central character, Kick-.

Which inevitably means we will see a stand-alone Hit Girl movie. Meanwhile, shame on the censors!"

[tdalton]

I finally checked out the trailer for this film after all of the buzz it's been getting on here the last 24 hours or so. I'm afraid that I'm going to have to agree with Loomis when i say that this looks horrendous. This is one I'll definitely be avoiding whenever its released.

[JimmyBond]

It depends on what trailers you've been watching. The normal green band trailers really do the movie injustice (as I mentioned in my OP). The red band trailers are better, but if those are the ones you've watched and still feel that way. Well then I don't know what to say.

It's just odd that everyone in here is saying the movie looks bad yet I'm reading reviews left and right hailing this movie as a masterpiece. Personally I'm getting the same vibe off of this film as I did off of Watchmen, and I know a lot of you dogging this flick really enjoyed that one.

[Matt_13]

The Hit Girl red band is unbelievable. I showed it to all of my friends and they're all game. Visuals look stunning as well. Can't wait.

[tdalton]

It depends on what trailers you've been watching. The normal green band trailers really do the movie injustice (as I mentioned in my OP). The red band trailers are better, but if those are the ones you've watched and still feel that way. Well then I don't know what to say.

I've watched one of the red band trailers and was unimpressed by it. It feels like a film that is trying desperately to be cool rather than a film that might actually accomplish that on its own merits. Throw into the mix Nicolas Cage, who hasn't been in a decent film in quite some time, and Matthew Vaughn, whose work as a director is quite overrated, and it adds up to something that I have little to no interest in seeing. It also seems like a film that is trying to be shocking just for the sake of being shocking, given the profanity hurled out there by children and other such "shocking" things.

[JimmyBond]

Well, the film is not trying to be shocking merely for the sake of it, it's an adaption of the comic book. Which from what I hear is quite shocking in itself. As for Hit-Girl, well I guess...you and I see two different things. You see something that is turning you off of seeing this film, and I see a great reason to see the film, and from all the reviews I've read say she's one of the stand out points in the film.

[dodge]

I feel ill, having seen both trailers. I feel a deep-needed desire to pray that comic books stop being printed...that movies made from them be banned...and that Nicholas Cage endure a very long sabbatical. Then I remember TDK and recall that comic books aren't the real problem. Movies with kids in them should all be banned! I mean, of course, with Cute, Cool Kids.

[DamnCoffee]

I didn't have high hopes for this. The trailer didn't impress me much, but I was dragged to see it anyway. I was glad to be proved wrong. This is such a great movie. It's fun, enjoyable and has the perfect blend of humour and drama. It's not just a typical comedy movie, it's actually a lot more. Highly Reccomended.

There's a nice few Bond throwbacks in there as well, mostly from Licence to Kill and Thunderball.

[Loomis]

Layer Cake director Matthew Vaughn has been getting stick about his comic-book comedy Kick- because of its violence and foul language.

He told one journalist during an interview: "F*** them all. It's a free country and you don't have to watch it."

What a charming fellow.

[Jim]

It was all quite jolly but very violent. I just wonder if we're beginning to exhaust ostensibly "alternative" takes on superheroes.

[bond 16.05.72]

It was no 5 star film but definitely a solid 4 stars from me, very enjoyable much better than that fest Clash of the Titans.

Edited by bond 16.05.72, 08 April 2010 - 07:02 AM.

[DamnCoffee]

It was no 5 star film but definitely a solid 4 stars from me, very enjoyable much better than that fest Clash of the Titans.

Interesting you should say that. It was a top up betweek Kick-A** and Clash of the Titans for us last night.

[bond 16.05.72]

It was no 5 star film but definitely a solid 4 stars from me, very enjoyable much better than that fest Clash of the Titans.

Interesting you should say that. It was a top up betweek Kick-A** and Clash of the Titans for us last night.

Well my friend you made the right choice, my Wife is a fan of the original and I recently got her the Blu ray. Where I have no great passion for the original I will say it least as a quirky charm and plenty of heart, whereas the remake is a souless CGI led load of rubbish with some sub standard performances. We saw it in 2D as the 3D is on all accounts a waste of time that was added in post production like Alice In Wonderland

KA was much more entertaining and although I wouldn't put it up with DK I will definitely be getting it on Blu ray when it comes out.

Nicholas Cage's Adam West impersonation is hilarious.

Edited by bond 16.05.72, 08 April 2010 - 11:24 AM.

[dodge]

Well, at least we can be grateful that they didn't reshoot it in 3-D, right?

[JimmyBond]

It's nice to see people praising the film in here. As it really does seem to be one of those films that looks silly (I blame the marketing) but ends up being really pretty good.

I can't wait to see it, one more week for me.

[AgentBentley]

I'm not into real superhero movies, but I do like Vaughn's alter-ego Guy Ritchie and I did see most of the Rotten Tomatoes reviews were positive.
If I have nothing more important on my plate next weekend, I might go and see it, depending on more up-to-date reviews. Not that I believe in the absolute truth of reviews, but for a movie I'm not really familiar with, I still give them some value.

[JimmyBond]

Six more days for me, or five if you take into account I'm actually going to the first showing Thursday night.

I'm really interested to read what Ebert has to say on this film. While I know he gets a kick out of uber violent movies, and Superhero movies in general. I'm not sure he's going to enjoy seeing a 13 year old swear and eviscerate grown men. I'm reminded of his review of Robocop 2 where he devoted a whole paragraph to the young boy in that movie that swore a lot and shot weapons.