When it comes to upcoming movies, they fall into a ranking of four categories for me:

1-Oh my God, I must see this the minute it comes out.
2-I am definitely seeing that...when it rolls over to OnDemand.
3-Yeah, maybe I'll watch that on HBO when absolutely nothing else is on.
4-No, never.

There may be about 5 films out of the year that rate a 1, and I initially filed Kick-Ass between a 3 and 4. I found the trailer about as intriguing as the one for Hot Tub Time Machine, looking as if it would probably be load of poorly written wisecracks and typical slap-stick humor. I don't even like superhero films to begin with, they typically translate the exact same story (just in a different color of Spandex). However, after reading that the film "may do for superhero movies what Pulp Fiction did for crime films"--that's the big statement all the critics are tossing around--I had to see it for myself a few weeks ago.
After that, I had to see it again; this is a rare occurrence.

It was certainly very Quentin Tarantino-esque; brutal violence with anime-like cinematography and that whole new level of "girl power"he always includes. In fact, the character "Hit Girl" has been stirring up quite the controversy between her foul mouth and ability to annihilate grown men without even wincing. Being the desensitized millennial that I am, I wasn't as shocked by the juxtaposition of the character, or too concerned with an 11-year old being exposed to a few gallons of corn syrup. However, I notice the people that she really has tugging at their shirt collars mostly consist of men. I can't help but briefly wonder if Hit Girl was a boy, would there be as much of a fuss? Would the tables be turned?
Since boys have such a fixation with violence around that age (being that they haven't entered puberty yet) I don't think the result would be as shocking. Little girls are supposed to be the epitome of innocence--sugar, spice, and everything nice. Now add a pair of butterfly knives and some throwing stars and you have some very uncomfortable men.

Of course I find her empowering in a twisted way, and I'm curious if Hit Girl will trigger a new genre of some lethal Lolita's (not that she's the first). Perhaps our society could use a sociopath in pigtails to refute the usual influx of sexualized Bratz dolls.
Basically, she's my new Chuck Norris.

And I'd like to see you ask her to make you a sandwich.

Though Hit Girl is the outstanding favorite to many, she didn't entirely overshadow the other characters either. Kick-Ass, the actual main character, is the absolute antithesis of Hit Girl (and any superhuman for that matter). He serves as the typical geeky teenaged boy, he doesn't wake up with any super powers, he doesn't effortlessly exterminate thugs, and he's not emotionally detatched. But even as he's only winning by the skin of his teeth, if at all, he still remains somewhat inspiring. I took a certain admiration as he was crushing his polyblend mask in his hands and began crying on his bed after being introduced to and completely shown up by an 11-year-old and her father. In a typical superhero film, he probably would have been stoked and instantly joined forces, or may have been suspicious, only to later join forces. I was truly impressed that they put a little more thought into that, of course a boy would be crushed and embarrassed. That would probably make anyone want to cry in secrecy.

I didn't entirely hate Nicholas Cage's character either, which says a lot.

I may only be so impressed with the movie due to my originally low expectations. But even so, the movie seemed to take a lot more sociological consideration than most superhero films, which I find most commendable about it. Shockingly enough, I may even pick up the graphic novel after this...


(Update: for an interesting and much better evaluation of Hit Girl, check this out)

(Another update: the soundtrack was pretty good too, I remember hearing a lot of Prodigy)