For this week’s Saturday Showdown, we have the hottest topic of debate around the Multiversity offices: will Matthew Vaughn’s adaptation of Mark Millar and John Romita Jr.’s Kick-Ass be good or a new level of terrible for comic book movies? While some would say there is middle ground available here, as comic book fans we laugh in their face and say “there is no gray area when it comes to comic books.”
Look after the jump for Matt’s take on Kick-Ass (hint: he’s the horribly opposed one) and my take. For once, we’ve reversed roles and Matt is the negative one while I support the upcoming picture.
Matt’s case against Kick-Ass: For once during a Saturday Showdown, I will be the voice of negativity! How bizarre! Of course, in an even more crazy twist, I will be extremely negative to the point where I may offend someone. Who knows? Either way, there is one thing I know: no matter what anyone else might say to the contrary, Kick-Ass will be a god awful film.
My first point of evidence was the script. I actually read (what we will assume is) the first draft, and I wrote an entire review of it up on this lovely site. I said that it was quite possibly one of the worst things I had ever read. Essentially, it takes all of the ideas that I hate most about our culture and plays them up to no end. The most important scene to me is the scene where the main villain, this diabolical mob boss, threatens a cop by telling him he’ll put up pictures on Facebook. Really? I know that this is supposed to be “funny,” but when you have this cop beating a guy in the street to death in one scene and then threatening a cop with a digital social media network, I call that bad writing. Furthermore, the writing and the dialogue alone is cringe worthy. It just barely follows Romita Jr. and Millar’s original story, which isn’t even finished, might I add. Sure, the “essential characters” are there, but there are so many over done parts in the film script that it basically takes what worked well as a comic book and throws it out the window.
Did you see League of Extraordinary Gentlemen? Did you READ League of Extraordinary Gentlemen? It’s kind of like that. I don’t think that I can go up on top of a soap box and preach that Kick-Ass is a world defining comic that will last for generations and be hailed by every critic in the country. It’s not that kind of comic book. It’s a lot of fun, and it’s true Mark Millar crazypants writing, but it’s not the next Watchmen or Planetary. However, like League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, you have 8 issues from start to finish that you can adapt, and that’s it. Yes, Millar has stated there are more stories planned (such as the sequel entitled “Balls to the Wall”), but for all intents and purposes, Kick-Ass is a story with a beginning, a middle, and an end. Kick-Ass the film takes that story and ruins it in my mind. I think one of the most important things about the book is that you have a superhero who is doing his best using the internet to try and help people, and he meets another superhero who eventually betrays him, but you don’t find about that until the end of the sixth issue. Guess where that happens in the movie? Right near the beginning, before Red Mist even pops up. The boy under the mask asks his father to buy him a costume so he can go and trap Kick-Ass. So what’s the point?
This is probably what bothers me second most, however. I want a comic movie to be accurate to it’s origins, especially when it’s so laid out as Kick-Ass. But what bothers me even more than any of that is the cast. Good God, I can’t believe the cast. Anyone who knows me is going to know exactly what it is I have a problem with too: Nicolas Cage. I firmly believe Nicolas Cage is one of the worst actors of all time, and I have a whole myriad of movies that I’d be happy to point out in a Blockbuster with you. Heck, why not just go to his IMDb page? That’s a great list of movies to never watch! And he was cast in the role of BIG DADDY? Are you kidding me? Big Daddy is a huge guy, essentially a bear, who wears an awesome trenchcoat and carries around a chainsaw. The Kick-Ass film has basically taken him and turned him into Batman. Do you know how much that sucks, friends? That sucks a whole lot. It’s basically saying two things: 1) We don’t think we can sell this movie without making gratuitous references to other superhero films, which essentially makes this a PARODY, and 2) Frak the original comic, we’re going to redesign it all. And redesign it they have. Red Mist received an atrocious makeover to the point he looks like a Hot Topic reject, and with McLovin’ under the mask you once again lose the point of the character. Christopher Mintz-Plasse should have been Kick-Ass, if anything, because Kick-Ass is that awkward and fumbling nerd that McLovin’ has already proved multiple times he can play (in both Role Models and Superbad). Who is playing Kick-Ass, you ask? Why, it’s Aaron Johnson, who is quite possibly the least awkward guy I’ve ever seen (and is apparently off a recent stint as a Jonas Brother lookalike), atop with the fact that he’s barely nerdy at all. Throwing Michael Cera’s BFF as his BFF in the film doesn’t exactly make up for it, I’m sorry. The only person who matches her role is the ridiculous Chloe Moretz, and I’m sure that after making this film she’ll be scarred for life on some level.
Continued belowApparently, Kick-Ass the film wants to sell you on the fact that it’ll be ridiculously violent and off the wall crazy. OK, because that’s worked for tons of films, right? I mean, people LOVED Ninja Assassin, right? You guys all went and saw the Wachowski Brothers latest flick written by J. Michael Straczynski and directed by James McTeigue (the director of V For Vendetta), right? Oh, you DIDN’T see it? And the film bombed at the box office and has a cumulative rating of 31% out of 100 at Rotten Tomatoes? Well, that’s weird! I’m pinholing here, but I think my point is still valid. Kick-Ass may have blood and guts and little girls bouncing off the walls, but at the end of the day it’s going to be a stupid movie. Again, I’m not here to say that Kick-Ass is the be-all end-all of comics. Far from it. I can recognize it as a goofy violence fueled vehicle for Millar and Romita Jr to have some fun. I’m fine with that. It doesn’t bother me one bit. What does bother me quite a bit is when it gets mixed up in the Hollywood machine and is changed from something that was an amusing concept to an overblown spectacle that bastardizes a lot of the original intents of the comic.
When I read Wanted and saw Wanted, I noted that the vast differences in the versions didn’t prevent it from being a box office hit. Thanks to the big names of the cast as well as the director, people went out and saw it. But what was a story of every villain defeating every hero and taking over the world became a story of boring old assassin’s with daddy issues. I fear that a lot of the same will take place with the Kick-Ass movie. The main shell is there, but the interior is a jumbled up and poorly written mix of what could have been. And it bothers me extremely that for months and months, Millar and Matthew Vaughn, the director, have been stating that this is 100% accurate to the book. With re-designed characters both visually and in basic purpose as well (Big Daddy is now a completely different character), we lose a lot of the grit and fun of the comic. It’s basically creating a brand new property with characters that already exist, which on some levels is defined as plagiarism. Unfortunately for us, since both creators of the original comic are on board with the film, it’s just called “giving the middle finger to fans.”
I’m not here to boycott the film. I am firmly against it, but chances are when the movie comes out, the curiosity will get to me and I’ll pay to see it. Will I be happy about it though? No. Because I know what I’m getting into. My goal now is to try and show you what you are also getting into. You’ve got a poorly written script that becomes a poor adaptation with poor casting and a gimmicky premise to reel you in. I’m sorry, but any film with Nicolas Cage in it is by definition bad, and I’m sticking to my guns on that one. Besides, last time Cage donned heroic robes, what did we get? Ghost Rider. Thanks, but I’m putting all my hopes and dreams into Iron Man 2.
David’s case for Kick-Ass: Kick-Ass is by no means one of my favorite comics. It’s a fun one and a great concept (Millar is excellent at that after all). But it isn’t anywhere near a favorite of mine which in itself mitigates my excitement for the film. However, I can say one thing: I think the movie will be very entertaining and probably fairly decent from a comedy/action standpoint.
I don’t have nearly as much to go off of as Matt does. He’s read the script so he knows a lot more of the inner workings, however, I do know a few things as to why I think this movie has a chance to a) be a big hit and b) be a fun romp of a movie. I’ll take them piece by piece, but I’ll first respond to the script issues.
Continued belowScript: While I have no problem admitting that Matt has read a legitimate script and that a lot of the foundations of the movie are based upon said script, I can say this – the difference between an initial script and what ends up in the movie is often quite large. Through rewrites, improvisation and further tweaks, scripts can become different animals entirely. The involvement (and approval) of Millar himself is a sign that things ended up well, and so is the voluminous history of films that started off as decent scripts being worked into quality movies. Basing a hugely negative opinion off what was likely a spec script is a bad foundation to base an opinion off of.
Matthew Vaughn: While his career has been somewhat limited so far, I can tell you one thing – Matthew Vaughn makes good films. Starting with Layer Cake he proved he could tell a story that was gritty, violent, and edgy in its humor – three for three for things we expect from Kick-Ass. His follow up to that film was Stardust, a charming, Princess Bride like adaptation of Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess’ graphic novel. That in itself proves that he can successfully adapt comic book movies well. So for all intents and purposes, while his resume is short, it is also capable of proving himself to be tailor made for this type of film. Also, his denial of pressures to clean up this film and make it PG-13 are a point of pride he can hang his hat on – he has no problem bringing the pain in this movie, and that takes guts.
The Cast: Yes, I like the cast. Even Nicolas Cage.
From lead Aaron Johnson who has proven himself capable in limited experience to Christopher Mintz-Plasse who can handle a good for nothing toolbox with ease I feel to perpetual supporting dork Clark Duke, you have the youthful section covered. The supporting cast is strong as well, but I want to focus on three in particular: Chloe Moretz, Mark Strong, and Nicolas Cage.
Chloe Moretz so far has been the standout in previews. The Hit-Girl red band trailer has been an internet sensation and from the first read of the comic you had to realize she would be the standout. That they cast Moretz, a young actress who proved herself adept at adult like children characters in (500) Days of Summer, was a stroke of genius, and I’d be willing to bet she will be one of the most memorable characters from next year.
Mark Strong on the other hand is one of those guys who is in a lot of things but you never really know him. Whether it’s his standout performance in RocknRolla, his villainous turn in Stardust or Sherlock Holmes, or basically any other role from his career – he has proven himself incredibly able at playing heavies gifted with intelligence. Perfect for the role.
Now Cage is the hardest sell, but people often forget how talented of an actor he is when given good material. He’s an Oscar winner, he’s looking like a contender in Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, and he could be on another patented Cage upswing. From what I’ve seen, it looks like he’s going to bring it in this movie as Big Daddy. While that remains to be seen, I choose to have faith rather than dismissing him. He can be great.
Early reviews: While they are frequently a little on the sell-out side, it doesn’t stop the fact that Aint It Cool News is raving about this movie in early reviews. It was shown at their recent BNAT event and was the crowd pleaser amongst a flock of crowd pleasers, with Moretz seemingly taking the audience by storm. See here for a review that claims Kick-Ass is the most entertaining comic movie ever made.
So there you have it. That’s my take. I think this movie has a chance to be a Superbad style hit – it’s edgy, they are marketing it well (audiences I’ve been with that have seen the preview have laughed hysterically), and I think they are positioning it well more as a comedy than as an action film. I think all signs are pointing towards this being a hell of a hit and one that could spread like wildfire because of word of mouth. Of course, that remains to be seen, but I think when all is said and done Kick-Ass will be a smash hit and a fun movie.
