Kick *** Movie

MA-Caver

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I can't speak for the film makers but the comic is about the extreme personalities that would be drawn to this type of behavior. The attention seekers, the nut-jobs, and yes, the few who actually want to make a difference.
That's fine... but it still doesn't make turning an 11 yr. old girl into a cold-blooded killer any more right. Fictional or non... it's a bad message to send across.
Like I said... that is my only pet-peeve against the movie/comic...(admittedly I've never read the comic... never HEARD of it until the movie came out).

That being said and as a BTW... I didn't like the idea of O-ren Ishii's origins in Kill Bill either (same idea... little girl with no compunctions on killing).
 

Omar B

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You speak as if it's the first time in fiction children have been doing things "not so nice." I bet you had a huge problem with Oliver twist cuz kids were stealing? Just kidding.

Literature and fiction as a whole is filled with kids doing things unsavory, I don't see what the huge hubbub is about. It's as if this has not been published and sitting on the shelves for more than 2 years already.

Dick Grayson was a vigilante by Batman's side at 11. Jason Todd was a thief then the second Robin then killed by the Joker by 13. Stephani Brown was also killed in the line on duty as the fourth Robin. Hit Girl fills the same role pretty much, a little kid that serves as foil for an even more brutal adult.
 

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I am a bad Dad, I liked the movie, alot. But I should not have allowed my daughter to see it.
 

zDom

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That's fine... but it still doesn't make turning an 11 yr. old girl into a cold-blooded killer any more right. Fictional or non... it's a bad message to send across.
Like I said... that is my only pet-peeve against the movie/comic...(admittedly I've never read the comic... never HEARD of it until the movie came out).

That being said and as a BTW... I didn't like the idea of O-ren Ishii's origins in Kill Bill either (same idea... little girl with no compunctions on killing).

(******************SPOILER alert.*****************)

Writing a character like this doesn't imply the writer ENDORSES making an 11-year old girl into a cold-blooded killer.

I would have to agree how the father raised the daughter was wrong. But how do you know the writer doesn't agree?

Bad message? What is your interpretation of the "message" the writer is trying to deliver? And who do you think is the intended audience is?


I think it was a brilliant piece of writing.

Flawed characters are interesting. Characters with gray areas are interesting because PEOPLE are full of grays. We are rarely if ever, in real life, black or white. In fact, if I were to find fault, I would find fault in the crime boss character in that he was one dimensional: bad with no redeeming characteristics.

His son is much more interesting as a character.

The Big Daddy character was incredible because he was a GOOD man at heart who loved his daughter very much, who loved his late wife very much, who loved justice and law but with a fatal flaw — from his bitterness at losing his wife, at being falsely imprisoned — that resulted in him doing some horrible things (raising his daughter to be a killer, for example).

He lost faith in "the system" and decided to get revenge.

He was obviously insane. The opening scene with Big Daddy and his daughter demonstrates this. It is comic, yes — but also disturbing: what kind of man would risk his daughter's life by training in such a reckless, dangerous manner?

But then, he has lost faith in society. HIS daughter will never be abducted and raped and killed, will she? Not likely: he has prepared her for the worst possible scenarios. He might argue that WE are all insane for NOT preparing our daughters for this violent society we live in.

In the end, this movie demonstrates the perils of the path this man chooses: he dies a painful death and his daughter is left an orphan.

It demonstrates powerfully the "live by the sword, die by the sword" caution that comes from Christ himself. Is THIS not a worthy message?

This character, this story, had some depth.

As much as this movie made me laugh (guilty laughs! I feel a bit dirty for laughing at some of things I laughed at!)

the moment in which Big Daddy is dying and having his last words with his daughter chokes me up and gets me misty, as a father, not only watching it but even now just thinking about it:

she comments that getting shot by Red Mist hurt more than when they practiced. He explains that, because he loves her, he used low-velocity rounds.

Hilarious — and so very touching. It makes me chuckle and tear up at the same time. Even in Big Daddy's insanity, he loves his daughter SO much.

In a way, it is a super-over-the-top demonstration of the "spare the rod" — if you really, REALLY love your children, you will cause them small pains to help equip them to overcome the big ones that life will bring.

Of course, I'm not going to go strap a vest on my daughter and fire low-velocity rounds into her. But it really makes one think: just how well AM I preparing my daughter for this crazy world we live in?

And in that scene, Hit Girl is so mature as she faces her daddy's death. Grieved, but not crippled by it. Are YOUR children as prepared to lose you?

It is easy to be distracted by all the violence and dark humor on the surface, but in my opinion this is an exceptional piece of film literature with a story that explores in disturbing ways some very important themes, some very interesting questions.

It's deep, the type of movie that forces you to think about issues, if you don't just run away screaming "horrible! horrible!"; delve deeper.

There is so much more I could say about this story but I've run on long enough. This movie deserves awards.
 

Omar B

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Somebody gets it! Mark Millar's a great writer who's done amazing things with established characters and with his own originals. He turned The Avengers into a Tom Clancy-esque techno thriller with spies, crosses, double crosses, governmental red tape that gets in the way of men fighting evil and all that with superheros. Civil War, the deconstruction of the Marvel Universe and a real look at how the patriot act affects everyone. He revitalized Spider-Man with, he even made a society of villainous assassins come across as great characters in Wanted (which the movie got totally wrong).

I never got how when something's on the shelf for years and well known is suddenly an issue when they adapt it to film. Is the other half of the population who does not read that prudish? Is this gonna happen when they adapt Cormac Mcarthy's Blood Meridian eventually too?
 

MA-Caver

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Somebody gets it! Mark Millar's a great writer who's done amazing things with established characters and with his own originals. He turned The Avengers into a Tom Clancy-esque techno thriller with spies, crosses, double crosses, governmental red tape that gets in the way of men fighting evil and all that with superheros. Civil War, the deconstruction of the Marvel Universe and a real look at how the patriot act affects everyone. He revitalized Spider-Man with, he even made a society of villainous assassins come across as great characters in Wanted (which the movie got totally wrong).

I never got how when something's on the shelf for years and well known is suddenly an issue when they adapt it to film. Is the other half of the population who does not read that prudish? Is this gonna happen when they adapt Cormac Mcarthy's Blood Meridian eventually too?
A lot of the artwork in today's comics is too... choppy, busy, angular, etc. I'm 48 so I'm used to traditional comic art and because of that I don't bother to read a lot of the new stuff that's out there. When it comes out on film if the trailers intrigue me enough then I'll go see it... as I did with Kick *** and not with "The Watchmen". At work one of my fellow employees had brought a copy of the Graphic Novel to read during down-time. He's a decade older than I am and I asked him about it. He said it was good but hard to follow in places. I took a look through it (flipping pages at random and reading a couple here and there...) and my inner-part (critic??) said I wouldn't like it... believe me I've read hundreds of graphic novels and thus rely upon my own personal judgment to what I like or don't like. Someone else may LOVE it and think it's the best thing ever written. Oh-kay... happy for you.
I just express my own opinion and how I interpreted the film (Kick ***) when I saw it. When I go see ANY film I wipe my mind blank as possible and minimize as much as possible my expectations of the film with the exception that I DO expect a film to either entertain me or intrigue me or even both. If I see something that goes against my own values (i.e. Hit Girl's training and subsequent acts of violence and even attitude) then I'll say something. Of course I'll have, like zDom have a guilty laugh or two at certain scenes, i.e. the way Hit Girl went down the hallway killing guys, very nicely choreographed and executed. But I still had a problem with the fact that she was a pre-teen. Had she been Kick ***' age I think I'd been okay with it... a fellow teenager a year or two away from approaching adulthood literally kicking ***.
It was my own interpretation of the writer's message and I didn't get it, maybe I need to see it again and I probably will as I mentioned in an earlier post buy the DVD when it comes out...which means that I will watch it again. Perhaps I'll face-palm myself and say OHHH OK NOW I get it!!

Yes society is radically dangerous (it ALWAYS has been) and I do advocate self-defense/martial arts training for the young so they can protect themselves in the real world... the same way Hit Girl did on her first day of school when those bullies had demanded money from her. But against gun-toting drug-dealing scumbags... what child would actually find themselves in that situation ... willingly?
Vengeance... a child carrying on her parent's vendetta. That is a familiar theme to be sure... when the child gets older... i.e. The Quick and The Dead (Sharon Stone, Russell Crowe and Gene Hackman)... just to name one of quite a few. Why? Because the young adult would be able to better deal with the ramifications/consequences of their actions. I sincerely doubt that a real-life 11 yr. old or 13 yr. old would be able to deal with such carnage as Hit Girl has... Kick-***'s reaction to the aftermath of the carnage in that black drug-dealer's apt was more closer to realism than Hit-Girl's.
Think of it... would you as an adult MA-ist go ahead and pit yourself against a Jr. BB in a full contact tournament match? Why not?
I don't have children but I am positive (from my feelings and interactions with the children of very close friends--nods to Ceicei) that I would not subject them to such things until they were older...because I love them SO MUCH.
It's just Fantasy as all comics are... yes... but it's not to my personal, individual tastes on certain parts of it. Besides... that is the only element of the film that I have a problem with... the rest of it :idunno: was funny and entertaining and fun to watch.
 
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Hawke

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Cryozombie

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I don't think Hit Girl's character was any worse than say... Mathilda in "The Professional". There was a YOUNG girl who not only had the desire to kill but also exhibited a sexual attraction to adults.

As far as the argument that kids will see it... well, that could be made of anything regarding of rating from G to Hardcore XXX porn. The MPAA did their duty and rated the film "R" the rest is up to responsible adults to decide what is appropriate for their children and find a way to control them... but that is a whole other argument that I don't want to sidetrack the thread with.

I enjoyed the film overall. A few things bothered me about it from a Filmmakers perspective, but overall I give it a thumbs up.
 

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What's not to love about this movie. Extreme violence and hilarious comedy. The fact that Hit Girl is like 11 just makes things better. This movie's perfect.
 

Cryozombie

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I'm interested in hearing what these are.

It mostly had to do with some of the choice of props and some set design stuff that killed a little believability of the film... which would have been ok, if you could be sure that was the intent, but I was left wondering.
 

Bumblebee

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It mostly had to do with some of the choice of props and some set design stuff that killed a little believability of the film... which would have been ok, if you could be sure that was the intent, but I was left wondering.

I'm pretty sure the film was meant to be really over the top in some of the action sequences.

Oh and by the way, I loved how they had John Murphy's "In the House - In a Heartbeat" that song is just sooo epic!
 

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