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Kick-Ass (2010)
16 Plays16 hours ago
This week on the Everything Actioncast, Zach and Chris don homemade superhero suits to celebrate the 15th anniversary of Kick-Ass.
Directed by Matthew Vaughn and based on the comic by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr., Kick-Ass stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson as high school nerd Dave Lizewski, who decides to take his love of comic books into the real world and become a superhero named Kick-Ass. Unfortunately for Dave, he stumbles into a war between mobster Frank D'Amico (Mark Strong) and the father/daughter vigilante duo Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage) and Hit-Girl (Chloe Grace Moretz) and finds himself in way over his head. Zach and Chris discuss Nicolas Cage's wonderfully weird acting choices, the breakout performance of Chloe Grace Moretz, all the red flags surrounding Dave's love interest Katie (Lyndsy Fonseca), some of the differences between the comic and the movie, and more.
You can watch Kick-Ass on Plex or rent/buy it from services like Prime Video and Fandango at Home. Next week, with Gareth Evans' new movie Havoc hitting Netflix, we're discussing his action masterpiece The Raid.
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Transcript
Introduction and Podcast Overview
00:00:03
Speaker
Welcome to the Everything Action Cast, the official podcast of EverythingAction.com.
00:00:18
Speaker
Hello and welcome to the Everything Action Cast podcast week of April 14th, 2025. I'm your host, Zach. And I'm your co-host, Chris. And this week we are putting on our...
Kick-Ass: Anniversary and Influence on Superhero Films
00:00:30
Speaker
scuba superhero suits and grabbing some batons and talking about Kick-Ass, which is celebrating its 15th anniversary. came out April 16th, 2010. And one of the, like think probably movie that like like launched Matthew Vaughn into the big time, like he had Stardust and Layer Cake before this, but this was his first huge movie.
00:00:54
Speaker
I think this is the one where you saw like his unique style. Yes, his style was on full display that we would see in Kingsman. And it's been going kind of downhill recently, hope if you'll get back to like this like this style. like Kick-ass Kingsman 1 level soon. but like It's just like simplicity and then like just like context. it's like It makes sense and it's not super...
00:01:18
Speaker
super suspense, I guess. you know like it It was just just a touch of it. like It's very grounded. Yeah, like there' there's there's there's flourishes, like it's got you action flourishes and like music flourishes and stuff like that yeah like something you know like Argyle is just like so over the top and insane.
00:01:41
Speaker
Yeah, and it's like not not violent enough.
Rise of Anti-Superhero Comics and Films
00:01:44
Speaker
um like I forgot how Grounded in the violence kick asses in this like, you know, that this is a very good like, hey, let's just what if people one day decided to be superheroes?
00:01:55
Speaker
Does anyone have superpowers or something crazy? Nope. It's just everyone's the Punisher and like different stages of like training. What's interesting because it was this was two years into the MCU.
00:02:08
Speaker
So I think Iron Man 2 came out the same year as Kick-Ass. And we were two movies into Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy. i think Dark Knight Rises was the year after maybe? or No, like 2012. Yes, a couple years afterwards. But Dark Knight came out in 2008, so that had already been out.
00:02:28
Speaker
Yeah, that was like the new superhero standard. Mm-hmm.
00:02:35
Speaker
And i think I think it was definitely like... yeah I mean, there was kind of a gold rush in the 90s, like post-Batman 89, of what comic characters we have that we can make movies out of.
00:02:46
Speaker
But I think definitely post-MCU starting, post-Dark Knight, all of us using it were like, again, like, what comic books do we have the rights to? Let's get comic book movies out there.
00:03:00
Speaker
yeah this was definitely something that...
Kick-Ass's Unique Tone and Comparison to Other Films
00:03:04
Speaker
if this was the like reintroduction of comic book movies, um this is a strong, aggressive start because then, well, I feel like this is not for newcomer comic book fans, even though it's got the tone of like, as if it was, which I like the like kiddie approach of like, Hey, you know, Spider-Man, you know, like the comic book industry, blah, blah, blah. And then it's just like, here's a guy getting crushed to death. And like the blood and you're like, Whoa, Whoa.
00:03:34
Speaker
um So, yeah, it's almost like ah like that like Sin City level of like this is a great follow-up, which I think... I think, what, like... This came out around the time of lake Sin City?
00:03:53
Speaker
Well, Sin City... The movie, the movie. Yeah, we just i mean we always talked about it earlier this month, but yeah, that was 2005, so that was five years before this movie. Yeah, but I'm saying, like, the comic of Kick-Ass...
00:04:05
Speaker
Oh, the comic. Yeah, that was... 2008 was when it started? Yeah. yeah like It spawned more, hey, let's just start doing parodies and stuff, which... It's funny, because I think this was two years after The Boys?
00:04:24
Speaker
think The Boys 2006? So it was this era of anti-superhero comics.
Real-Life Superheroes and Vigilantism
00:04:34
Speaker
it' so It's also funny, the same year as this came out too, the movie Super came out. Yes. and Which was even darker and grittier than this one. like you guys It's like weirdly like the more Hollywood like glossy version.
00:04:49
Speaker
It's almost the same premise. of like it's the the The idea of being a superhero is not like the costume. And also, it's not about like you trying to be... like um I guess, like, an aggressor? About just doing the best you can?
00:05:10
Speaker
i feel like we're i feel like there's also, like, but you like the actual real-life superheroes that were like you know they like like were going around. I feel that was kind of like, on the rise, too, a little bit. I think 2004. ah was when Phoenix Jones... that that Yeah, like that's like where I think really where it kicked off.
00:05:27
Speaker
Yeah, sure I think he did the thing in Washington. And did you ever watch the Phoenix Jones videos and stuff like that? I don't think I've seen it. I've seen like clips of it. i don' think of that like Do you have a YouTube channel or something?
00:05:40
Speaker
No, I think there was like a documentary and then there was all these things and then people interviewed him. I don't know. i don't think he had i don't I'm not sure, but I haven't looked at in a while. but Yeah, it was like him and then like two people because in in uh washington you can pretty much challenge there's like a there's some like old law that you can challenge people to a fight and then it's like some like a great like duel or combat thing and that's where it's like now you can do like your vigilante thing as long as like both parties agree so every time he tries to stop crime he has to say hey
00:06:16
Speaker
do you agree to like me stopping or ah attempt me stopping you or something like he has a very legally try to like get consent so they can have like a fight.
00:06:27
Speaker
Otherwise, like it's like assault or something like honest and it's weird. it's It's like it's something where like in the real world, like there are a lot more litigation things. And then and like why you just can't put on a costume and do this.
00:06:43
Speaker
i also feel like there probably are other people that have tried to be superheroes and it just like was covered up because it's like way more of a headache to like publicly. Can you imagine waking up one day and just like, anyway, so this guy in this cape now exists and hey guys, stop that. Like that'll just be on the news like all the time. It's like, hey, you're ruining the tourism trade here because people come to the city and they just like are laughing at us.
00:07:08
Speaker
But I guess in New York, it's like, It's one of the few places that you can do this. um And just. It won't be like the thing. Because. ah Pretty much you can. There are walk around like fake superheroes in New York.
00:07:24
Speaker
It wasn't so much back when I was a kid living there. But. ah nowadays you can go to Times Square and there are just ah gallery of bootleg superheroes. Like real, well, sort of real, like Party City superheroes, but then like you might get one or two, oh I made this at home cosplay, and it's like, I don't know what this is.
00:07:44
Speaker
Mm-hmm. And I guess that is the equivalent because everyone in the city is only like sort of like, hey, who's this guy of kick ass?
00:07:56
Speaker
But again, as soon as she becomes more popular and now becomes like a pop culture thing, it like changes the idea how we see superheroes. Like that's why I like it because it's a
Kick-Ass and Early YouTube Culture
00:08:07
Speaker
time castle, because even back then they didn't think how crazy social media would be, how how like the the like public opinion of like people doing outlandish things would be.
00:08:21
Speaker
It's weird because my brain is screaming when it watches this where it's like, why is this guy? well you know like There are not that many people with cell phones recording things than you think you would see in a modern like storytelling of this.
00:08:35
Speaker
Oh, yeah. Kick-Ass, his big like video that like puts him like into like you know the national conversation is a dude on a recording a shitty-ass YouTube. so which i was I was shocked that YouTube was like featured. cause I was trying to remember, was YouTube even around? Were people like uploading stuff to YouTube? I guess i yes it was. but yeah It was like, YouTube was 2004? Yeah.
00:09:01
Speaker
four Yeah, but it didn't take off until around this error because the UI became more usable. If you remember like original YouTube, it was rough to navigate and it just it also didn't remember what you played.
00:09:16
Speaker
But ah yeah, now nowadays like this would be way different.
00:09:23
Speaker
Yeah, like, it's like a 40p, maybe, maybe forty be like like, grainy video of this guy, like, ah fighting some guys in parking lot becomes, like, national... A viral sensation.
Differences Between Kick-Ass Comic and Film Adaptations
00:09:35
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, it's on, like, talk shows. Craig Ferguson's talking about it But you know what's crazy?
00:09:41
Speaker
It's like... ah Nowadays, if you see a footage film like this, you would think this is some foreign country that like... Like Russia? Yeah, like this is a Russian, like, some cosplayer that got like drunk.
00:09:55
Speaker
Or this is something that like a prank thing would do. And you're like, no, that was like high edge back then. Or it's like a reality show.
00:10:07
Speaker
Yeah. But yeah, like... i' I'm someone who also, like, watched this movie first before I read the comics. And they are different. They are slightly different in tone and then sort of key moments and things.
00:10:23
Speaker
But I think overall it was a good at adaptation.
00:10:28
Speaker
Yeah, the second big Mark Millar ah adaptation, because one, it came out before this. That was something I didn't read until, like, a few years later after the movie.
00:10:40
Speaker
And... Yeah, Mark Millar, his story is weird. There's certain things where he writes characters because it's like, well, I hate it, like you know some classic superhero thing, so here's my take on it.
00:10:56
Speaker
That's his normal style for writing superhero things. um But if you read the original Wanted and how the Wanted universe was set to be ah like superheroes one and then they mind-wiped all the regular heroes so that like people didn't remember that superheroes existed and then seek like super villains um just sort of made their own like league and then it's regulated and then it's like more of a government system.
00:11:30
Speaker
And then, yeah, he went to this version. what Let's do the opposite. What if like superheroes just sort of don't exist yet, but there's no super villains. So, let's just beat up mobsters. Let's beat up generic mobsters.
Notable Performances and Character Dynamics in Kick-Ass
00:11:43
Speaker
Yeah. Mark Strong, the most, like, mobster-ass mobster.
00:11:49
Speaker
With all his, like, Goombas.
00:11:53
Speaker
And then, i forgot. I'm not sure if this plays into the bigger movie, but but he has his own, like, judo, like, karate room. Oh my god! Yeah, that...
00:12:05
Speaker
I love that they have to be like a setup like, well, we have to explain how he fights. He's got a fight hit girl at the end, so have explain how he can hold his own against like a trained like fighter. Right, and it's it's funny to think that this grown man and then this girl with maybe like five years of training, yeah he probably got years of training, and then he... Unless he just started.
00:12:25
Speaker
I don't know. like Did he spend all the time building his dojo?
00:12:33
Speaker
I'm not saying Hit Girl's not a good fighter. She is. it's like That's the the cool part about the movie is the suspense for that. You know what's funny is that Mark Strong, he's not even fighting another... Usually when you have that scene, he fights like a... It's like a sensei or something, or a black belt, or he's got multiple guys fighting him.
00:12:51
Speaker
He's just he's just like punching the like the like the practice dummy. He's not even fighting another person and showing, like um this is how badass I am. kick this guy's ass. Like...
00:13:02
Speaker
Yeah, it's like, it should be um something to showcase how crazy his, ah like, fighting skills are. But if anything, it's just more like, oh, okay, so every day he puts on his gi and then does a few rounds.
00:13:16
Speaker
That's like his cardio for the morning.
00:13:20
Speaker
And then i feel like he doesn't even really use martial arts. He does that one like really kick Pickerel's face at the end. But then he's kind of just like using his like towering... The fact that he like towers over her just to throw her around. like that That's what he does in the final fight.
00:13:37
Speaker
He's not really using like martial arts. He's not really using martial arts like moves. Yeah, it's not like a certain Aikido or Judo hold or anything. Granted, because Mark Strong is not, like, a martial artist, so they're just like, alright, let's just do the best we could. And then it just becomes just, like, a generic um English, like, mobster brawl.
00:13:59
Speaker
Which, he looks great doing, but with the fact that it feels like a weird, you know, Palpatine versus Yoda fight. yeah um But I get it. It's forgivable.
00:14:10
Speaker
And i feel like this is definitely the era where, like, Mark Strong was, like, the bad guy in like, every movie. I think the year before this, he was... Chuck Holmes. Oh, wow.
00:14:22
Speaker
You're right. And then after this, I think was... Green Lantern. Damn, you're good quick on the draw. um I was going to say Robin Hood. Yeah, he was... yeah rob Was he the bad guy in Robin Hood?
00:14:34
Speaker
Yeah. He was the French guy. The not- because they they didn't do Sheriff Nottingham until like that was like the setup for the sequel that never happened. where they going it's like...
00:14:45
Speaker
Come back for the actual Robin Hood story. Instead of this, like, war that they... It's like, Robin Hood begins. I didn't mind the Robin Hood story. the The difference in lore, then how they're setting it up, and then how they have to do, like... How it became, like, an outlaw and all that.
00:15:04
Speaker
But, sadly, they didn't. But, I don't know. bet you, like, in two years, new Robin Hood movie. think it's, like, every every ten years, Robin Hood movie. Mm-hmm.
00:15:16
Speaker
Anyway, ah with Kick-Ass, though, um Mark Soran does a good job. It's a little, like, crazy, like, Italian accent he's got going on, which I feel like, ah you know that, like, anti-Italian defamation league that pops up, and if they see something too over the top, they they would complain?
00:15:38
Speaker
Yeah. Like like Shark's Tale. They were, like, really mad about that movie. They said nothing about this.
00:15:49
Speaker
Yeah, he's not trying to do a Mario. He's not over-the-top crazy. He's kind of just doing a very slight New York Italian accent.
00:16:03
Speaker
like mean I don't even think he's so really doing Italian accent. He's just New York. like New York, yeah. But it sounds very inauthentic. Just the way he says things and he does his exaggerate details.
00:16:19
Speaker
But he's fine. Like the for him to be like the big bad, I didn't mind it. Especially because they I think they utilize it correctly. Like it's more talk in the beginning.
00:16:30
Speaker
It's more issuing his like henchmen to do things for a while. And then it's like, all right, he'll have to get his hands dirty because it's like they brought the fight to him. They did a good job of establishing that he's not just gonna be some guy who sits at the desk and then gets shot in the head at the end. You know, it's not like he's not gonna try to defend himself.
00:16:49
Speaker
And he's not going to to, like, bribe anything.
00:16:55
Speaker
Well, I mean, he's pay he's paying off, like, Xander Berkley, who comes comes back. Last week we talked about Air Force One. He's back. We're talking about again. Like, it's like another, you know traitorous, sleazy. like that he's he's like ah He's a corrupt cop in this one.
00:17:10
Speaker
Same kind of concept. Just like, hey, you pay me to do this. Cool. it's like, all right, now you got get more involved. But it is it's mentioned in the like, you know, the the origin telling for hit Girl is that Xander has been like there like as like more of the police side of the mobster arm.
00:17:30
Speaker
Yeah. And then how they do the whole like we busted Nick Cage for drugs, which By the way, i saw this movie for Nick Cage first. like I really didn't know anything about Kick-Ass, but as soon as I saw Nick Cage in that fake Batman outfit, i was just like, I am buying a ticket.
00:17:46
Speaker
I saw this movie in theaters because of that. I think that was definitely like the big selling. Nicolas Cage was like definitely the draw because a lot of like um like Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Chloe Griss-Ratz were like, this is like their like first really huge like debut kind of thing.
00:18:00
Speaker
Breakout roles. um But yeah, Nicolas Cage is definitely the people who are coming to see. Nicolas Cage is like Nicolas Cage is like a weird Batman. He's a weird Adam West with like... Psychonic tendencies.
00:18:13
Speaker
that is That is the best when... The the first time he's like... When the when he and Hit-Girl go Kick-Ass' bedroom and he's... You find out he talks like Adam West and when he's in be like the Big Daddy suit.
00:18:26
Speaker
Yeah, and then if he's not, he talks like a youth pastor. Yes! Yeah, every every choice Nicolas Cage makes in this movie is fantastic.
00:18:36
Speaker
I can't imagine just like the... There has to be like an acting coach or something that's just like, alright, show us your auditioning thing. And it's like, alright, what do you got for us, Nick? And he's just like, check this out. you're like, wait, what?
00:18:49
Speaker
Yeah, i think he just showed up and just started talking like Adam West. And they're like, alright.
00:18:58
Speaker
And Nicolas Cage's is like career is kind of like a rollercoaster where it's like these like super highs, super lows. I think he was ah definitely on an upswing... going into Kick-Ass because he had just done ah Bad Lieutenant Porter Call in New Orleans before this, which is an awesome movie.
00:19:14
Speaker
But he was coming from like a ton like a lot of... like I think he was in like a run of either really terrible movies or... i don't't know if he's i don't know if he's quite into the direct-to-video schlock that he was in for a while.
00:19:28
Speaker
Like, pay the ghost or whatever. All that like garbage he was doing. Where he had to pay his taxes off for whatever he needed money for. yeah
00:19:39
Speaker
But yeah, definitely, he's he wass on like the like an uphill swing going into Kick-Ass.
00:19:48
Speaker
And yeah yeah yeah, he's fantastic. He he and Chloe Grace Bratz, their back and forth and like father-daughter relationship is so great. It's it's it's like so jarring when you first meet the first scene they have. or you know they're like they're like talk like He's like,
00:20:03
Speaker
Yeah, he's talking like a nice 50s dad, like a Leave it to Beaver dad, and then like shoots through the chest.
00:20:12
Speaker
Yeah, there's um like a great setup for them. And when you watch them really go into like how they are not just like crazy with each other, but it's like, they're brutal.
00:20:27
Speaker
And you get, I mean, again, the The big selling point was, well, the big Nick Cage thing, where it's like, watch him then be a one-man army, like a Punisher.
00:20:41
Speaker
that That was cool. I didn't expect that sense at all. yeah Yeah, that scene is fantastic. But I kind of feel, it's awesome, I kind of feel like that's like the practice run for the Kingsman, Freebird scene.
00:20:55
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. It's tamed in comparison. But I understand that.
00:21:03
Speaker
Like, Matthew Vaughn was just like, this is great, but what if we said the Freebird? And had Colin Firth doing it. yeah Like, the King's Speech guy? Yeah.
00:21:15
Speaker
oh Was King's Speech out yet? I think it was probably like the like ja like the Jane Austen guy. Like, whatever, like, Pride and Prejudice or whatever, like, adaptation came out. a No, no, he did King's Speech in, like, 2009.
00:21:31
Speaker
always Oh, yeah, but it was the same year as Kick-Ass in 2010. So, yeah. Matthew Vaughn just, like, watching King's Speech and being like, that's my next action guy. And, and and yeah, and Clay Grace Moretz is, like like, this is, like, such a crazy breakout. Like, like obviously, he steals the entire movie. Yeah.
00:21:57
Speaker
Yeah, ah just because you watch like a little girl curse and then kill, it's very jarring. and It's a good return to like basically 90s action movies that occasionally had kid things in there that would catch you off guard.
00:22:17
Speaker
And just like, like, so like everything would like, know, like the the the first, the first big scene where you see here, like a viscerity, everybody, it's set to like the banana splits theme, like that song from the banana splits, like the, dot dot da da da da and she's just like so gleefully just like killing everybody. Yeah.
00:22:35
Speaker
yeah It's messed up, but cool. Which I do. I do have a question watching it again. i'm I'm trying to figure out the whole situation with that Razul guy
Critique of Kick-Ass's Approach to Superheroism
00:22:43
Speaker
and Katie. Yeah. Where she's like, because Katie says she works at a like ah like a needle swap like clinic, right?
00:22:52
Speaker
think he was the drug dealer who basically was like making sure that people were taking drugs. Yeah, but she makes it seem like he was there to get help trading in.
00:23:04
Speaker
for like you know like trading nis and But then it's like, no, he's just like he's like a drug dealer and he's smoking weed. Like, I don't know, why is he a he had needles, like, dropped? Exchange. Exchange. And and then why is he also, like, following this high high school girl around?
00:23:19
Speaker
ah So I think it's, like, in my head, maybe it's explained in the comic, but it makes sense if he was there scoping out potential, like, drug users to, like, sell to.
00:23:30
Speaker
so That kind of makes sense, yeah. But the fact that it seemed like Katie and Razul were friends, it doesn't mean that... She's just like, oh I haven't seen him a while, and it's just like, are you guys friends, or do you miss it? What's going on between you two?
00:23:43
Speaker
Well, because she wants Kick-Ass to, like, I guess, go talk to him, because he's kind like, harassing her. Like, clean him up? Yeah, yeah like like, give him, like, a talking a stern talking-do. but it doesn't come off that way.
00:23:57
Speaker
and then And then when she finds out he's dead, she's just like, like yeah, she's like, like so he was so young! he was had so much but to live for! The whole the whole situation is is is crazy. Yeah, I didn't, like... Like, thank God it's, like, brushed over, because I...
00:24:19
Speaker
I just forget that. And then the movie, it moves so quick. Yeah. So it's like, all right, onto the next problem. Cause it's, like it's just like a minor footnote in the whole story.
00:24:29
Speaker
Yeah. Cause I think, cause the main, the main part of that ah point of that scene along with like, you know, introducing how like insane the good at killing people, a kid girl is, is that Razul is like one of like Frank D'Amico's drug dealers and So like he got killed.
00:24:45
Speaker
And i think big daddy and hey girl, a, off-screen, like, destroy destroy, like, another group of drug dealers or, like, drug distribution thing. So, like, but that's, like, escalating, like, the the war between them and Frank.
00:24:57
Speaker
Yeah, so there's, like, a lot of things you have to pay attention to is that all the... what Big Daddy and Hickor have been doing is messing with the drug trade and then, I guess, like, manipulating both sides of the buyers and sellers so that way, like...
00:25:15
Speaker
ah like what's say Mark Strong is not making money. And so it's like a choke point. And now like no one's buying the drugs he's making. ah Which I guess like if you're like a really big like criminal empire, you own both that. like It makes sense to own a monopoly on both. So it's like, you make it, you buy it, you sell it.
00:25:39
Speaker
i that And then I feel like i feel like
00:25:46
Speaker
They didn't need Kick-Ass. The Hit-Girl and Big Daddy, if they just didn't involve Kick-Ass, would have been like a fine plan. Yeah. They were doing pretty well on their own.
00:25:59
Speaker
But they're like they're like, you have a potential. and just They're like, really? like know. his is His superpower is he can he can get the shit beat out of it because he got hit by car and got metal like metal bones put into his body. Yeah.
00:26:13
Speaker
Yeah, he got plating on his like some like bones, not all the bones. It's not like they coat him titanium or anything. He just got like metal plates that you would get when they need to let bones set.
00:26:26
Speaker
And then you just live with these pins in you. and And I guess it like it damaged some of his nerve ending. So then so he has a lip. more much more like limited u ah ability to hear feel pain.
00:26:36
Speaker
he's basically He's basically like... Dovacane? Dovacane for this year, yeah. Or um there's another show where like ah like her pain receptors can be like dulled. It's like killer Painkiller Jane?
00:26:50
Speaker
Yeah. I don't know what that show was called. you know i mean think I think it was Painkiller Jane, yeah. Which was not a bad premise. It was like, okay, hey, I've got like a little bit more than... ah the average person can take. But, like, that's what, ah like, stunt people are. They can do things that, you know.
00:27:08
Speaker
I feel like if, uh, if, like, what's-his-face was smart, he would just get a job being, like, a stunt guy. Yeah. Like, a good follow-up career if this, like, superhero gig didn't work out.
00:27:21
Speaker
Mm-hmm.
00:27:27
Speaker
yeah he does' Yeah, because guess he never like he never really trained. i mean, he does he has some sit-ups. like he He orders all his equipment. But he doesn't really you know he doesn't sign up for like a martial arts class. He doesn't like he doesn't really... doesn't watch like instructional videos.
00:27:41
Speaker
He doesn't watch a YouTube video about, like, here's how you do like karate or something. Yeah, or enroll in ah and a class. Yeah. ah he's just thinking what So I just mentioned ah Painkiller Jane.
00:27:56
Speaker
That's based on a comic. Yep. So it's funny to think that, like, it's just the the idea of, like, a person who can take a little more tank, like, tank some damage before, like, well, I mean, she's also, like, a Wolverine.
00:28:09
Speaker
In the comic version, she can heal. But, yeah, it's just, like, I guess when you can do that, when you can heal, you're just like, I guess I'm in the, like, protection business.
00:28:23
Speaker
Anyway, keep going back. yeah i just like like he get like His main go-to is like flailing wildly with his batons. Yeah, he's not even like... Is he watching videos on YouTube or whatever the... That's what I'm saying. like At least do something. like Watch a how-to video about how to throw a punch or like buy a practice dummy or something. Do something.
00:28:50
Speaker
So, i don't yeah, I don't know what potential HitGirl and Big Daddy who have been are like been training for, like, who knows how many years. And are, like, deadly killers. or like, this KitKat's guy could be, like, a a good asset for us. It's like, maybe we should train him? Nah, we'll just every day call him up and hope he meets us like a PTA meeting. And then we'll do Prime. Because I feel like they didn't really team up.
00:29:15
Speaker
No, they never... Because they they tell him, when when they first, date when they track him back to his his bedroom, they basically tell him, like, if you need us, put your MySpace page on on vacation mode or on vacation, and then then we'll call you and tell you where to come meet us.
00:29:30
Speaker
But then, yeah, he never he he never meets them until he brings Red Mist and Red Mist betrays them. Yeah, I feel like if I was Hit Girl or Kick-Ass, I would be way more pissed.
00:29:42
Speaker
I mean, they are.
00:29:45
Speaker
But, um... Yeah, no, their plan's flaw was to invite Kick-Ass to hang out. Yes, it was going but it's going very well. They were dispensing Rick D'Amico's organization.
00:29:57
Speaker
and And funding their own operation with his money. Yep. Also, like you're in trying to induct like a new member that you've never met before.
Character Relationships and Motivations
00:30:07
Speaker
And they probably have like Chris D'Amico, his photo. So this is like, no, you brought Chris D'Amico to our hideout, to their home.
00:30:15
Speaker
Yeah, yeah it's it's very obvious that Red Mist is Chris D'Amico. He's even changing his voice. like he's like He's got like... He's wrapping family's car. like Well, i think is i think I think Frank bought him a new car just for like this whole ruse.
00:30:32
Speaker
ruse cause like because chris cause Because Chris shows up with to his dad with like that list of like, I need i need all these things to to do this like plan I have. would like lure him out. Yeah, so I think Frank bought him like that like muscle car.
00:30:46
Speaker
and And the costume and everything.
00:30:51
Speaker
So, I do like that in this world, ah your powers could just be like guns. You know, like, i most the powers yeah I know, but like Hit Girl, she uses like martial arts training and then guns and then um
00:31:13
Speaker
Big Daddy, obviously just guns in training. ah And then I'm surprised no one basically becomes the Punisher.
00:31:23
Speaker
You know, it's like, that's why there's no like two Punishers in the Marvel Universe or some other things. There's no like another type of person who's just like, I'm just going to be a vigilante who does the like I don't put criminals in jail, I put them down philosophy.
00:31:36
Speaker
um miss I mean, that's basically Big Daddy Hit Girls philosophy. It's just like, I kill everyone. but No one else did that? Before them, yeah. Because the difference is like they're just like psychos in in like a costume, and then the other ones are just like, well, no, they're We are, um, we wear suits.
00:31:58
Speaker
But it just, it's funny to think that, like, wouldn't Hitman, like, Big Daddy and Hitgirl just better off teaming up with, like, mercenaries? Probably.
00:32:10
Speaker
mean, Frank Castle, when he needs to get, like, backup, he'll work with other mercenaries and other, like, kind of anti-heroes or, like, people who sort of just, like, are in the middle You know, like, I'm not sure if you ever, like, read a lot Punisher comics, but there's a character named Barracuda.
00:32:29
Speaker
We think like and sometimes they like our rivals or like their enemies and then sometimes it's like, hey, but we there's like a drug dealer that's like messing up the neighborhood. Like, let's go take it, take them down.
00:32:40
Speaker
So it's like occasionally they'll do like a story like that. Yeah. But in this world, it just seemed like, oh, no, you're the only like hit people that just dress up and no one else wants to work with you.
00:32:53
Speaker
I would like a little line. At least it's it but like, oh, no, we try to hire like, you know, French mercenaries or somebody. It's just like no one wants to work with us or they hire some rival gang or something.
00:33:05
Speaker
Well, they're definitely trying to... They're staying under radar because they don't want to... They don't want to reveal where their house is. They're like... um Like, the only person that really knows where they are is ah is Marcus.
00:33:18
Speaker
Mm-hmm.
00:33:21
Speaker
That's good, because they... I guess they don't want... They have, like, trust issues, but it makes sense, because Nick Cage went to jail for five years. Yeah. But he got, like, released... Like, officially released, right? So it's like... People know he got out jail...
00:33:36
Speaker
Yeah, you figure that the Domenico guy would always keep a watch on that. Yeah. It's like, oh, that that that copy set up got out of jail. Like, we should probably... And suddenly, why am i why is my drug empire, like, crumbling?
00:33:48
Speaker
yeah Yeah. No one's putting two to two together? And Frank didn't try to, like like, have guys kill him in jail, either. They just let him, like, train himself into, like, a badass.
00:34:03
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Weird. Weird decision. It's like, hey, you know that guy, that cop we put to jail? Like, he's suddenly, like, way more buff and athletic. It's like, should we be worried? It's like, nah.
00:34:14
Speaker
I believe... Frank is just like, I believe in a healthy regiment. Just like my judo galop. My judo room. he He learned his lesson. Yeah, his wife, like, died and then gave birth to their daughter and then, like, you know, I've ruined her childhood. I've ruined his life. Yeah, he doesn't want revenge.
00:34:33
Speaker
No, yeah.
00:34:37
Speaker
ah I like the John Romero ah like art that they did. I kind of want to see more of that comic style things. but The John Romero Jr.? Yeah.
00:34:49
Speaker
Where it's like a motion comic for like, that it's it's like showing like showing all the backstory. Yeah, that's pretty that's pretty great. So do you want to know the difference between this version and then the comic book version?
00:35:01
Speaker
Sure. save i think i haven't read the comic, so. So what's really different is that in the comic version, Big Daddy's not a cop.
00:35:12
Speaker
That's a story he tells his daughter. He's actually a comic book artist who, I think, like, his wife died from drugs from the Domingos.
00:35:28
Speaker
That's, like, the vendetta. It's not like, oh, drug bust and all the cop thing. It's is literally, he is one of the first comic nerds who um writes about comics, is obsessed about the lore, obsessed about like the mission, and then like what training you would need.
00:35:46
Speaker
He gets that opportunity that Kick-Ass gets of like, hey, why not? What's the spark? That. He legit has that like revenge origin.
00:35:57
Speaker
Isn't that more of a like, uh-oh? Because that's not until later in the the story you find that out.
00:36:06
Speaker
So in this one, when they do it, she's like, no, he's a cop. It's legit.
00:36:11
Speaker
I like the surprise that he's not a cop. And then this is more of just like unwarranted vendetta that it yeah, like it's responsible, but it's not in the way that like the drug bust, the like prison and all that.
00:36:24
Speaker
It's he literally takes the daughter and goes like, I got out of jail. Like this is happening.
00:36:34
Speaker
I'm trying to be a warrior. I'm homeschooling you. Yeah, yeah. It's like, just don't question it.
Realism vs. Fantastical Elements in Kick-Ass
00:36:41
Speaker
um Yeah, that's why it's a little different.
00:36:44
Speaker
And especially when I think later on in the Hit Girl comic series, she comes to terms with it more. But it's also one of those things where it's like you watch her grow because it's like I was built as a weapon and I choose to like, I choose now like what to do.
00:37:01
Speaker
hmm. That happens in Kick-Ass spinoff series way later in the original ah Kick-Ass story. But I like that.
00:37:12
Speaker
This version's a little different. I didn't mind it because I feel like they want it more of a grounded ah reality where the There's like detective training. There's a little bit of like weaponry mastery that comes from just being a cop and not just a comic nerd like Kick-Ass. And it's like, no, he would do the same kind of BS things that Kick-Ass would have done, but now with guns and he would totally not make it like his first week.
00:37:37
Speaker
Yeah. Like walk into a building, like drop his gun, like mess up the reload. don't think in YouTube you can just watch someone do like extensive gun training.
00:37:50
Speaker
Unless there's some obscure channel where it's like, hey, you want to know what happens during all this situation and like how to clean your gun and all that. I'm not even sure, but at least in 2007, it might have been. I don't know. i feel like Hay Day YouTube before they censorship and Google really took over.
00:38:06
Speaker
i People forget Google didn't take over YouTube until like 2010, I think. So it's like around that time.
00:38:14
Speaker
Yeah, it was Wild West before that. You just, like, whatever. can upload whatever. Full movies? Like, pirated TV shows? Like, sure, go ahead.
00:38:27
Speaker
Weapon training for, like, I don't know, teaching 10-year-old, 12-year-old
00:38:34
Speaker
Uh, like knives? but Like, like, he goes just watching, like, up a YouTube video about, like, the, the boluson or whatever. Like, how to spin the boluson. I'm sure, I'm sure someone has to have, like, a, like, a, like, here's, follow along. We'll, like, we'll show you how to spin. But you probably can't, because, like, the bolusons are, like, illegal.
00:38:55
Speaker
So, I have, like, a training one. I have like a heavier metal one that it's just like dull. It's like not even a knife. It's just more like the shape. So like there are videos that show you how to do tricks and how to treat it in a certain way because of like, yeah you can do it, but the blade has to face a certain position.
00:39:14
Speaker
And then when you like rotate, you always have to be aware because it's like because it flips and can close. So I watch those videos, but they only train with like this. And then even then, it's like the weight difference is like it makes sense because it's not like um sharp, you know, like ah there's like a counterweight.
00:39:35
Speaker
I don't know now if they make better versions of the bolison training thing in America because I bought mine from Amazon and it's like. Alright, this is fine. It's more of a blunt object now if I want to like... But i might as well just get it like a screwdriver.
00:39:49
Speaker
Might as well train with a screwdriver and bring that around. That's all like... You know i mean? At least that has an edge. This is just like... I just have to like um might as well close it and then just throw it at somebody.
00:40:01
Speaker
I think I had a bottle opener. but like that and that's like It's like, look, at I got a bolus on. Oh, actually, no, it's a bottle opener. At least that's cool as like a party thing. and You know, mine's just like a paperweight.
00:40:15
Speaker
ah But again, i said I bought this knife, this training thing back in like 2013. Like I can imagine someone just uploading a full video of just like, oh, check this out. And like people slicing their fingers off on YouTube.
00:40:31
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah.
00:40:34
Speaker
There's gotta be, like, you know, bar martial arts training video. Like, I yeah i think there's old, like, shitty, like, VHS ones. Or, like, you so horrible self-defense videos that you do, but... Oh, man. The ones that basically have to, like, send away from, from, like, martial art magazines. And then you hit that, like, a month later. remember some of those.
00:40:56
Speaker
And then some probably just went... I'm just gonna upload on internet and just destroy this business.
00:41:05
Speaker
But yeah, like we said before, Kick-Ass needs to watch something. Just like watch watch even even like the worst of... like Even like a Bobby Hill, like, that's my purse. Self-defense thing. like Something.
00:41:17
Speaker
Well, that's the crazy naivety about the Kick-Ass training, because him trying to jump a building was pretty hilarious. And then just his back alley Spider-Man like training that... I think the first Spider-Man movie did that. like You just go to the backyard, go to a roof, and just hang out there and see if... like yeah cool things happen.
00:41:38
Speaker
I mean, there had to be... like I'm sure... um This movie has is like full of like homages and kind of like references to other superhero stuff, so I'm sure there's definitely like a so like a Sam Raimi Spider-Man thing and there. there's i mean i was but We mentioned the Adam West thing.
00:41:52
Speaker
um think some music is a little bit of Dark Knight, similar style. Yeah. dark night kind of like similar style Oh, the orchestra string quartet music that they would use?
00:42:06
Speaker
Although think the song where Hit Girl is like you know killing everyone in Night Vision, I think that's from like the movie Sunshine.
00:42:17
Speaker
It's like an orchestral, which Mark Strong was in. That song, okay, okay. yeah I was like, they use the same soundtrack? One piece of the score, where they kind of like licensed it and gu and then put it in there.
00:42:31
Speaker
And there's also a crazy one. It stood out to me like watching it this time of like, is this... Do I not remember like like Three Doors Down, Kryptonite being this this movie? But there's the... where When Hickirl is like at like attacking down that like book that like but corridor in Damiko's house, and she's killing all look the guys, like there's an orchestral part that like does feature kind of like the opening rift of like Kryptonite.
00:42:58
Speaker
He's... And then it turns into an orchestral piece. But I was just like, wait, are they trying to start Kryptonite? Is The New York Dog going to start right now?
00:43:11
Speaker
Interesting. Because the rest of the music, all but there's lot of interesting musical choices. The one that I think dates the movie the most is like like Kick-Ass and Red Mist listening to Crazy in Red Mist's car.
00:43:24
Speaker
Yeah.
00:43:27
Speaker
That song was everywhere, though. Yeah. um
00:43:33
Speaker
But, yeah, that's definitely one of the stuff he went things, like, all with, like, MySpace and, uh, so there's, like, Craigfurs and still being on TV. Like, that's, like, of the things that, like, dates into, like,
00:43:45
Speaker
2010, specifically. Well, Kick-Ass is not supposed to be, like, a... I mean, superhero movies are hard to carry if it's just, like, a
Cultural Impact and Style of Kick-Ass
00:43:54
Speaker
one-off. And also, it's not supposed to be a up-to-date modern telling. I think it makes sense for at the time where superhero movies were going and, like, superhero culture was going, you have, like, a check-in movie that pretty much makes fun of, or, like, either as homage or parodies or is a, um, uh, like a response to that kind of culture.
00:44:24
Speaker
And I feel that Kick-Ass was, like, marked... Anyway, this is smarter than it sounds because the movie was marketed as a, like, punk, uh, like, in-your-face action movie.
00:44:36
Speaker
Yeah. Not a commentary on, like, and don't know, fan obsession, and then the extremes of, like, living a fantasy. But it pays off in the end. Um, again, the the far superior version of this is, uh, super.
00:44:52
Speaker
Mm-hmm. But the fantasy Hollywood, yeah, is this, but the comic, I think, is very grounded, too. I mean, there are, like, superhero things that happen, like just the hit girl things, obviously.
00:45:06
Speaker
But it's the consequences, it's the like, hey, you want to open this Pandora's box and you have no like right to be in there of like being a superhero, and it's like, well, I just want to save people. it's just like, yeah, but you're going to need saving yourself.
00:45:23
Speaker
And then it's like, you're not protected. Yeah, when you run into like actual like dangerous criminals... Because there's no rules when it comes to being a villain. It's just sort of like, oh no, there's no honor.
00:45:36
Speaker
There's no code that heroes have to do. but it's It's interesting that Chris, like Red Mist, is kind of like, to his dad, like, hey, kick us and do anything. He's kind of my buddy. like don't he doesn't need to get like You don't need to kill him. And then they're like, well, no, he like he saw a bunch of stuff. We need to kill him, too.
00:45:53
Speaker
I also think Chris doesn't have friends. That's the point. think Chris was just looking for a friend, and so when he's like, take that away, now he's got nothing. like Yeah, when he first introduced him, that's like in the comic book, we should like, oh yeah, he doesn't have any friends, we should go talk to him.
00:46:13
Speaker
which ah which It's funny, speaking of like of guess like Dave's friends, it's hilarious that Evan Peters is and Aaron Charles Johnson are like buddies in this movie, and they're both Quicksilver.
00:46:25
Speaker
Yeah. It's funny to think that Aaron Johnson has been three superhero movies, and they vary. but Yeah, this is... Well, Age of Ultron is pretty good.
00:46:39
Speaker
i mean, I like it. Yeah. I mean, I like his Quicksilver interpretation. i like his more serious take of the character. But... Yeah, just, like, forget that, like, this is the same guy that will be engraven later.
00:46:55
Speaker
like He is just an actor. Like, he's just like, alright, I get paid, I'll do this, whatever. Like, he's not a big...
Actors' Roles and Character Portrayals in Kick-Ass
00:47:02
Speaker
keep to the source, he'll do it what he needs to do for the job. Which is fine. like Actors don't have to be fans of the thing.
00:47:10
Speaker
But there is a degree of watching him in these things and you're like he starts out really strong in this this market. In the comic market. And
00:47:24
Speaker
and I don't know. The kickass character is supposed to be very you know Uh, well, in the kick-ass comic, I think he's, like, 14, 15. He's not supposed to be, like, blatantly, like, an 18-year-old Aaron Johnson.
00:47:37
Speaker
Yeah, it's hard it's hard to figure out, like, where they all, like, what, like, grade they're in, instead of, like, like, Dave and Katie and all, and then Dave's friends, like, what grade are they? like, juniors, seniors? Like...
00:47:50
Speaker
I feel like they're probably juniors, maybe. But then they couldt maybe maybe they're like, yeah, maybe they're actually supposed to be supposed to be like 15 or 16 or something. Well,
00:48:01
Speaker
I think... Because I think they're still in high school. and The second one, they're still in high school, right? i think, yeah. It's like their senior year. Yeah. Because at that point, ah Hit Girl just enters high school.
00:48:16
Speaker
think. I don't know. It's weird. if she's 11...
00:48:20
Speaker
So it starts... If she starts as a freshman in Kick-Ass 2, then... Or is she in 7th or 8th grade? Ugh, that's even weirder. Because then I'm like, is Kick-Ass supposed to be a freshman? Because for him to be a senior and her to be a freshman again, that's a four-year difference. I'm just trying to add four five years to an he'd 15 16. Yeah.
00:48:43
Speaker
and like so that like he'd be like fifty or sixty and
00:48:47
Speaker
Because that makes sense in the comic. But in this, it's like, you know, almost like adult actors, except for Chloe.
00:49:01
Speaker
Yeah, I'm sure it was classic Hollywood where all the high school kids were actually mid-20s. Mm-hmm. here
00:49:16
Speaker
And, um, oh, I think we have we haven't mentioned yet, but I gotta to mention, like, Nicolas Cage's, like, death scene is, like, the most Nicolas Cage thing in the whole movie. Yes.
00:49:27
Speaker
Where he's, like, where he's burning alive and just, like, screaming out, like, things to, like, Hit Girl. It's like, take off a child!
Action Sequences and Emotional Moments
00:49:36
Speaker
It's like, go to Robin's Revenge!
00:49:43
Speaker
like that's that That's like the most, like, just Nicolas Cage unleashed. Like, only Nicolas Cage you could do that that way.
00:49:52
Speaker
I do like that it's, it's, like, sad and dramatic at the same time. There's so much, like, things going on, and you ah you have to, like, remember that he's on fire.
00:50:03
Speaker
like Yeah. And then, it's horrific. It's very, like, oh, man, like, he's burnt, and it's...
00:50:13
Speaker
and so it's i mean It's that Sunshine score that's like adding to just like this like crazy like dramatic intensity to everything.
00:50:26
Speaker
What did you what what you think? ah Did you think the like first person shooter stuff held up? Eh. It's aged a bit. its it's it's like It's a short segment because it's like very you know gimmicky.
00:50:40
Speaker
But I mean... They did that again in Kingsman. So it it it was like, okay, Matthew Vaughn wants to try something. Kind of like, not just, you are the character for the moment.
00:50:54
Speaker
So i I didn't mind it.
00:50:57
Speaker
It definitely, it it felt very artificial. like it all It all felt like like this is this definitely is not like someone like like theyre like someone's actual arms coming up and like shooting. It feels all like fake. it felt it felt like the Doom movie.
00:51:15
Speaker
That one became of the big... Everyone compares that. Yeah. came on the big everyone compars that yeah
00:51:30
Speaker
And then um just the finale, like, the finale definitely, like, ramps things up to, like, a totally different level went from, like, everything else that's happened before. Because, like, a lot of it was, like, you know, over top, but, like, still mostly realistic. Like, you could, like, like Big Day is, like, super training with guns. Hit Girls has been training with, like, knives and stuff her whole life. But then they bought a jetpack.
00:51:57
Speaker
And then the kid goes, like, flying around in a jetpack. Yeah, that's, like, introduced. It's like, guess what? Jackpack. Like, oh, okay. And then not only that, it's also, like, a turret.
00:52:08
Speaker
Yeah, it has miniguns on it. where Where did they buy it? What country did they buy that from? Like, who developed rocket, like, jetpack technology? rocks from No idea. Because they bought it on the internet. A lot of this is, like, shady dark web they're buying things from.
00:52:22
Speaker
Mm-hmm.
00:52:27
Speaker
So it's like it's like some weapons that are stole that from someone, but then what... They steal it a lab like a government or something. Who's got James Bond jetpack technology?
00:52:38
Speaker
It's funny because it reminded me of the GTA San Andreas jetpack. Yeah, definitely. I don't know. Maybe if they do this right, they'll tie it in where like they stole Kingsman tech.
00:52:52
Speaker
I mean, it's definitely, definitely, it's I think it's definitely supposed to be, so like, an homage to, like, the, like, James Bond, like, jetpack. Yeah, yeah. just Just with, like, guns on it. don't think that one had guns on it.
00:53:04
Speaker
Yeah.
00:53:10
Speaker
And i do I do love when, but because, like, you kind of, like, break it off, there's, like, like Chris and crick Kick-Ass fight each other, and then Hit-Girl and Frank fight each other. i do love that when Red Mist and Kick-Ass fight each other, they like knock each other out but then like with like the first strike, and they're both just out of it.
00:53:28
Speaker
Because they're both shitty and terrible. yeah
00:53:32
Speaker
Yeah. I do like the the matchup, the power level. It's not just like, okay, here's the good fighter and the bad fighter. it's like They're equal footing. They're just flailing each other, and they somehow manage to knock each other out.
00:53:48
Speaker
But I like that mix. It keeps you very... I mean, like you don't expect Kick-Ass to be the hero of the movie. i mean, you do, but then after a while you realize it's a girl.
00:54:00
Speaker
Yeah. It's like... um like like everyone Whatever it says about ah big Trouble in China, where Jack Burton actually isn't the hero, it's ah like Wang is the hero because he's actually doing everything.
00:54:11
Speaker
It's his story, it's his growth. He gets the girl. Mm-hmm.
00:54:19
Speaker
Although, mean, King-Has does get the girl, so I guess he succeeded there. Yeah, but in the midpoint of the movie where it's like he's doing that subplot of, like, pretending to be gay.
00:54:32
Speaker
definitely does not hold up.
00:54:37
Speaker
Also, like, she only wanted to hang out with him because he was gay. like but That's weird. there Katie has a lot of red flags. like She's hanging out with drug like drug dealers. She like is has been like dreaming since she a little girl about having a gay best friend. yeah Something's not right about her.
00:54:57
Speaker
But... Oh, you know what I just realized, too? I'm looking at the cast list on Wikipedia. what What happened to ah Frank's wife and Chris's mom? She just disappears.
00:55:11
Speaker
She has, like, breakfast one morning, and then that's it. Yeah. Who's played by Yancy Butler, which played herself. Yeah. Underutilized in this movie. Yeah, she's then in, like, two scenes in the beginning, and then it just, like, vanishes.
00:55:26
Speaker
With Frank just like, go on vacation, there's stuff going on. See you in the sequel? Maybe. Is she in the sequel? I don't think so. No, no. Different actress, right?
00:55:36
Speaker
In the sequel? Oh, maybe.
00:55:42
Speaker
I haven't seen Kick-Ass 2 since it came out, probably. Really? Yeah.
00:55:54
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, I've seen it like three times. i mean, I see it for the Jim Carrey parts. It's it's fun.
00:56:03
Speaker
Yeah, i don't don't think... Oh, no, she's back. She's back as in the sequel. Okay. Okay. so least she had some more screen time, but then she's killed off in the sequel. It would have been fun if she got like some sort of homage to her being Witchblade, like she gets a giant sword or something.
00:56:23
Speaker
Yeah, at the end she she pulls out like it's her time.
00:56:33
Speaker
I'm the... She's like she's the Vanessa Fisk of Kick-Ass. Mm-hmm.
Kick-Ass's Influence on Future Superhero Films
00:56:46
Speaker
but yeah Any other things about Kick-Ass, Chris? Any other thoughts? ah That we missed, maybe? No, no, we covered a lot. Kick-Ass isn't a very like complex movie, except when you start judging it by the superhero mythos. and like other Other things have taken up the mantle of exploring it.
00:57:08
Speaker
I feel like Daredevil does a really good job of kind of explaining the psychology of like the need to be a hero. really well that it's really like us I don't know just like fluffing up what's been talked about lately now we talked about kick-ass maybe as it came out like 2011 which we might have think around the time we did talk about it like oh god like 15 years ago maybe yeah in our archive of things we've talked about in other our podcasts I'm sure it's probably a review of this up on the site if you search for it
00:57:46
Speaker
And you know, it's like, it's still good. It's still like exactly a time capsule of what it was. I like superhero movies almost in all forms and shapes and attempts because like it tries to retell this but because it's almost like a direct adaptation by the guy who wrote the original story.
00:58:05
Speaker
um it it's It's a great like I guess like speed run of the comics and the message was even though i feel like the second movie dropped the ball because Matthew Vaughn was just executive producing.
00:58:22
Speaker
He didn't really write or direct anything. yeah You feel that in the sequel.
00:58:28
Speaker
ah But yeah, this this movie also, i feel like they did that fun mix where some parts feel like PG-13 and then some parts are just R. So I like that dynamic.
00:58:41
Speaker
Like, some parts feel like a 90s superhero movie, and then some parts are blatantly like the modern grittiness that... Minus the, like, grimdark. Yeah, like, Nicolas Cage's, like like, his, like, warehouse fight is just totally... Played totally straight, deadly serious. Like, he's just, like, like, yeah, like, killing all those guys.
00:58:59
Speaker
but There's no jokes. There's no quips. He's just, like, killing all these gangsters. But there's other scenes where it's, like, they put a guy in a microwave and blow him up. Yep. I mean, that's like a i thing there's more like hidden James Bond references in this movie.
00:59:15
Speaker
i I'm sure Matthew Vaughn was probably like already thinking, because Kingsman was was his next movie, I'm sure he was already kind of digging into like what what James Bond stuff could I spoof for or like make reference in Kingsman.
00:59:26
Speaker
Yeah, he just keeps a tally.
00:59:32
Speaker
i And I feel like Deadpool is kind of like, is like what's carrying the baton now for, you know, like kind of this kind of style, like R-rated superhero movie, superhero comedy movies. Definitely.
00:59:44
Speaker
Like Marvel, like, Marvel, like took it over. couple It's like, but we're doing this now. We are going to do the the dark, com dark humor action comedy. And it's our thing. Although I think, yeah is it, is it technically, is it kick-ass like a, didn't Marvel, doesn't Marvel own kick-ass now? Like the comics?
01:00:02
Speaker
I don't know. It's because it's an Image Comics, but Image is separate. But then also Image doesn't... Because then Mark Millar did his own imprint.
01:00:12
Speaker
So now it's like he took that away. But it's like sometimes they'll borrow it, but then not really. i don't know. I don't know who actually owns Kick-Ass these days. Because Wikipedia says Publisher of Marvel Comics.
01:00:25
Speaker
But like that's just Wikipedia. you I don't even know. Oh, it was initially published in Marvel under Icon Imprints. and then But and now Image republished them. like So Marvel originally published them under Icon.
01:00:42
Speaker
I don't remember Icon. I don't remember Icon either. I'm just looking at what the hell was Icon.
01:00:48
Speaker
Because I know like the Malarverse is... It could jump because certain characters belong in certain universes now. Or certain publishers. Yeah. Kick-Ass.
01:00:59
Speaker
Painkiller Jane. That was a icon comic, apparently. Criminal. and Every figure is Criminal. ah That was the ah originally was a icon.
01:01:11
Speaker
Incognito. oh Nemesis. I'm surprised we haven't got a Nemesis movie yet. Nemesis is crazy. I kind of don't want like a live action. I just want like an adult cartoon series of Nemesis.
01:01:25
Speaker
Nemesis is bonkers. Oh, king Kingsman and Powers were also Icon. So a lot of, pretty much most of Mark Millar's stuff apparently was like but Icon, then he moved over to Image.
01:01:41
Speaker
Makes sense. I mean, Mark Millar got his feet wet, I think, in Ultimates? He wrote like the Ultimate in comics, and then he did the yeah the Avengers, so he became the Ultimates then.
01:01:59
Speaker
Oh, I forgot. I'm just... jupiter's I forgot he had Jooper's Legacy, which had that, like, the forgotten Netflix show that no one mentions. A
01:02:10
Speaker
lot of promise. And it's also, like, anti-superhero superhero thing, where it's, like, tropes on it. It kind of was the boys, but, like, not in a... in a conspiracy espionage. Or, like, you know, or not espionage, but just, like, conspiracy black ops.
01:02:26
Speaker
um I think the problem was they put it out When the boys are still on. And the boys like so far superior to it.
Speculations and Rewatchability of Kick-Ass
01:02:34
Speaker
Also the production was like losing money so as the seasons went on there was like less and less effects.
01:02:40
Speaker
It's like we're we're trapped in this warehouse. It's like odd like empty this empty base. So I mean if they ever do a kickass TV show I feel like that would be something different but it'd just be right now like you have to wait for the boys to die down.
01:02:56
Speaker
Mm-hmm. Because like the balance we got now of like superhero things are very superhero-y and then you get superhero things are just like mythos, but like we play around with it. And Kick-Ass was like one of the original like ones.
01:03:10
Speaker
Again, the boys did it better because I'm more of a boys fan, but Kick-Ass did a good attempt and the movie is okay. Like it's just like, it's, I feel like it's missing a few things that make it like a rewatchable movie.
01:03:26
Speaker
Like, it's rewatchable every, like, few years or so, but it's not, like, the same. You throw it on, you quote anything. um There's, like, memeable moments. You know, like, and don't know. Maybe, like, I mean, I like the Nick Cage fights. I, again, love it for the Nick Cage parts.
01:03:42
Speaker
But I pretty much YouTube that part once in a while. i get bored and remember. and Everything with Hit Girl and Big Daddy is, like, um easily the best part of the ah first Kick-Ass. Yeah.
01:03:54
Speaker
Yeah, watch it for that. you know Watch it for the context. Watch it for Nick Cage doing an awesome role. because This was also wasn't like a comeback role, but it was one those roles that were like... Anyway, he's in a big movie, not just like pay the whatever movie. so yeah i mean she like Yeah, pay the ghost. Pay the ghost um trying yeah Knowing. I think Knowing was like the a year or two before this.
01:04:19
Speaker
Yeah, ni man, Nicolas Cage is... You just look at his filmography. It's just it's it's wild. It's like like garbage, garbage, garbage. One of the best movies of all time. Garbage, garbage, garbage.
01:04:31
Speaker
Especially recently. don't know. I'll still watch it. as yeah the He makes movies not because he needs... Well, some movies he needs for the money. But it's like he just wants to act.
01:04:45
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, i don't... some i mean some so some stuff he might be phoning in, but like he's still going to be just doing, like, usually should probably doing something crazy in it, or doing some sort of like, he'll have, like ah like, he'll shave his head, or he'll do, like, a weird accent, or try something weird, like, don't don speak at all in, like, Willy's Wonderland. Even though that movie's awful, but...
Conclusion and Next Episode Preview
01:05:11
Speaker
But ah yeah, so that that's Kick-Ass. Definitely um check it out again if you haven't seen it in a while. Celebrate its 15th anniversary. And come back next week, we'll be diving into movie that came out the year after Kick-Ass, which is 2011's The Raid, because we're getting a new Gareth Evans movie next week on Netflix, Havoc.
01:05:32
Speaker
Sorry, Tom Hardy, and ah I think, trying to think of what else is Gareth Brosnan? Forrest Whitaker? They're just making a mob land. Oh, okay. Which has been out for a couple weeks.
01:05:44
Speaker
but think I think Forrest Whitaker is a politician or something, he's he's forcing him to find his son. And so Tom Hire basically fights way through this criminal underworld.
01:05:56
Speaker
Timothy Oliphant's in it.
01:05:59
Speaker
Hopefully going to be good. it like It looks pretty awesome for the trailer. But we're we're talking about his... I think definitely like the movie that put him on the map, which is The Raid.
01:06:10
Speaker
The original The Raid.
01:06:14
Speaker
Which I think is it is it it's like it's like the Raid Redemption? It's like the what they called it they came out when it first came out? Yep. And it makes no sense because it may seem like you have to see the first Raid.
01:06:26
Speaker
Raid 2 should be called Raid Redemption. Who's getting redeemed?
01:06:32
Speaker
We'll find out. and and i think I think The Raid is also the movie that put like Iku Uwe and like uh like joe teslam like ah ah bunch of those guys like all those like indonesian uh martial arts guys like on the map too like who the hell is this guy
01:06:50
Speaker
so we'll dive into all that next week and uh head over to all of our usual got news reviews trailers i got reviews of uh g20 And The Amateur. I saw both those movies since last podcast. I got reviews of those up if you want to read those. And getting bunch trailers. We got a new Fantastic Four trailer. We got 28 Years Later trailer. So tons of stuff on site. Remember to check all that stuff out.
01:07:14
Speaker
And yes, for Chris, I'm Zach. And we will see you next week. For more Forever Everything Action, head to www.everythingaction.com. You can also find us on Facebook. at facebook.com slash everything.action and follow on x at evaction we're also on instagram and threads at everything.action find more episodes of the podcast on apple a podcast spotify or your at podcast app of choice and be sure rate and subscribe