Kick-Ass Haiku (in more ways than one)

Real superheroes
You just need optimism
and naivete

So, you wanna play?
You will get your ass kicked. Yes?
Good call, Babydoll!

Oh, child! How did you feel about Kick-Ass? I just bought and watched the Blu-ray yesterday and I am kind in love all over again. The movie pulls it together a bit better than the original comic–I think people would be very uncomfortable with the original Hit Girl storyline and, I’ll be honest, I liked how Dave got together with Katie in the movie (I like happy, sue me).

In any case, both the comic and the movie do a good job posing the central question: Would you help someone facing injustice–would you answer a call to action? Yes, the story is set amongst pretty hardcore vigilantism, violence, and vengeance but there’s more to it than Hit Girl’s use of the C-word.

There are several really interesting scenes where average people are shown turning a blind eye. Dave and Todd’s mugging stands out, but what about when Kick-Ass is run over? Or when he saves that guy from the gang and first becomes famous? What about all of those people that stood in that coffee shop watching, marveling at the action of someone else? How about the big “Kick-Ass Unveiling” webcast? They show the cops, not springing to action, but running to watch the violence on their computers. To take it down a notch, think about when Dave talks about feeling bad for Chris D’Amico. He mentions it, but he doesn’t really want to do anything about it.

Is the issue crime or complacency?