Kickassia

Words can't correctly explain how bad this movie is. Reading the snippets of quotes from the movie on IMDb, I thought it might be a worthwhile film to see. The dialog seemed quirky and looked to have a fair bit of humor behind it. Plus I'm easily a sucker for checking out films made by the average Joe with a camera, some friends, and too much time on their hands. The Gamers, Gamers 2: Dorkness Rising, and more popular films like Clerks are classic examples of when this concept works. Unfortunately for me and the hour and a half of my life that I will never get back, "Kickassia" is a true example of what happens when the concept fails miserably.

Though there are elements of humor to some of the dialog, the delivery quickly shows that none of the "actors" (and I use the term rather loosely) really have any business getting in front of a camera again. Writing...maybe, acting...never. I've seen better performances (and more believable sfx) by kids on YouTube with a camcorder and After Effects. If given to individuals that could actually act their way into the paper bag to begin with, there's enough humorous bits to make a rather amusing 15-20 minute short film.

To make matters worse, I did some checking and it turns out that most of the people attached to this film critique movies for a living (under the forum style names that their characters are named after). It boggles the mind that a group that analyzes movies and points out the idiosyncrasies and errors in them, could watch this waste of celluloid upon completion and think that it's good enough to unleash on the general public.

The only reason I give this two stars instead of one is due to the brief glimpses of humor within this mind-numbingly bad film and the fact that Lindsay Ellis (Nostalia Chick) is kind of cute.

In summary, if your thinking of watching this, pouring bleach in your eyes, watching linoleum peel, or banging your head into a wall repetitively would all be better uses of your time.

Remember when Spoony and the Nostalgia Critic used to be funny? When they seemed like regular, down-to-earth guys? After witnessing 'Kickassia', that seems like something that happened in another lifetime.

There were warning signs before, of course. Their previous one year anniversary special didn't bode well, but this film takes the raging Internet egotism and desperately unfunny in-jokes to hitherto unprecedented levels. Not just a failure as a film, this is a misstep of 'Love Guru' proportions, the kind of ego-stroking embarrassment that makes you reassess their previous work and wonder if they were ever actually that funny to begin with.

Yeah, so they're just online critics making something "for the fans", but most of these people critique films for a living and really should know better. It's low budget, but many films have been made for less and managed to throw decent acting, direction and lighting into the bargain, when Kickassia fails to get even the latter right. What jokes there are come off as forced and poorly delivered, when they're not being outright lifted from other sources.

Once a keen fan, I've been losing faith in TGWTG's material for a while now, and this really seals the deal for me. A sprawling epic of compressed awfulness that only the most die-hard of fans could ever enjoy. Avoid.

I have no idea how TGWTG fans can even stomach this thing. Myself included, as a die-hard follower of the team I can say it was particularly disappointing. Despite the fact they went great lengths to try and accommodate some sort of jokes which are fresh and new, most of the time we are forced to endure the same sort of rehashed jokes from respective shows and the usual gimmicks. With couple people on the team doing a decent job at keeping up an atmosphere, the script fails completely and ruins the whole thing for everyone...

This movie is a great example that what makes a short form of fast paced 'critical'-piece funny, won't really work in a longer version, tiring the audience. The goofyness and slapstick becomes boring after first 10 minutes, transforming into unbearable drag where a bunch of clearly talented and charismatic individuals are forced to humiliate themselves like some sort of circus clowns, while the "awkward moment" humour just keeps on boggling every scene with unbearable repetition. 90% of jokes are almost exactly that:

Couple people talk about some ridiculous subject or a problem, then they start coming up with ideas/solutions, suddenly someone gives an suggestion that is a joke for everyone to ridicule, painting a person who actually agrees with that as an awkward individual. That very moment someone thinks it's a really a good idea or accepts the given suggestion as a norm, thus creating an "awkward moment", where everyone pause. In the end the scene is completed with a mildly funny pun, mostly in form of cheesy one-liner. If you ever wanted to participate in a drinking game, do watch Kickassia and each time the pattern above appears, take a sip of beer, you'll be smashed alcoholic for the rest of your life after first 20 minutes.

Then it get's only worse... The plot is miserable and action on screen barely follows any coherent idea, it's neither involving, nor funny, and worse yet is the constant braking of 4th wall. I wouldn't mind it if it was applied properly, to enhance the juxtaposition of the jokes, but instead it's used in most dreadful of ways, where after almost every 'skit' characters turn towards audience and go "Hey! It was a joke! Got it?! It was a reference to one of the tropes in our show! Remember? Remember?! It was really funny! Cause it was a joke! You got it? Got it, right?!" - of course, that's to put it bluntly, but you get the idea.

This is a dreadful watch even for a fan. It retains no value and only proves that producers could take some lessons from other directors, like Uwe Boll for instance, who by comparison, looks really good now.

This film was the first of the anniversary films that Channel Awesome created. Unfortunately, you can tell it is a first effort. The story is very, very simple in its ideas and execution. It definitely drags in parts, showing that there wasn't that much of a plan for the story.

However, for all of that, there is a charm to it, especially if you know the personalities of the internet critics involved. It is definitely low-budget and amateur, so keep your expectations at that level. I do enjoy it, because the comedy is fun, the music and camera work is decent, and I enjoy watching the internet personalities. Of the three Channel Awesome films, this one is definitely the worst, though it's still a decent first outing.

It seems the last two reviewers weren't fans of the Nostalgia Critic to begin with. Kickassia is the second-anniversary collaboration of all the members of ThatGuyWithTheGlasses.com. A site which has its own sense of humour, its own community. And if you're not part of that community, this movie may seem unfunny, out-of-place and bad. But really, to fans of TGWTG.com, it's incredible! It's the perfect collaboration! Everyone keep there inside jokes, most of the jokes are very funny and the acting is good for the most part. Of course, it's not going to be that Oscar-worthy nominee or the so-bad-it's-good kind of movie either, it's just people having fun filming a long funny video for their fans and nobody else. Reviewing this as a movie would be like reviewing each of Shane Dawson's videos like they were shorts! The Internet as whole other kind of humour that people should get use to. It's not immature or stupid, it's just different. And a lot of people seem to have a problem with difference these days.