Jim Carrey Makes the Wrong Move Ripping the Violence in Kick-Ass 2

By Damon Martin – Editor/Lead Writer

Follow on Twitter @DamonMartin

Kick-Ass 2 won’t hit theaters for another two months, but now the biggest star in the sequel has come out opposing the violence showcased in the comic book brought to life on the big screen.

Jim Carrey took to Twitter this week to express his displeasure with the violence that’s portrayed in the new film, which is a sequel to the surprising hit Kick-Ass first released in 2010.

https://twitter.com/JimCarrey/status/348886602384281600

https://twitter.com/JimCarrey/status/348889521083006976

In the film, Carrey plays Colonel Stars and Stripes, a new homemade superhero who joins the battle against crime alongside the film’s main stars Kick-Ass and Hit-Girl.

His Twitter outburst was caused by what Carrey called a reaction to the horrific events that took place in December 2012 in Sandy Hook, Connecticut where a gunman killed 28 victims in total during the massacre.

Carrey has been outspoken since the shooting opposing gun violence, but chose this week to speak out against the film he’s taking part in that will be released in theaters later this summer.

Kick-Ass creator and writer Mark Miller took to his own blog on Monday to respond to Carrey’s rant, and tried to be as calm and collected as possible for a person who just saw the movie’s star essentially trash the film on a social network where he currently has more than 10 million followers.

Miller first professed “I love Jim Carrey” before talking about how he was such a major land for the small film that wasn’t supposed to pull in $96 million at the box office the first time around.

As you may know, Jim is a passionate advocate of gun-control and I respect both his politics and his opinion, but I’m baffled by this sudden announcement as nothing seen in this picture wasn’t in the screenplay eighteen months ago. Yes, the body-count is very high, but a movie called Kick-Ass 2 really has to do what it says on the tin. A sequel to the picture that gave us HIT-GIRL was always going to have some blood on the floor and this should have been no shock to a guy who enjoyed the first movie so much. My books are very hardcore, but the movies are adapted for a more mainstream audience and if you loved the tone of the first picture you’re going to eat this up with a big, giant spoon. Like Jim, I’m horrified by real-life violence (even though I’m Scottish), but Kick-Ass 2 isn’t a documentary. No actors were harmed in the making of this production! This is fiction and like Tarantino and Peckinpah, Scorcese and Eastwood, John Boorman, Oliver Stone and Chan-Wook Park, Kick-Ass avoids the usual bloodless body-count of most big summer pictures and focuses instead of the CONSEQUENCES of violence, whether it’s the ramifications for friends and family or, as we saw in the first movie, Kick-Ass spending six months in hospital after his first street altercation. Ironically, Jim’s character in Kick-Ass 2 is a Born-Again Christian and the big deal we made of the fact that he refuses to fire a gun is something he told us attracted him to the role in the first place.

Miller went on to say that he didn’t agree with the notion that violence in films somehow leads to real life violence, and that he hopes Carrey will turn the corner on his statement prior to the film’s release.

On a more personal note, I’ve always stated that the idea that movies, music, television and other forms of media leading to violence is simply ludicrous. Millions upon millions of people are exposed to this kind of material on a daily basis, and rarely if ever do any of them ever commit violent acts.

It’s more likely, however, that if they commit violence there is a deeper reason behind it whether it’s mental issues or other extenuating circumstances. Pointing the finger at violent movies or television shows really is just a scapegoat to the larger issues plaguing society.

I fully support Carrey’s ideals about gun violence in this country, and have zero issues with actors, actresses, singers, songwriters or whoever that want to use their platform of fame to speak about bigger issues than the box office opening. As a matter of fact, I applaud celebrities who are willing to take a stand on important issues like this.

In this case, Carrey is really just shooting himself in the foot because he read the script before he got involved with the project. He acted out all the scenes, saw the edits and took home a nice, fat paycheck for his part in the film. If he’s not proud of how the film turns out, so be it, the audience will ultimately be the judge of that. He says the film finished production just before tragic events in Sandy Hook took place and that somehow changed his perspective, but there’s no need to trash the film you just finished.

How about instead just don’t do these kinds of movies anymore if they disturb you so much?

But to openly rip the film because of the violence that he knew full well was a big part of this universe is just ridiculous. If he wanted to take a real stand he would have turned down this project and made Mr. Popper’s Penguins 2 instead of doing a movie like Kick-Ass 2.

There’s nothing wrong with making a moral stand, Mr. Carrey, just make sure you don’t cash the check before you do it.