Influences

The concept for my film is obviously influenced by the recent rise in comic book and super hero films. During the past decade it has become common to see comic book films constantly in the cinema.

I was most influenced by the film Kick-Ass which is an superhero action comedy about a teenage boy who decides to dress up like a superhero. This is similar to my idea but Kick-Ass quickly escalates into a fantasy film with unrealistic characters and violence. Although it is still very enjoyable and funny I would love to see a superhero film set in the 'real world'. I want to keep my own film down to earth and set it in contemporary England instead of America to appeal to a British audience. I do admire how Kick-Ass seems to subvert and embrace the cliches of the superhero genre at the same time.

A convention in superhero films is the superhero continuously wondering whether or not to tell their love interest of their secret identity. The clip from Kick-Ass shows the protagonist attempting to reveal himself to his own love interest which does not go to plan. Slapstick and physical humour is used to parody the convention and asks raises the shows the more realstic reaction to someone appearing in your room. The girl starts to attack Kick-Ass which provides more humour as it shows that he can't defend himself or get away from her.This subverts expectations that the love interest is seen as the 'damsel in distress' and needs rescuing by the superhero, in this case she can look after herself better than the superhero can.

http://movieclips.com//PLBwT-kick-ass-movie-kick-ass-surprise/

Another film I was influence by is Defendor, which tells the story of a regular but delusional man who believes that he is a superhero named Defendor. He combs the city streets at night in search of his arch enemy, Captain Industry who may or may not actually exist. I have not seen this film myself, only a trailer for it but the idea has stuck with me of a man who believes he is a superhero. This film mainly appeals to me as it look like it stays in reality whereas Kick-Ass did not. His costume is obviously homemade with face paint as a mask and duct tape for his logo. The simple design shows that he is not well equipped and that he does not have a lot of skill in making it. His poor costume represents him as a poor superhero as stereotypically they have brightly coloured high-tec costumes. The dark colour of the costume shows that the setting is not a cartoon and comic book world but instead a darker grittier diegesis. It also represents him aas a darker character, although his costume is poor the black shows that he is a strong and even sinister figure criminals should be afraid of.