Kick Ass - Opening Scene Analysis

The first thing we hear is a dramatic sound track in the background, this immediately tells the audience that the film is extremely likely to include a superhero.

The effects on the title of flying through the clouds is a really strong genre indicator of action and also helps to set the scene. As the camera eventually leaves the clouds, the camera pans down on what appears to be New York City - a popular location for many action/adventure films.

The viewer is immediately presented with an enigma - who is the man?

Showing the man looking down on the city with a birds eye view shot makes the scene look very dramatic, and the character brave. There is also a genre indicator here - the big city. This establishing shot of the big city tells the audience what the film will be about and where it is set, it may also make them begin to wonder why that location was chosen.

The audience then gets a feeling of suspense, as the character jumps down from the building and begins to dive directly down to the ground. This creates a very short lived enigma, and encourages the viewer to watch on to find out what happens. The character then crashes into the car, and the music comes to an abrupt stop. Stopping the music so quickly adds a sense of humour to the film, and also indicates to the viewer that everything which this character will try to do may backfire at him.

Next, the camera begins to pan to the rear end of the car which the character just crashed into. It then zooms in to show the license plate of the car, which reads "KICK ASS", incorporating the title into a prop of the film is very effective and makes the film seem much more realistic.

I really like this opening scene because I feel that it gives a rough idea of the plot, without digging to deep. It also creates several enigmas which make you want to watch to find out the answer and watch on.