Splice together the fundamental story telling of Spider-Man with the ultra-realism of Watchmen, and then finish it off with some heightened violence, Kill Bill style.
The result . . . a very Kick-Ass film!
Hollywood continues to ride the comic book money train, but a fantastic side effect in their quest for cash is that producers are diving more and more into lesser-known stories and graphic novels. Kick-Ass is such a story, based on the graphic novel written by alternate reality god, Mark Millar. Protagonist Dave Lizewski, aka Kick-Ass, narrates his tale about what would happen in the real world if a random citizen with no real purpose to avenge or hero code to uphold, just decided to suit up and start fighting crime. Baffled by the ratio of superhero fans to actual superheroes, Lizewski decided to be a pioneer and create a crime-fighting alter ego. However to his surprise, Kick-Ass finds that he’s not the only costume-clad hero patrolling the streets after all.
This film excels in its ability to explore new alleys of a genre in which it is very difficult to produce completely original ideas. Kick-Ass is able to deliver the inconvenient and brutal truth to why vigilantism is not a booming business. Slapping on some tights does not magically enhance someone’s fighting abilities or protect them from blades and bullets. However, it does strike a nerve in the collective soul. And in the age of the viral video it’s easier than ever to reach millions of people in just a few minutes, something that this film portrays very realistically.
With the exception of Nicolas Cage, who plays Big Daddy, the cast is primarily made of virtual unknowns. Of course many will recognize McLovin, (Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Superbad) as the Chris D’Amico/Red Mist character, but for the most part the cast is very fresh. Aaron Johnson (Dave Lizewski/Kick-Ass) does a fantastic job embodying the every-day kid with a superhero complex. Johnson is able to truly connect with the audience and give a sense of his frustration with society but at the same time exude just how petrified he is to do something about it. As the hero Kick-Ass, Johnson also triumphs by construing the confidence a simple change of clothes can instill despite struggling with the fear of his own mortality.
Cage and Mintz-Plasse bring the goods to their perspective characters as expected, but the indisputable diamond in the ruff in this film is Chloe Moretz who plays Mindy Macready/Hit Girl. The character of Hit Girl has the ability to induce the audience to laugh, cringe and shout “Damn!” simultaneously throughout the film. Any reservations about the validity of an 11-year-old girl fighting grown adults are washed away with Hit Girl’s first appearance on screen. She gains instant credibility as the smallest badass on Earth.
Kick-Ass is able to stay true to the raw brutality of its characters, which in part made them so popular in the graphic novel. But amazingly the hard-core violence does not shadow the characters’ personalities. It’s easy to feel a real connection with them and although murder is everywhere, it’s secondary to the underlying message of the film.
Although Kick-Ass starts out with a brutal reflection of the real world, it does gradually work its way to the surreal of comic cells. However it is not a jarring leap, the action escalates gradually and significantly bends but does not break the rules of reality. Kick-Ass definitely lives up to its title, leaving viewers with sensory overload and an inkling to jump online to purchase brightly colored costumes and firearms.
Story: 8.5
Acting: 8.5
Writing: 8.5
Captivation: 9.5
Replay Value: 9.0
Total = 8.8
