Movie Review - 'Kick-Ass'

Kick-Ass Starring Aaron Johnson, Nicolas Cage, and Chloë Grace Moretz Directed by Matthew Vaughn Rated R

When the studios recognized billions of dollars could be made by raiding comic books, most of the films that followed used the same blueprint: Throw $150 million at sets, effects, and big names, and line up merchandising deals. Some are great, most are average, but only a few are built around the experience of the audience. Kick-Ass is ahead of the pack, probably because it doesn’t follow that formula. In fact, director Matthew Vaughn had to finance this movie outside the system because the studios all wanted to avoid a violent, profane R-rated comic book movie with kids killing bad guys left and right. But a funny thing happened on the way to Comic-Con: Audiences saw footage from Kick-Ass last summer and couldn’t stop talking about it. The studios, which had so badly missed the mark by passing up the opportunity to make this movie, climbed over each other for the chance to distribute it. This is not the sort of superhero movie Hollywood makes, but hopefully it will be now. Kick-Ass doesn’t just happen on a screen in front of an audience, it deeply involves them. Based on Mark Millar’s comic, Kick-Ass actually has no superheroes. Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) asks his friends why nobody has ever tried to become one. Surely, some guy would’ve put on a cape and tried to save the day. The answer, as one of his friends puts it without looking up from an issue of Marvel’s Runaways, is “because they’d get their ass kicked.” But Dave has nothing else going for him, so why not? He buys a ridiculous-looking scuba suit, commits himself to helping the little guy…and proceeds to get his ass kicked. Trying to ward off three heavies beating an unarmed man in a parking lot, Dave – having adopted his alter-ego, Kick-Ass – takes his fair share of punishment but just keeps fighting. A camera phone recording of his exploits becomes a viral video sensation, attracting the attention of Damon Macready (Nicolas Cage) and his young daughter Mindy (Chloë Grace Moretz). As a cop, Macready had been set up by Frank D’Amico (Mark Strong), one of New York’s most ruthless gangsters. After his release from prison, sensing he needs help to bring down D’Amico’s entire crime family, Macready trains his daughter to become the ultimate fighting machine. Lesson number one: How to take a bullet to the chest. When he watches the Kick-Ass video, Macready not only sees a kindred spirit but he also gains a convenient way to attack D’Amico’s mob: If the mobster thinks it’s Kick-Ass killing his low-level thugs, Macready can operate without suspicion. Macready and his 11-year-old girl get costumes, too, becoming Big Daddy and Hit-Girl. Dave narrates his story, telling us that his mother wasn’t murdered in a dark alley by the Joker, but instead died of an aneurysm. He wasn’t bitten by a radioactive spider. His only superpower is willpower. And it’s this everyman approach that is so appealing about the story. But once Vaughn establishes his main characters, it’s really the director’s show. Vaughn’s two previous films, Layer Cake and Stardust, have distinct visual styles and Stardust also has a warped sense of humor. But neither hints that something so special is just around the corner. Kick-Ass is being marketed as a kind of slacker action-comedy take on the superhero flick, and while it certainly contains those elements, Vaughn effortlessly, almost invisibly, adds layers of depth and heavy personal drama. In so many films, that sort of shift seems cloying and it’s usually hard to execute properly. Like Tarantino’s best work, Vaughn damns the consequences and goes for broke. Each of the film’s fight scenes has its own energy and look, and one of them is just about heart-stopping. Unlike many examples is the bloated superhero genre, the action sequences aren’t the main course in Kick-Ass.It’s interesting that so little of the action takes place early in the film, but Vaughn builds up to the visceral pay-off through his characters. Once we’re on board with them, the real fun begins. The star attraction in these scenes is clearly Hit-Girl, a butterfly knife-wielding, kitana-thrusting, pistol-packin’, foul-mouthed small fry in a purple wig. While Kick-Ass is not usually much good in a fight, Hit-Girl thinks nothing of chopping through goons in Italian suits like a Weedeater. The key performances are uniformly strong. Aaron Johnson is a newcomer to American audiences, but he’s more than up to the challenge of putting most of the emotional weight of this film on his shoulders. Nic Cage clearly has a lot of fun as the nebbish Damon Macready, who takes on a different vibe under Big Daddy’s cowl. With memorable work in Rocknrolla, Sherlock Holmes, and Body of Lies, Mark Strong has already established himself as one of the best villains going, and his Frank D’Amico is another great addition to his rogue’s gallery. However, Chloë Moretz steals the spotlight from her co-stars as Hit-Girl. She’s one of those rare characters that makes going to the movies worthwhile. As good as she is, the real highlight is director Matthew Vaughn, proving that he can make a more entertaining, fulfilling, and outright better superhero movie for under $30 million than Marvel and DC have for five times that much. It’s a movie nobody wanted to touch a year ago and now it’s a movie that ought to change the game.

Comments

[MRPigg]

I was expecting to like this movie because I am a geek, but I was absolutely blown away by the rich layers and depth of the characters and story. The tone of this film is spot-on from start to finish. Kudos to you for not being hesitant to give it your highest praise. Wonderfully analytical review.

[Honz Brix]

Wow! Five Apes Colin? I was thinking about waiting to see this one on DVD or atleast maybe catch it on a night when i was bored a few weeks from now. After getting a review like this from you i think i will catch it Monday and push back How to Train Your Dragon for one more week

[Feisty]

5 Damn Dirty Apes!! HOLY CRAP, I was already planning on seeing this one and your review might be the kick I need to venture out and see it on opening weekend. Hit-Girl is on the top of my list for Halloween costumes this year. Miss hearing your reviews on the radio, regardless of what station you were on, Colin.

[Emo]

I'm in! Can't wait to see it

[SEAN]

WOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

WWOOOOOWOWOWOWOOWWOOWOWOWO

Are you f-ing serious Colin Boyd??????

OMG IM SO EXCITED I NEED TO SEE THIS ASAP!!!

See I knew it would be awesome & have been telling everyone to see it but IF YOU GIVE IT A BIG 5- APER, thats a whole nother story

My comments on it will come very soon

[Adam]

God, this was so worth the wait. I love the original come and this was absolutely amazing to see on the big screen. So much fun.

[Jeremy]

5!?!?! omgomgomgogmomgogmomg. I feel like a 12 year old girl that just got tickets to a Justin Beiber concert.

[Severian]

yeah i just saw the movie and it was clearly one of the most enjoyable movies ive seen in a long time. sooooo freakin sweet.