Kick-Ass is based off the brutally violent comic from Mark Millar. It tells the story of Dave Lezewski (Aaron Johnson), your average teenage nobody, and his sudden desire to become a masked superhero. While coping with the fact that he has zero skills in self defense he runs into the badass vigilantes, Big Daddy and Hit-Girl (Nic Cage and Chloe Moretz). The reality of his hobby/fantasy finally catches up with him when he gets tangled up with ruthless gangster Frank D’Amico (Mark Strong) and a dimwitted fan, Red Mist (Mintz-Plasse).
In a decade covered with many less-than-pleasant attempts at bringing every popular superhero to cinema Kick-Ass is here to change the pace of the genre. Like Zombieland did for Dawn of the Dead and 28 Days Later, Matthew Vaughn has done the same for all the Spidermans and Batmans. While I can’t say I’ve read the Millar comic I can say that the film has great tone, spunk, and is very well acted. Chloe Moretz alone as Hit-Girl is in a star-making role here. Scene stealer is an understatement and she really owns the character in a way we haven’t seen a child actor do in an action-adventure movie. And it looks like the Nic Cage slump has done a turn upwards, because this was a great role for him. In retrospect I wish the film was more about Big Daddy and Hit-Girl. Not to say Aaron Johnson did a terrible job as Kick-Ass, but when those two were on-screen it really made you enjoy every second of the flick. I want a Hit-Girl movie tomorrow, please!
Back to Kick-Ass: the “nerd hero” role is taken to a good ground here. We believe in the vulnerability and the overall ridiculousness of the drive he has to become something. He’s in a very violent world. A place where innocent bystanders are treated like target practice. The brutality of the action is key to the success of the film. As the tagline says on the comic’s cover – “Sickening Violence: Just The Way You Like It!”. There are some fantastic and original kills I cheered and cringed for. Hit-Girl and Big Daddy are not to be fucked with! And D’Amico is no fluke either as he is can order a hit with ruthless efficiency. Red Mist on the other hand I felt was wasted and the weak link of the bunch. Mintz-Plasse is still trying to break out of his McLovin typecast.
Overall, this is a great change of pace for the genre. It takes us out of the Marvel and DC tone of things and smacks us into a world that borders on reality and mayhem. Come for the laughs and the wild take on a superhero’s origin. Stay for Hit-Girl and see how an actor can single-handedly jack an entire franchise.
Score: 9/10