REVIEW: Kick-Ass (2010) FOUR STARS
Kick-Ass
Rated: R
Runtime: 117 minutes
Starring: Aaron Johnson, Nic Cage, Chloe Grace Moretz.
My Rating: 4 stars
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The further along Kick-Ass goes, the more ridiculously awesome it becomes.
For starters, this film is billed as a comedy about an average teenage boy who wants to become a superhero. It's based on the comic by same name.
This is not the comedy you expect. This is a superhero movie that blends gruesome violence, language, martial arts and, yes, humor into a puree so fine, you'll be begging for more.
The theater audience was so impressed by the film's finale, one patron blurted, “Epic,” for all to hear. He wasn't wrong.
Director Matthew Vaughn has a taken a film that, on first glance, has a relatively unknown cast with mostly unproven actors and created something on the level of any summer superhero action blockbuster. It's amazing we're treated to it this early in the year.
Kick-Ass stars 19-year-old Aaron Johnson as David, a high-school senior who wants to impress a girl as much as fight crime. He's obsessed with superhero comics and can't fathom why no one has tried to be a superhero before. He, of course, takes it upon himself to be the first, naming his alter ego “Kick-Ass.”
His escapades – and they are escapades – fail miserably as he appears to be more Mr. Magoo than Bruce Wayne. Nonetheless a dream is a dream, and David continues his quest as Kick-Ass.
His journey takes him on the internet, where his fame explodes afer a video of Kick-Ass fighting goes viral. The legions of fans include a father-daughter duo Big Daddy (Nic Cage) and Hit Girl (Chloe Moretz). They have they're own plans, which includes taking down the biggest drug kingpin in the city, played by Mark Strong.
Moretz steals the film as Cage and Johnson take a back seat. Not even Christopher Mintz-Plasse (“Fogel” in Superbad) takes away Moretz's on-camera brilliance. As Hit Girl, she dazzles us with unbelievably quick knife and gun skills while aiding Big Daddy and Kick-Ass in their individual pursuits. She's even quicker with her mouth.
It all makes for a fantastic film filled with stunning fight scenes and seamless wirework that is a must-see for any fan of the genre.
I went in expecting something like Mystery Men. I came out feeling like I just watched The Dark Knight. Kick-Ass is, of course, much lighter than most superhero movies, but its effect on the audience is the same. It is, as the fan near the back row shouted, epic. Four stars.
