In Kick-Ass, Dave Lizewski (played by Aaron Johnson) is a dorky high school kid who has a small group of friends that treat him like crap and can't get a girl to speak to him, let alone date him, to save his life. After getting mugged one night and having his nervous system changed so he feels basically no pain (OK - it's a stretch, but go with it), he buys a costume online and becomes a super hero, Kick-Ass, who stands up to criminals.
The main villain in his town is mob boss, Frank D'Amico (Mark Strong) whose son Chris (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) is in Dave's class and seems to be more of a geek than Dave. Frank's criminal operation is being threatened by a mysterious masked super-hero who apparently looks like Batman- or so say the guys who are beat up by him.
It turns out they're not far off. Damon Macready (Nick Cage) is a former cop who now works with his daughter, Mindy (Chloe Moretz), as a crime-fighting superhero duo, Big Daddy and Hit-Girl. Big Daddy looks and talks just like Batman (at least the Christian Bale iteration of him). The pair realize that Kick-Ass is a good ally in their fight against crime in the city - and against D'Amico more specifically. Together, with no super powers, but a lot of guts and money, they take on the bad guys.
For me the most fun of the film is the freshness and tongue-in-cheek tone of the story. It's sarcastic throughout and knows well what its doing. Dave is a big fan of comic books and is a dork - so when he becomes Kick-Ass and gets his ass kicked (there are a bunch of lines in the script that make this joke), it's particularly funny because it feels realistic even as over-the-top as it is.
There is no doubt that the story takes place in our world - or a very close world to ours. Kick-Ass makes a name for himself through a viral video circulated online of him getting beat up. Big Daddy and Hit-Girl buy a hover-pack loaded with guns online with a credit card and joke about how they're going to pay for it. When Chris D'Amico becomes a super hero himself (to foil Kick-Ass) his action figures and t-shirts take over prime real-estate in the comic book shop, pushing the Kick-Ass gear to the sale table. (One thing that is disappointing is that the film is clearly shot in Toronto, though it is supposed to be New York City. Either more effort should have gone into masking the location or no city name should have been given.)
The film is somewhat reminiscent of Mystery Men, another story of losers who become ad hoc super heroes. But it's better than that. That tried to walk the line between kids movie and grown-up comedy. This is totally an adult movie and is really only tied to kids movies because the general genre is 'comic book movie'. This is not a movie for kids.
The story is fun, but it is a bit too complicated and too long. There are about three layers to the story, which is perfect for launching a franchise with tons of sequels, but a bit too much for a small movie like this to support. Big Daddy's back-story was explained but never really examined and seems a bit of an unnecessary appendage in this context. It might come out more clearly after a sequel comes out, but was not totally needed here.
Despite the screenplay, director Matthew Vaughn does a nice job with the material he has. He pulls no punches with blood and action, getting Dave stabbed and beat up badly without flinching. Young Mindy says words that you would never want and 11-year-old to say - and she does so without any apologies. He also uses a rock 'n' roll soundtrack brilliantly to heighten tension, wink at the knowing audience and joke about the content. There might not be a better use of Ennio Morricone or Elvis than in the final sequence of this film.
The acting throughout is very good. Aaron Johnson is very good as a dork who we can all sympathize with. He's a good guy who doesn't know exactly why he is seen as a dork. Chloe Moretz is great in a role that seems older than she would otherwise be playing. She steals the show with her great delivery of vulgar dialogue. Christopher Mintz-Plasse is basically the same guy as he was in Superbad, Fogell/McLovin, the dork who is cooler than you are. Nick Cage is as wooden as always here - but it sorta works for this role. (Again, I'm not sure if he's a really bad actor or a brilliant one.)
Kick-Ass is a raw, grown-up comedy and not a kids comic book movie. It's a fun ride filled with tons of funny, dirty language and some blood and violence (though it's not nearly as violent as some have suggested). It needs about a half-hour cut out of it, but I thought it was a lot of fun.
Stars: 2.5 of 4
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