‘Kick-Ass’
Marv Films
4.5 out of 5 stars.
There are few movies I have attended that have received a round of applause at the end, not to mention several throughout. In the case of “Kick-Ass,” however, the praise was well-deserved; the first superhero movie of 2010 managed to amaze, setting a high bar for other films in the genre to follow.
Directed by Matthew Vaughn (“Layer Cake,” “Stardust”), “Kick-Ass” follows the story of Dave Lizewski as he attempts to turn his love of comic books into a reality by becoming a masked crime fighter. Along the way, Dave, under the ‘guise of Kick-Ass, meets other superheroes, as well as criminal figures seeking to stop the coming wave of costumed vigilantes.
Dave is played by Aaron Johnson, a British actor best known in America for his role as Charlie Chaplin in “Shanghai Knights”. As the everyman character, Dave’s performance is the most important to the film’s narrative, and Johnson manages to carry the role superbly. From the film’s opening scenes establishing the normal life Dave has led, Johnson sells the character’s wide-eyed optimism well. Conversely, when the film reaches its darkest moments, Johnson portrays the right amount of fear and trepidation.
Of course, even in the grimmest of situations, one of the film’s strongest attributes, its comedy, breaks through, bringing just the right amount of levity. The film’s comedic timing is superb, skewering both superhero tropes and average teenage life. While 2008’s “Iron Man” provided several laughs, “Kick-Ass” is hysterical from the opening scene to the credits.
Along with the humor is the film’s other main feature: the over-the-top, stylized violence. The film is rated R, and it takes every opportunity it is granted to push the boundaries, reaching new levels of slapstick violence in some of its kills. Limbs are removed, bodies are compacted, and the headshot count reaches double-digits quickly. At one point, a gang informant is even put into an industrial-sized microwave, leading to a darkly funny interrogation.
This mixing of comedy and violence, of course, is a tough balance to strike, but “Kick-Ass” manages it wonderfully, and is at its best when doing so. It’s hard to argue that the youth of America hasn’t been desensitized to violence, when such bloody fare can be found hilarious, but it just allows for the film to revel in the combination.
The style of the film would mean nothing, though, without strong, believable characters, and “Kick-Ass” has one of the best casts in so far this year.
On the more pedestrian side, the young actors playing Dave’s friends successfully keep Dave anchored in reality. Clark Duke, fresh off his role in “Hot Tub Time Machine”, is particularly enjoyable to watch, cracking several jokes at Dave’s expense, all of which had the audience laughing. Lyndsy Fonseca (“How I Met Your Mother”), meanwhile, played well as Dave’s love interest, Katie Deauxma.
At the end of the day, though, what will carry “Kick-Ass” is its assortment of superheroes, and each is a joy to watch on the screen. Christopher Mintz-Plasse (“Role Models”, “How to Train Your Dragon”) moves further out of the McLovin’ shell cast around him by “Superbad”. As Red Mist, Mintz-Plasse manages to capture the frustration of a young boy teetering on the edge between good and evil.
Nicolas Cage’s (“National Treasure: Book of Secrets”) Big Daddy, meanwhile, is able to fuse the seriousness of killing dozens of mobsters with the inherent humor of dressing up as a superhero. Whenever Big Daddy interacts with Kick-Ass, for example, he talks in a kooky voice, a la Adam West in “Batman,” which is made funnier by the multiple comparisons to the caped crusader he receives. I haven’t been too fond of some of Cage’s recent work, but he has fun with this role.
Beyond even Kick-Ass himself, though, Chloë Moretz (“Diary of a Wimpy Kid”) as Hit-Girl was the film’s undeniable star. The controversy behind the character’s vulgarity, violent behavior, and overall desensitized state has cast a shadow over the film for some, but in truth, Moretz’s brilliant performance outshines the criticism. Her comedic timing is stellar, as is her handling of the movie’s major action scenes, the majority of which rest on her young shoulders. The question of whether or not it is okay to subject such a young actress to foul language and violence is debatable; what’s important is that Moretz shows enough talent here to follow Dakota Fanning and Abigail Breslin on the path to a fruitful career.
While the actors, style, and plot all provide the important factors for a great experience with “Kick-Ass”, it remains as much an adaptation as any other comic book movie. It is here that the film makes its only missteps, but nothing that detracts from the overall enjoyment for fans of the comic too much.
The key thing to note with “Kick-Ass” is that it’s not a page-for-page adaptation in the vein of “Watchmen”. Vaughn rearranges scenes, removes some secondary characters, and completely redesigns the action pieces in the film’s climax. In truth, though, every change made in this regard makes perfect sense, as the changes are necessary to turn what worked in the comic into something that works on the screen.
The biggest arguing points fans of the source material may have will likely stem from either the changing of Big Daddy’s origin, or the outcome of Dave’s interactions with Katie. In all fairness, though, even these changes, major though they may be, are done only to make the story appeal to a wider audience than just comic book fans. Besides, despite the changes, “Kick-Ass” remains true to everything the graphic novel set out to be.
“Kick-Ass” has started off the yearly round of movies based on comics with a very loud bang, and leaves a lot for contenders like “The Losers” and “Iron Man 2” to follow. Thanks to a balance of comedy and action supported by a talented cast and crew, “Kick-Ass” is easily one of the year’s first must-see films for both comic fans and action movie buffs alike.
