Kick-Ass (2010)

Kick-Ass is a film that shows many of the good and bad things of superhero movies, though the bad tend to show through more than the good.

Kick-Ass is about average teenager and comic-book enthusiast Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) who, after the death of his mother and a general feeling of impotence, decides to dress up in a superhero costume and fight bad guys. Along the way he becomes an internet sensation and meets "the real deal" father-daughter team of Big Daddy, pictured above (Nicholas Cage) and Hit Girl (Chloe Moretz).

While Kick-Ass is getting his ass kicked these two are killing mob bosses and drug dealers with stunning ease, on the path of revenge against local mob boss Frank D'Amico (Mark Strong). The plot eventually becomes more and more driven by this revenge story than the story of Kick-Ass.

The acting in this movie is variable, with a fantastic performance from Nicholas Cage, who uses the Adam West Batman voice despite having a character closer to Christian Bale's Batman. Cage shows that though he is often seen as a hack he still is actually a very good actor when the role demands it. On the other end of the spectrum we have a rather indifferent performance from Aaron Johnson, who just seems to exist, much like his character says in the movie.

The story, though adapted from a graphic novel, seems to have a suspicious amount in common with the first Spider-man film. The main character has a love interest rather similar to Mary Jane Watson, though this one has an interest in comic books. The movie also has the son of the gang boss Chris D'Amico (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), who is very similar to Harry Osborn in the Spider-man comics and films, interested in his fathers business, and eventually becoming the adversary to the respective protagonist.

The way that he and his friends behave also seems to invite comparisons to Superbad, with a similar attitude and a few actors from Superbad (including Mintz-Plasse, though not a friend of Kick-Ass). Their geeky obsessions and interplay are quite good, though derivative of Superbad.

The movie also has a narration which shoehorns in cultural references quite a lot, though almost all feel inorganic and designed to relate with the youth audience instead of advance the story.

The visual style of the film is definitely the major high point, with a style that seems in many respects similar to John Woo movies (Face-off, Hard Boiled), as well as the Sam Raimi films (Evil Dead Trilogy, Darkman, the Spider-man trilogy). It does help set the tone very effectively, though it does make the plot invite some unflattering comparisons to the first Spider-man movie (as mentioned earlier).

The violence is beautifully shot, with copious amounts of blood splattering and great choreography, which is the John Woo aspect of the visual style of this movie. The final scene with Hit-girl, and an earlier scene with Big Daddy are without a doubt the most exciting points of the movie. One thing which I really enjoyed was that many of the scenes lingered on shots during the fighting, which is something many movies these days forget to do.

The ending sets up a possible sequel, though not necessarily one starring Kick-Ass, and resolves the plot-points well. In the end though the film is one with a lofty concept that can't quite deliver.

Overall a 3 out of 5. A good film, but not anywhere near as good as people seem to think it is.