Kick-Ass

Kick-Ass 2010
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Writers: Jane Goldman and Matthew Vaughn
Starring Aaron Johnson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Mark Strong, Chloe Moretz, Nicolas Cage, Xander Berkeley, Lyndsey Fonseca and Evan Peters
The super hero genre of action films has been burgeoning ever since Blade came on the scene, and so it was only a mater of time before it was satirized. Kick-Ass is not the first satire, but it is by far the best. It really plays with the possibility of someone being crazy enough to want to be a superhero in real life. The film has a smart and funny script to work with and brilliant actors all around the project. It shows that there is still life in this genre, you just have to search around for it. The action in the film is fast, furious and brutal, just as it would be in real life. Every action has repercussions, just as the way it would if this happened in real life. The situations the characters get in really make you feel for them and you wonder how they will survive it. Matthew Vaughn is a great director and he has a fine flair for the dramatic with this film. He really brings the comic book that this is based on to life, in bloody detail.
The plot basics are this, Dave Lizweski (Johnson) is a invisible high school student who is obsessed with comic books and he gets it in his head to put on a costume and become a super hero, and calls himself Kick-Ass. At first he fails miserably and ends up in the hospital, but he gets better and meets other wanna be heroes like The Red Mist (Mintz-Plasse), Big Daddy (Cage) and Hit Girl (Moretz) and soon they are under fire by a vindictive mob boss (Strong) who wants them all dead. It will be up to Kick-Ass to save the day but only if he is actually up to it.
This is a visceral thrill ride. Vaughn’s direction is tight, he shoots the action sequences flawlessly. For example, the scene that introduces Hit Girl is bloody and brutal but also a hell of a lot of fun to watch. He also films the character moments very well like the training scenes with Big Daddy and Hit Girl or Dave’s scenes with Katie. The script is witty and smart. Though, the script changes some things from the graphic novel, these changes work and are not a detriment to the film. It has a lot of knowing comic book references for the die hard fans, while still being accessible to the casual viewer. The character of Dave Lizewski is written very well and you are with him every step of the way. The cast is phenomenal. Johnson is a great heroic lead that reminds me a lot of Tobey MacGuire in the Spider-Man movies. The film really belongs too Moretz and Cage though. Moretz in particular steals every scene she is in. Cage you can tell really relished his role in this film and really hams it up. Strong also plays a great heavy and is a treat to watch as he becomes more erratic and insane with each passing scene. Mintz-Plasse brings a great comedic element to the film and is also fun as hell to watch. The SFX and action sequences are amazing. I especially liked the climactic battle which really pulled out all the stops. The score for the film is fitting too, as it feels right at home in a super hero film and has the right use of epic scope for the film. This is a fun and bloody film that any self respecting comic book fan needs to see.
This one gets 5 out of 5