KICK-ASS [MOVIE REVIEW]

Dave (Aaron Johnson) fantasizes about one day being a super hero. So one day he orders a wetsuit on the internet then heads out the street to find crime to fight as Kick Ass. Along the way he meets some more serious characters like Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage) and Hit-Girl (Chloe Moretz). Eventually things start to get real and he must step up to the plate to help his friends take down the local mob boss Frank D’Amico (Mark Strong).

How do I put into words how awesome this movie is? Imagine the perfect blend of comic book ridiculousness and pure action and what you will get is Kick-Ass. I’ve recently enjoyed a slight foray into the world of comic books and have found true love now that I’m reading more than just Batman and Spiderman, but Kick-Ass is really all you ever need to convince any regular person that comic books can really be great. Via the transitive property the movie Kick-Ass will be the movie that will prove once and for all that comic book movies don’t have to be the ridiculous costumed super heroes, it can also be about ridiculous guys in costume that have absolutely no powers.

What struck me the most while watching this film was the violence. This movie is rated R in USA and A-18 in Jamaica (and for very good reason). The level of violence portrayed in this movie is epic proportions, but at the same time you never feel like it’s excessive given its context. You even take the role of Hit-Girl as no more than you would a role that Jet Li played numerous times in his early Hong Kong cinema. She runs around very acrobatically killing bad guys with her guns, knives and many other weapons and it really never feels like it’s unwarranted or violence just for the sake of violence. I found myself happily surprised at how much I enjoyed Nicolas Cage in this movie as Big Daddy. My favourite scene in the film had to do with Nicolas Cage’s character. I won’t reveal it thought because it would be a major spoiler, but let’s just say that it is epic and had something to do with kryptonite.

The other characters in the movie were pretty serviceable in relation to getting the story across. Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Red Mist did bother me every once in a while but I left feeling that it was intentional for me not to like him at all. Aaron Johnson as Kick Ass was definitely a great choice since he was able to portray a sense of uneasiness and cheesiness that was the character of Kick Ass. However, the best character that didn’t have a tag line has to be Frank D’Amico. Mark Strong knows how to be badass, ever since I saw him in Body of Lies this has been apparent. Him as this mob boss being picked on by vigilantes is hilarious.

Overall it’s a great action movie and you don’t need to know anything walking in other than you will have fun and you will see a lot of people get killed. Action junkies leave your needles at home and just go watch Kick Ass.