Kick- Ass Movie Review

Kick-Ass

Released on DVD and BluRay August 3rd, 2010

(Spoiler Free Review)

WARNING: This movie is not for children or those easily offended by violence or profanity.

I never read the graphic novel that this is based upon, but the movie itself was awesome.  I have seen most of the movies to come out of the Great Superhero Boom of the last ten years, starting with Spider-Man and X-Men, all the way through My Super Ex-Girlfriend and Superhero Movie. 

I can honestly tell you that I have never enjoyed a superhero movie as much as i enjoyed this one.  It is ultraviolent, perverse, controversial, grounded in reality, witty and intelligent. The main character Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) is naive, relatable, believable and just a little pathetic as he dons the green and yellow scuba suit and attempts to fight crime as Kick-Ass.   He instantly gets in over his head, and the viewer legitimately feels bad for him.

Where the movie really shines, however, is with the introduction of Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage) and Hit Girl (Chloe Moretz).  As a general rule, I can not stand Nick Cage, and i dislike pretty much every movie he's ever been in.  Here though, he's a flawed, realistic parent trying to right a wrong, and stop the bad guy.  He plays a borderline unhinged father with his own idea of parental responsibility and an ongoing quest for vengeance. 

The most controversial figure in the movie is Hit Girl.  She's 11 years old.  She swears (a lot).  She gets shot at.  She slices off limbs.  and she steals each and every scene that she is in. Hit Girl is by far the most entertaining character in the movie, and Chloe Moretz plays her perfectly in every scene she is in.  This is an actress to be watched.  Hit Girl was so well received that fans have been asking for a Hit Girl movie, though a Kick-Ass 2 is probably more likely. 

I would sing the praises of this move all day, but the bottom line is, you should go see this movie.  It may not have gotten the box office reciepts of Iron Man or Spider-Man, but where those movies are sometimes formulaic and predictable, this movie is mature, exciting, different, and ...well it kicks ass.

5 stars out of 5 - Kick-Ass Kicked Ass