Grade: A-
Superheroes are some of the most fundamental cornerstones of pop culture today; our standards for our storytelling, be it in a story, cartoon, or adventure movie, are based from the values brought by superheroes. They represent the most hardcore wish-fulfillment fantasies most of us have: that we were born with a purpose so much more unique than our friends, and we have the strengths to separate ourselves from our society. Kick-Ass presents us with a superhero that enters the crime-fighting business simply to set him apart and satisfy his own dream to become society’s only protection. He has no powers, no technology, no Batcave—his greatest asset is his childlike resolve to wear a mask and fight the good fight for his own pure-of-heart, white knight wonder fantasy. As such, Kick-Ass is one of the most unique and fun superhero flicks in the canon today.
Kick-Ass tells the story of Dave Lezewski, a standard teenage guy who just wants to make his own life worthwhile before succumbing to the office cubicle that surely awaits him. But Dave sees a solution; where his comic-book reading friends are content to indulge in superhero stories on the page, Dave must carry out his own in reality. He purchases a green and yellow wetsuit off of eBay, which he completes with a pair of green batons. His first encounters end with him chasing cats or taking harsh beatings from the delinquents he attempts to confront. But before long, one of Dave’s more daring encounters ends up on YouTube, and the whole fantasy becomes reality; his alter ego, Kick-Ass, is fully born. His subsequent adventures bring him into contact with other goofy teenage superheroes (Red Mist), serious vigilante crime fighters (Big Daddy and Hit-Girl), and silly crime lords (Frank D’Amico).
What makes Kick-Ass such an endearing film is that, for a while at least, it feels like a story made for the times, not an age-old classic hero who’s being adapted for the twelfth time. Dave himself is a contemporary teenager, one whose problems aren’t being beaten up at school for his comic book habit, but in finding his own identity and finding a place he can be happy in the world. He feels like a modern Spiderman—he has a heart that encourages him to set himself on the line for others, yet he doesn’t have to agonize over whether he is being the superhero anyone expects him to be. He’s pathetic, but he’s so genuine and self-aware about it that he’s entirely loveable. He gains recognition for his Kick-Ass adventures on YouTube; he sets up an account for Kick-Ass on MySpace; people have Kick-Ass themed costume parties in his honor. It feels personal to teenagers who have grown up with these technologies and activities for most of their lives.
The performances are also top-quality, featuring both relative newcomers and stars alike. Aaron Johnson perfectly brings out both the loser and the hero in Kick-Ass, making him easily likeable and sympathetic. Christopher Mintz-Plasse (formerly known by all as McLovin) stars as the equally inept and silly hero Red Mist (whose greatest superpower is his flashy sports car). Chloe Moretz, only thirteen years old, creates a Hit-Girl who is both vicious and sweet, and never lets her character’s rampant profanity grow obnoxious. Perhaps most surprising is Nicholas Cage, delivering his best performance in the last ten years at least; he crafts Big Daddy as a tragic cop-hero driven to the limits of his honor and sanity in the name of justice. And finally, you have Mark Strong, Hollywood’s hottest villain, as the evil Frank D’Amico mixing his usual sinister character qualities with an ineptitude for dealing with costumed kids that makes him an entertaining balance between menace and silliness.
What might come as a draw for some and a drawback for others is the film’s violence. The only other superhero/graphic novel movies with this level of bloodshed would be Watchmen and Sin City. Bones break, teeth are lost, and blood drenches the scenery when Kick-Ass’ tough compatriots Big Daddy and Hit-Girl enter the show. The film mainly balances the fun of the violence in much the same way that Quentin Tarrantino does; it’s aesthetic, strikingly colorful, and ridiculously plentiful. For the most part, it works, but be aware that it WILL get messy. Very messy.
Another one of the issues which will attract some and scare others is the inclusion of Hit-Girl. Where Kick-Ass and Red Mist are somewhat naïve but determined teenagers making their own confused decisions about their lives, Hit-Girl is only ten or eleven years old; she was brought into crime fighting by her deranged cop-turned-Punisher father Big Daddy. The most vulgar profanities and the most violent executions are all carried out by a tiny girl with a purple wig and butterfly knives. You might find this funny, or you might be disturbed. It will undoubtedly remain a controversial subject for Kick-Ass audiences; consider yourself warned if you can’t relate to that kind of entertainment.
Big Daddy and Hit Girl also create a sort of foil against Kick-Ass’ underdeveloped superhero exploits. The father-daughter team display a level of skill and invulnerability previously displayed by—you guessed it—actual superheroes. The film pretends these are just hardcore vigilantes who have no extraordinary capabilities, but it will only take one clip of Hit-Girl gunning down a room full of goons with two pistols while running and bouncing off walls like someone in the Matrix to convince you otherwise. Their presence does help to contrast the silliness of Kick-Ass’ heroics, but they take away from the feeling that this is a more grounded superhero flick. By the film’s climatic battle, Kick-Ass has become a more conventional action film.
But what’s so bad about that? The film never lowers itself to the level of mediocrity that an average action film or superhero film is set upon. It stays true to itself for the most part, and delivers on the fun, the comedy, the action, and the violence to create a wholly enjoyable movie. It may be more fine-tuned to the interests of teenage guys, but Kick-Ass is among the best superhero films in the last decade.