Smoovie Spinback: Kick-Ass Review

KICK ASS: Released 26 March 2010

Don’t knock it til’ you’ve tried it because Kick-Ass sure as hell wont disappoint. It isn’t some superhero spoof film plastered with embarrassingly poor jokes and slapstick action (although a little never hurts), but a visually impressive, revitalising take on the high school film genre, crossing Superbad and Kill Bill with a tint of Sin City and a nod towards the plethora of superhero movies of recent times. Spearheaded by daring director Matthew Vaughn (Stardust, Layer Cake), Kick-Ass is a well thought out, darkly funny and explosively exciting, action comedy.

If you were a superhero, what super power would you have? Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson), comic book buff (or nerd), would answer “none”. Apparently you don’t need to get a spider bite to become a superhero nowadays, all you need is the internet to order a green ninja costume and a never say die heart, and voila, we have Kick-Ass. After gaining internet fame with his vigilante antics, Kick-Ass attracts the attention of mobster boss, Frank D’Amico (Mark Strong) who wants him killed. His son, Chris D’Amico (Superbad’s McLovin’, Christopher Mintz-Plasse) becomes villain Red Mist in an attempt to bring down the man in green. Lucky for the powerless Kick-Ass, superhero tag team Hit Girl (Chloe Moretz) and her father Big Daddy (Nicholas Cage) combine some swish moves that would make The Avengers green with envy.

Big Daddy is the kind of dad that would shoot you at point blank range to toughen you up and then take you for an ice cream to show his appreciation of your achievement, and I kid you not, he actually does that. The relationship marked by such tenderness is one of the great successes of Kick-Ass. As individuals also, these two hold their own. Cage brings the dead-pan comedy, whilst 13 year old Moretz steals the show, f’ing and blinding her way through the film, showing great versatility, dropping the C word one moment, then displaying great depth in emotion as well as comedic flare. In fact, the whole cast joined well, and glasses must certainly be raised to the writing combo of Vaughn, Jane Goldman and comic book creators Mark Millar and John Romita Jr.

Not only are the characters vibrant, but director Vaughn makes Kick-Ass a pleasure on the eye. It’s the way this film pays homage to the comic book and video game that tickles the fancy. Blood spurting out of bodies, action speeding up and slowing down, night vision and a slick battle sequence lit by pulsating strobe lights kept the film pumped with energy. Vaughn expertly delivers this Tarantino-esque violence, all the while reminding us of the high school context of the plot. Kick-Ass has a crush on out of his league girl Katie Deauxma (Lyndsy Fonseca) who thinks he is gay and the love story plays out along these lines. Vaughn is clearly the perfect bartender, shaking up a cocktail that will make you shout Woo Woo.

Kick-Ass is not farcical or crude, but refreshing and daring. It moves from one mood to the other, flying through the realm of emotions, but steered on the right course by Vaughn. Certainly not the film I was anticipating Kick-Ass to be, but the unpredictability of it, surpassed my expectation, making it a pleasurable surprise indeed.

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