A riotously hilarious blood-soaked film that lives up to its namesake from start to finish

Rating: 8/10 (16 April 2010)

Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) is bored at school, bored with life. He is not quite a loser, but he is by no means popular either. He enjoys reading comics, and decides one day it may be a good idea to become a superhero and fight crime himself. After a rather messy mishap, he is soon caught on camera helping someone getting beat up, and becomes an internet sensation. And then he starts to meet other people wearing masks.
Much like the comic/graphic novel it is based on, Kick-Ass is exactly that. It is a riotously enjoyable time from start to finish. I had originally thought Matthew Vaughn and Jane Goldman would run into more than their share of problems trying to adapt one of the most ridiculously violent comics in recent memory. But the independent funding and creation of the film seems to have worked in their favour, because the film has a go-for-broke style unlike most mainstream films.
While I imagined it would be worse, Kick-Ass is an incredibly brutal and often disgustingly violent picture. People are chopped up, crushed, beaten, or shot, and the film revels in how red the screen quickly becomes. It does nowhere near equal the same insane amount of blood shed in the comics, but it does more than a worthwhile job attempting to come close. Some of the unique and creative angles and designs for some of the deaths are simply awesome all on their own. I am not overly squeamish, but the film is not for the weak of heart. This is a very hard R-rated film, and one that surprised me by how much made it through the censors.
Unlike Robert Rodriguez and Zack Snyder before him, Vaughn has crafted a film that loosely follows the Kick-Ass series, but takes its own turns. I re-read the comics before seeing the film just as a refresher, and I found myself riveted at just the right intervals, whether they were originally in the books or the film's own deviation. A lot of the material and moments in the film feel just right, and help amplify the plot in some areas, and simplify it in others. I particularly enjoyed that they kept with the zany, Quentin Tarantino-style profanity-laden dialogue, and kept all the references to other comics. It would have been easy for Vaughn and Goldman just to re-create the comics, but making it their own without much sacrifice makes it feel and come off almost as great as the trailers do.
If there is anything I do hold against their changes, it is the fact that some of the mean-spiritedness of the original story is missing here. Some of the changes, specifically with the character of Katie Deauxma (Lyndsy Fonseca) and to a point, the origins of Hit Girl (Chloë Grace Moretz) and Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage), lack the power and the message found in the original works by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr. The book was a dark mess of humour, satire and gruesome violence. But it was deadly serious in many areas. The film on the other hand, when it is not falling into second act ill paced melodrama (not necessarily bad, but not well paced either), never once takes itself serious. It just wants to be fun, and it wants to entertain the audience. A good chunk of the film's ending feels like it belongs in a comic book more than the material in the books themselves. I can respect this, but the two integral pieces of the original story I mentioned, seem like they should have been recreated here. I am all for the majority of changes made, but that vast majority kept with the integrity and style of the original work. Taking stuff like those mentioned out, seems like a disservice to the audience.
Acting wise, everyone does a terrific job in their roles. Cage, almost unrecognizable, delivers a subtle and bizarre performance as Big Daddy. I figured he would ham it up for the majority of the film, and while he does, he manages to come off as a heartfelt and interesting character. This is not the typical off-the-rails performance Cage is usually known and loved for, but his strange twist on the fairly one-dimensional character is reason enough to see the film. Mark Strong is great as mob boss and primary villain Frank D'Amico, and rather surprisingly, Christopher Mintz-Plasse brings a life and energy to Chris D'Amico/Red Mist that I never knew he had. Yes, there are times when he is channeling McLovin, but he makes Chris the character he needs to be.
The relatively unknown Johnson is a marvel as both Dave and Kick-Ass. His juggling act of trying to make something of himself while fighting with teenage angst is something we can all identify with, and is what makes the character so endearing in the first place. To see him brought to life so well and so realistically is simply magnificent. We feel his pain at every turn, and we understand all too well what his problems are. He is the real approximation of what it would be like for any one of us to act like Batman, and Johnson never once stops being that character. But unfortunately, the film really belongs to Moretz. She alternates at random between cute and cuddly Mindy Macready and the violently vicious assassin Hit Girl like a seasoned professional. She steals the show every chance she gets, and for good reason. Her dialogue, her actions, everything about her is amazing, and a testament to how incredible this young actor is now, and will quickly become.
If you can stand the violence, Kick-Ass is an incredibly enjoyable time at the movies. What it lacks in seriousness, it more than makes up for in fun and humour. It is unlike any comic book movie you have seen, and likely, ever will see.
8.5/10.
(This review also appeared on http://www.geekspeakmagazine.com).