...which would be fine if bad guys were make-believe too.

Rating: 8/10 (18 September 2016)

I must say that I was a little disappointed by this movie, but that's kind of okay because Dave is fueled throughout by his disappointment. It's rare to see a character motivated by disappointment in other people "wishing they could help", but it is perhaps the strongest aspect of the story. We only see a couple glimpses of Dave's pre-Kick Ass life, and it's nothing short of dull from his breakfast cereal to his purple bedroom. And while it's kind of funny to see his lame life play out with cynical undertones, it's not what we paid to see. Plus, we lose none of the humor after Dave starts pursuing life as a superhero.
In some ways he's both more and less inspiring than regular superheroes. One thing I love about super movies is those moments when they make their first rescue or overcome some problem that they have concerning their powers like when Bruce Wayne overcomes his fear of bats or when Magneto learns to employ his power through ways other than just anger. And Dave never quite has a moment like that. But what makes him more inspiring is his self-motivation and blind courage. If I had gadgets at my disposal or could climb walls or had inhuman reflexes, fighting crime would become something of a pastime. But as a regular human, there is no way I would go out looking to get on the bad side of criminals. The fact that Dave just goes out there and does that with no thought of the consequences is really cool, even though they don't make a big deal out of it.
I found that the back half was a little less enjoyable because they had to introduce dramatic elements to it. Normally this is fine, and it wasn't that big of a problem here either. But I started losing interest a little once Red Mist turned up. But that part of the story provided some new points to like. Dave goes through the necessary conflict of wanting to remain Kick-Ass but also stay alive for Katie's sake. While this is a pretty standard plot device, it is nonetheless a realistic one. Getting tangled up with Big Daddy, Hit Girl, and Red Mist also introduces regret of his decision into Dave's life. And we start to see the broader impact that the existence Kick Ass has with Frank D'Amico killing the one impersonator and the couple of scenes with Dave's friends.
The action style was undeniably different, but not that much better than your typical action flick. It was impressive considering that the budget was pretty small for an action movie, and I also watched it after having seen the much more impressive action in Kingsmen. Of course, Dave doesn't get to do any cool action stunts, but Big Daddy and Hit Girl definitely compensate in that regard. There was more gun-fighting than I would have liked. Explosions and such are fine for adrenaline, but I tend more towards the personal conflicts that you get from hand to hand duels. There is a little of that in the climax with Hit Girl and Frank D'Amico, and it wouldn't really make sense for Dave to have that kind of confrontation since he has no personal stake in his life as Kick Ass. His personal battle is won just by the fact that he takes part in the fight.
I had hoped that there would be a little more comedy in the action, but there was plenty of it in other places. Dave's two friends were a lot of fun to watch, and several characters had some great one-liners. It also takes advantage of some of the tropes found in superhero movies like having Dave's first superhero task involve almost literally rescuing a kitten from a tree. My two other favorite moments are when he gets hit by the car and the locker cliché with Katie that totally calls out the 2002 Spiderman movie.
This is definitely a refreshing take on the superhero genre, and it basically lives up to it's conceptual originality. The acting is good and nothing more. The script is above average and gets a little inventive. It's geared toward a relatively young audience, so it might come off as immature. Perhaps this is valid, but it's still a well done work of art. I haven't seen the sequel, but I feel like this is one of those movies that deserves to stand alone so as to retain its originality. A sequel would have ruined the effect of a movie like Forrest Gump or Ferris Bueller, and I think the same applies here. It may not be a very intelligent movie, but it does succeed in being entertaining and even a little more. Overall Rating: 8.3/10.