Close but no cigar...

Rating: 6/10 (29 March 2010)

I went into Kick-Ass with high hopes. While I despise (and am quite tired of) Mark Millar's showboating, self-hype as well as outright lies, I'm quite a fan of his work.
His two volumes of "The Ultimates" comics are perhaps the single highlight at Marvel Comics (for my sensibilities at least) in the last decade. Indeed, they are rightfully being used as the inspiration for the current stock of the "Marvel Heroes" (Iron Man/Cap/Hulk/Thor) films.
While Wanted was horribly translated to film, Kick-Ass by all indications is a more faithful adaption. Probably helped by Millar producing the affair.
That said, Kick-Ass, as has been criticised on many occasions by various reviewers I've recently read, tries to have its cake and eat it. It tries to force you to accept that this story takes place in our real world, and then goes back on this idea and tries to give you something out of Kill Bill. Pure fantasy fiction. A bit like Millar in that respect, promising one thing only to give you something else. If used properly this could be quite surprising and fresh, but unfortunately it's ultimately ineffective here as it just confuses the tone and theme and left me unsatisfied with the film as a whole.
Is it entertaining? For sure! Does it have a decent soundtrack? You know it! Does it feel fresh? Hmmm, kinda. Is it ***hyper reality insane bubblegum superhero antics that changes things forever***? Not quite. There are some seconds where I had thought Millar had elevated comic book films to a new level...only to lose it a few seconds later.
Think of it as Spiderman crossed with Kill Bill. Only less awesome than that sounds.
I'm interested though, I'll look forward to Millar's next efforts/translations. Surely he can only improve? In the meantime, if you really want a film about what superheroes would be like in real life, try "Super".