Like Nothing I Expected

Rating: 8/10 (3 August 2013)

I do remember hearing about KICK ASS on its release but for some inexplicable reason never got round to watching it until it was shown on Channel 4 tonight . I do recall it caused a bit of a stir along the lines of being a little bit violent but hey vigilante wannabes giving a few slaps to bad guys means we're not watching Walt Disney but did have the impression it was going to be a good natured movie that possibly the whole family could enjoy . I have totally embarrassed myself typing that last line and should have listened to the channel 4 announcer warn of violence , strong language and scenes some viewers might find offensive
What we have is John Woo meets Quintan Tarantino meets Hollywood obsession with comic book heroes and this isn't really a criticism but it does indicate that this is certainly not the family friendly fare I thought I might have been watching . It does have a good natured premise ripe for all types of dark humour where Dave Lizewski a gauche New York teenager suffering from existentialist angst decides he's had enough of being a nobody and decides to take on the criminal underworld as " Kick Ass " a real life superhero who is going to live up to his name
This is how the early parts of the film play out and is blackly comical as Kick Ass has a quixotic plan to clean up the streets . Try and think of TAXI DRIVER where Scorsese cast a happy clappy Christian youth as Travis Bickle and you're on the right tracks . The amusing tone of the film then changes as we're introduced to Hit Girl a pre-pubescent child who spends much of the film dispatching bad guys in a variety of graphic ways . Let's be honest here if she was in her early 20s and played by Megan Fox no one would have blinked an eyelid and if we were to be even more honest she'd be some sort of masturbatory fantasy figure but because the character is eleven years old that changes the whole game and watching Hit Girl jump around in the style of THE MATRIX literally slicing and dicing gangsters does make for uncomfortable viewing and some cynics might say she is included to stir up controversy
Matthew Vaughn proves himself as one of the most interesting directors and if you want to say that he's more style than substance then I won't disagree with you but will defend him on the grounds that if you're this talented when it comes to style who needs any substance . Like his earlier film LAYER CAKE there's a danger of the whole film collapsing in to one big bad mess but is directed with such directorial flourish this never happens . He does help his cause by including a great soundtrack and might be seen as a cheap trick but is very effective
KICK ASS is a very enjoyable film for those in the mood for some stylish designer violence but I should emphasise it is a violent film and the fact that much of the violence is tongue in cheek might ironically alienate audience members more than it might have done if everything had been played in a slightly more serious way , but there's an energy here rarely seen in other films featuring vigilantes and superheroes