Funny and clever take on the superhero genre

Rating: 8/10 (19 September 2013)

This film was released right in the middle between the second and last film of Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy. And it was much more than just a filler. It's violent, vulgar and completely hilarious and I like it a lot when they manage to add comedic charm to superhero films, especially as they're usually really long and the occasional laugh brings nice relaxation and makes it easier to focus on the heavier scenes. I believe Matthew Vaughn succeeded with pretty much everything he wanted to achieve. The teenage coming-of-age background makes it easily accessible for students while the superhero-story is another great take on the fantasy genre (although, in fact, it really isn't fantasy). There's a love story involved, some pretty emotional scenes related to it, to which we all can relate and some genuinely sad moments in the second half too.
Another thing I really liked are the costumes. That tight green lizard-like dress the main character is wearing is the perfect example of what applies to his and all the other superhero outfits. They're pretty cool, but also equally colorful and definitely did not take themselves too seriously, which fits right in with the tone of the rest of the film. Same can be said about the costumes of Hit-Girl, Big Daddy and Red Mist. Nicholas Cage delivers possibly the most emotionally investing performance of a Batman-like avenger, who's been smacked in the face by life one time too many including his job struggles, his prison time and his wife's fate. His scenes with Moretz' character and the father-daughter bonding with the occasional laugh have more heart than an organ bank and are one of the main reasons why this turned out so well. I have not read the comic book, but the way she portrayed Hit-Girl and of course the costume as well makes her easily on of the biggest cult characters of the 21st century.
Mark Strong gives a good enough villain performance as a ruthless mobster boss and so does lead actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson. For the good guys obviously. The scenes where he unknowingly approaches disaster while he drives Red Mist to the warehouse and later on to Big Daddy are among the most tense moments the film has to offer and I also liked a lot the shot near the end when he flies off with Hit-Girl and has actually turned into a true superhero. The ending implied that audiences better get ready for a sequel and so it happened. Just a couple weeks ago, the second Kickass film was released. I haven't seen it yet, but this film definitely made me curious to watch it. It's a fun-ride from start to finish and is well-acted and -written down to the most interesting details like the teddy cam, the bazooka parts or the scene at Rasul's place.