Well executed and entertaining.

Rating: 8/10 (10 January 2011)

I have to say that Kick-Ass pretty much kicked ass. The previews for the movie are very misleading, it's not a spoof movie at all but rather it is a movie about would-be superheroes in the real world, sort of. Dave is a nerdy high school student that is perpetually being mugged outside the comic shop he frequents. Lamenting the fact that people often witness crimes and do nothing he decides to do what nobody has done before, become a superhero. Kick-Ass has no powers, no training, no gimmicks or gadgets, just a great deal of idealism and naivety, and that's all he needs.
At first he is wildly unsuccessful, landing himself in the intensive care unit after attempting to stop a car theft. Eventually he manages to do some good and the video taken by onlookers becomes an internet sensation. This inspires Damon (Nicholas Cage) and his eleven year old daughter, Mindy, whom Damon has been training since she was five to be a combat expert, to join the fight against evil. Damon becomes Big Daddy, a cross between Batman and The Punisher, and Mindy becomes Hit Girl. The action sequences with Hit Girl are straight out of The Matrix. It is very surreal to watch an eleven year old dispatch bad guys with guns, knives, swords, and skilled martial arts, but it is very entertaining.
The operations of the new superheroes put them into direct conflict with the local drug kingpin, Frank D'Amico. A series of traps, shootouts, deceptions, and brawls leads to the final climax of heroes vs. villains inside the skyscraper headquarters of the drug kingpin. Is the movie a satire? Perhaps, but I sense more that it is a reflection of the writer's wish that there really were superheroes. If you are offended by the idea of a little girl kicking ass and taking names I suggest you not see this film. However, if you like to be entertained I do recommend Kick-Ass.