A funny lie

Rating: 9/10 (13 May 2010)

In the first hour or so Kick-Ass was very funny for me. I realized that it is based on a Comic Book I read one year ago until Issue 4. And until issue 4 I liked the Comic Book, so I liked the movie until then and a little further.
The Idea to present a complete loser as a super hero, and how he would survive in the real world is very interesting, and it is also funny. Funny as a comedy about USA, about hypes and those virtual places of self-expression, about youth, violence, fighting, crime....
The jokes are not that intelligent, I admit it. But they are surprisingly ruthless, and sarcastic, so everyone can figure out that this is not a Hollywood production.
But it is obviously a major production, and it has to earn its major money. Like Mark Millars comic, which was, also obviously, made to make major money. The Comic is, maybe, a little deeper than the movie. Until the end of issue 4, where Hit-Girl appears with her katana, it is an interesting comic about a loser in a costume, who tries to escape his fate as a loser and also, tries to do something better, which is really honorable. After that, it's about earning money for the publishers and the Author. The Hit Girl Character is created for that reason (only). Same with the movie. And with this superhuman figure appearance every realism disappears and with realism also humor.
The movie evolves then from a lighthearted sarcastic comedy to a simple Hollywood brainless action flick, still funny for many (male) teens or adults (including myself !) because of the exaggerated action and situations. But it looses its dark humor, and that's a real tragedy.
A real shame is the loss of big Daddies confession in the Comic Book, he is only a loser who wanted to give his daughter and himself a more meaningful life, so he stole her from her mother and searched for a Villain he can battle against. No former Police Officer who was tricked by the big bad guy, no death of Hit Girl's mother. So the movie continues to lose any of those small amounts of intelligence and directly leads into mainstream action where it didn't necessarily have to - remember that it's self declared as innovative and fresh.
Because finishing the villain with the premise of having no real cause - personal revenge, which is not agreeable but understandable - but only for being someone or having a special life, or simply for a lie, that would you make think about how much it is worth to begin a war against someone you haven't anything to do with; that's what Miller wanted to express with his little twist in his story. In that context the pride of Big Daddy about Hit Girl gets a new meaning, also.
As long as Kick-Ass is a nerd, a loser, an idiot, he is a real superhero. We can identify ourselves with him when we imagine how we would act wearing his costume, except we are someone like Bas Rutten. But Big Daddy is a lunatic who abuses his daughter as a child-soldier for his perverted ideas, and when this is carried out in the Book, those funny killings and shootouts get some bitter after-taste. This is a major aspect, peculated in the movie for commercial reasons. Nevertheless, in real life people do not suffer because of their mass murderers if they don't get caught by law.
However, a remarkable scene is when Hit-Girl rescues Kick-Ass in the warehouse. She uses night vision, and where the Comic Book gives this scene only a few pictures of killing two or three bad guys, the movie creates an impressive ego-shooter-like battle lasting several minutes. I'm not sure what the creators wanted to say with this, but it was funny and disturbing the same time. I think it's the first time that a gaming sight was brought into life in a movie, except in "Gamer", where the realization of the combats cannot measure up to this. I recommend gaming fans to watch the movie only for this scene.
Overall, the acting is a bit wooden, and Kick Ass himself is not believable as loser, because he is simply too good looking. N.C. as Big Daddy is not on top of N.C. intensity, maybe because he's behind a mustache or a mask. The most convincing acting is - now I may disagree with all of you - by Mark Strong as Frank. Surely Chloe Moretz is fascinating, but I know that this is also a big matter of cut, camera and timing, so if she steals the show, its what the director intended.
At last I must disagree that this movie is in any way comparable with Spy Kids. This would be like comparing Fritz the Cat to Aristocats. And any comparison with Kill Bill is a real insult for Kill Bill. If you want to compare Prison Break with Down By Law, just do so...
Edit: After watching Kick-Ass again I rated it from 6 to 8 because of perfect choreography and - despite the changes mentioned above - making an unforgettable experience from a more or less unimpressive source.