The Next Generation of Superhero Films

Rating: 10/10 (23 April 2010)

I loved this movie! It has a perfect combination of stylized violence and witty humor, something other films have tried and failed at. The acting was superb, as was the storyline.
"Kick-Ass" is the story of Dave Lizewski, your average high school comic book geek. He decides to become a costumed hero and fight crime because no one else has bothered to. He fails miserably and is severely injured, resulting in surgery in which his bones are mended with metal plates and nerve damage diminishes his ability to feel pain. However, Dave is unfazed and goes out on patrol as Kick-Ass almost immediately after recovering. He breaks up a fight in which one man is being beaten by several others, and a video taken by a bystander becomes a viral sensation.
Later in the film, Kick-Ass meets fellow superheroes Red Mist, Big Daddy, and Hit Girl. Red Mist, like Kick-Ass, is a teen, but he has a dark secret. Big Daddy and Hit Girl are a father-daughter superhero team, Big Daddy being a man of middle age and Hit Girl being his preteen daughter who is a formidable foe and an expert at killing. They unite to take down mobster Frank D'Amico.
My favorite character was Hit Girl. Chloe Moretz did a great job as this foulmouthed, vicious, preteen superhero for an actress of her age. Hit Girl easily stole the show and this movie wouldn't have been the same without her.
My only complaint about this film is that the Big Daddy character wasn't developed very much. Despite Nicolas Cage presenting an impressive performance as the vigilante dressed as Batman, I couldn't help but notice that not much happens with him throughout the film.
In your average superhero movie, the heroes are merciful defenders of the innocent public, and the villains seem like pure evil but they have good inside of their hearts and they change their ways. "Kick-Ass" portrays heroes and villains as they would be like in real life: brutal, ruthless, and determined. Frank D'Amico is ruthless. The "heroes" do not spare the villains' lives, they gun them down without a second thought.
"Kick-Ass" is the next generation of superhero movies. It portrays the dark side of human nature as well as just how far some people will go to stand up for what they believe in. The first thought that raced through my mind after seeing "Kick-Ass" was: "Sequel."