"Kick-Ass" - No superpowers? No problem. But he can still kick your a**...

Rating: 10/10 (19 May 2010)

"Kick-Ass" is probably the most illogical logical comic book superhero movie ever made, and I say that in a good way. "Kick-Ass" takes the idea of the costumed superhero to its illogical, logical extremes by presenting us an everyday teenager named Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson), who takes his love of comic books a little too far and decides to become a real-life superhero, donning a costume out of a diving suit he bought off the Internet (eBay) and becoming embroiled in a deadly mob war as a result of his costumed theatrics.
And thus begins "Kick-Ass," Matthew Vaughn's over-the-top, if not totally stream-lined (and dare I say, slightly "sanitized"), adaptation of the comic book series created by Mark Millar and John Romita, Jr. for Marvel Comics, under the company's Icon imprint. I've read the first volume of "Kick-Ass" comics in preparation for this movie and while I think the comics were way better (largely because of how vulgar, over-the-top, satirical, and violent the comics were), the movie is not half-bad. In fact, it's very good, despite the many red-flags it's raising.
I laughed. My friend who was sitting beside me laughed, too. I laughed as blood and bodies hit the floor. I laughed as bad guys died horrible but fitting deaths. I laughed as a foul-mouthed 11-year-old girl slaughtered bad guys left & right. (Yes, you read that right, a foul-mouthed 11-year-old girl slaughters bad guys left & right.) I laughed at all the inappropriate times (there never is a real "appropriate" time to laugh at all during this picture.) I laughed at the utter insanity and absurdity of it all. (I laughed more-so at the comics, but that's a different matter altogether.)
Lizewski, like most superheroes in their ordinary civilian lives (such as Peter Parker/Spider-Man), is not popular with the girls, is the target of bullies and street muggers alike, and is a nerd who reads too many comic books. Despite not having any superpowers (he wasn't bitten by a radioactive spider and he's not a refugee from a dying alien planet), it's nonetheless a wonder that he soon dons the Kick-Ass suit and makes a name for himself by taking down a trio of gang members. A bystander records the action on his cell phone and uploads it to the Internet, where it goes viral and Kick-Ass becomes an instant media sensation with a legion of devoted followers and copycats, such as Chris D'Amico (Christopher Mintz-Plasse, of "Superbad"), who soon takes to the streets as Red Mist. And that foul-mouthed 11-year-old girl I was telling you about? Her name is Cindy Macready a.k.a. Hit-Girl (Chloe Grace Moretz), who is waging a deadly father-daughter war on organized crime with her father Damon/Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage), a conflict that Kick-Ass is inevitably drawn into against his better judgment.
"Kick-Ass" is a deliriously entertaining, if overly violent and totally un-PC superhero flick. The movie shows the "real world" of superheroes and the logical consequences of their actions, which can include serious bodily injury and death, as Our Hero Kick-Ass quickly finds out. (And I thought My Hero Peter Parker/Spider-Man had it rough.) While I disliked some of the changes (both minor and major) made for the movie from the comics, I can say that "Kick-Ass" makes those changes work, including the hilarious nature of Dave's unusual relationship with a pretty classmate named Katie Deauxma (Lyndsy Fonseca).
I honestly can't wait for the sequel. "Kick-Ass" kicks a**!
10/10