Fun superhero movie

Rating: 8/10 (10 May 2010)

People have been saying that "Kick-Ass" turns the superhero genre on its ear. While it's true that the set-up adds a certain level of verisimilitude to the film, the need to have a story turns it into just another superhero origin story, save for a few throw-away lines and gags to make it more real. That doesn't mean it isn't fun, however.
Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) is your normal teenager. He's a comic book lover, but that's about as far as he goes in terms of being out of the ordinary. He's so normal that he's just about invisible. One day he starts wondering why no one has donned a costume and become a superhero. If you really think about it, it really shouldn't take much. So Dave buys a wetsuit and becomes Kick-Ass. Before long, he becomes a phenomenon, inspiring a father/daughter team (Nicholas Cage and Chloe Moretz), and attracting the attention of a wealthy drug kingpin (Mark Strong).
The best thing that the movie has is its realism. "Kick-Ass" tries to be as realistic as possible in terms of what would happen if a normal kid tried vigilantism. It's not a pretty sight. Dave isn't invincible, and neither are any of the other superheroes; when someone gets hit, it hurts...a lot! However, I didn't think it went far enough. I mean, wouldn't the police be able to track him down with forensic science? That would lead to some interesting complications.
Nevertheless, it's still a lot of fun. All the actors perform in an understated way. I often criticize movies for doing this, but it works here. Aaron Johnson makes for a good pubescent superhero. His voice frequently cracks, and so on. But Johnson is a good performer. Nicholas Cage is a little off-the-wall (as Cage is wont to do), but the understated way of acting keeps him restrained enough from doing anything too outlandish. Mark Strong makes for a surprisingly good villain. And Christopher Mintz-Plasse does what you'd expect him to: he's like Foegel in "Superbad" (his star-making role), only a lot less geeky and oblivious.
There has been a lot of controversy surrounding this film, and a lot of that has to do with Chloe Moretz, who plays Mindy, aka "Hit Girl" (quite well, by the way). People were shocked at the profanity she utters. Nothing was said about the people she kills (a number so high that it would make Ah-nuld blush). Conservatives are always complaining about how we've lost our moral values. They should check this movie out, and then see which is more disturbing.
This movie is a lot of fun (adults only...the film actually gets the rating it deserves, for once). Nothing is taken too seriously, yet it's never too cheeky, either. However, character development is a little too low for the film to work completely. Dave is in over his head from day one, and he knows it. But he needs more development for us to really feel it. And while the film doesn't completely break the mold of the superhero genre, that doesn't mean it's not a good movie anyway.