One of the best from 2010

Rating: 9/10 (1 January 2011)

I held off placing a review of this film out here, mainly because I was lazy. But also because I wanted this film to fully sink into my consciousness. This is one of the few films that I can honestly say saw major rotation in my Blu-ray player. It is one of the gems from 2010.
Many comics are getting the film treatment nowadays. Few however see the transition done this well. Vaughn has taken the comic created by Mark Millar and turned it into a live-action treat.
Young Dave Lizewski, as played by the fantastic Aaron Johnson, just wants to make a difference. He has no super powers, no training to speak of, he just has a costume and a desire to do good. Johnson juggles the character of Lizewski/Kick-ass beautifully. From his dead-on American accent (those that don't know, he is English) to the wholehearted earnest desire to do right, Aaron Johnson has announced himself to the movie audience in a grand way. The film follows Lizewski as he sets about battling wrong in his town, while dealing with the same issues other teens are going through. It is this balance that makes the film fun to watch as you see him stumble through both his desire to right wrong, as well as capture the heart of a girl at school whom he has fallen for. The film follows Lizewski through all the par-ells that being a teen encompasses, with the added wrinkle of trying to be a "hero".
As good as Vaughn's direction is and Johnson's take on Kick-ass, this film is taken to new heights by the team of Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage) and Hitgirl (Chloe Moretz). Cage and Moretz father/daughter relationship is what makes this film work. Cage goes from playing an eerily mousy father to channeling Adam West when he dons the cape and cowl of Big Daddy. Chloe Moretz, what more can I say that hasn't already been said. She, like Johnson, announces herself to the movie audience with one of the best introductory characters in the last decade. Big Daddy and Hit Girl have a very unorthodox relationship, one that is built on the father raising his daughter to fear nothing and give no quarter to those that would do harm. Her violence is equal parts unsettling and invigorating to watch. You will shake your head as you take joy in watching her in action, yet coming to terms that this is a pre-teen committing major acts of violence.
Mark Strong provides a wonderful screen villain for our heroes to battle. He seems to be making a niche in portraying villains, all different. His Frank D'Amico is dangerous, but is able to do this without resorting to camp that many actors go to when portraying comic villains. The person who goes a long way in stepping outside of previous roles is Christopher Mintz-Plasse. He plays Chris D'Amico / Red Mist, the son of Strong's Frank D'Amico, and pseudo partner to our heroes, far and away from the McLov'n characterization that he is most identified with. He goes a long way in putting that character behind him with this role.
This film was heavily marketed, but in the end did not do extremely well in theaters. I think many people who are not familiar with the comic and not informed of the film itself but only knew it from the trailers saw this as a comedy, when in all honesty the comedy comes organically from the situations that our characters find themselves in. It is not played for chuckles, it is played dead on serious. I think maybe some saw this as a comedy and shied away from it.It is a film which contains many elements that are hard for a general audience to accept and appreciate. The biggest being the violence. To Vaughn's credit, he did not pull back on the violence of the comic. A sequel was green-lit before the film hit theaters, I hope the box-office does not keep them from moving forward as it would be a shame not to see these characters mature in further adventures.