Be Ready for Graphic Violence from an 11-Year Old Girl!

Rating: 7/10 (20 August 2013)

I never got to watch "Kick Ass" when it was first released in 2010. Now with the sequel in local theaters this week, several people recommend that I should probably watch this first installment first before I watch Part 2. So I did.
I did not know exactly what this film was about so I was surprised when this film and its sequel had posters of what looked like kid superheroes, yet the rating is R-16! Now that I have finished watching Part 1, the answer is very clear.
"Kick Ass" tells the story of Dave Lizewsky, a nerdy guy who decide that he wanted to be a real superhero like those in the comic books he loves to read. He buys himself a dorky green uniform and tries to fight petty criminals around town as Kick Ass. Unfortunately he had absolutely no fighting skills.
However, his exploits apparently inspired a ultra-war-freak father- daughter team to don superhero uniforms themselves as Big Daddy and Hit Girl. Can these new superheroes stand up to the very real threat of the evil crime boss Frank D'Amico, his son Chris (who also took on a superhero persona Red Mist) and their entire gangster organization?
While Aaron Johnson does well as the titular character Dave/Kick Ass, the more memorable actor and character in this whole film is Chloe Moretz as Hit Girl. It was disconcerting to see a real 11-year old girl do all the killing Hit Girl did because this film did NOT sugarcoat any violence. THIS IS GRAPHIC STUFF! OK, it is CG but still very bloody graphic. However for some perverse underlying reason, Hit Girl was great movie character!
This movie sets up Part 2 very well, and yes, I am now quite excited to watch it as well. Now I know exactly what I am getting into. I am eager to see how the lessons Kick Ass and Hit Girl learned about being heroes here in Part 1 will affect their characters in Part 2. I am also itching to see how Red Mist steps up his game to be a worthy adversary.