No Powers, No Gadgets, No Problem.

Rating: 8/10 (17 April 2010)

Whoever said you needed superpowers or high-tech gadgets to be a superhero? In KICK-ASS, Dave Lizewski proves just that as the titular hero, fighting with nothing but lean, mean determination and desire to uphold justice.
Aaron Johnson does a great job as the hero geek, morphing from a shy pushover into a full-fledged crime-fighter in a green suit who would die in a split second to protect his tiny little philosophy and mission. Nicolas Cage pays homage to the 60s Batman and revels in his role as the vengeance seeking ex-cop. But the show stealer here comes no bigger than the size of 12-year-old Chloë Moretz, dispelling all those images of adolescent girls those tween queens on magazine covers have given you. As Hit Girl, she disposes her enemies faster than Superman could finish his heroic opening statement, and does so with unceremonious aggression and minimum fuss. The fact that she's so young differs from those femme fatales in that she does not rely on any sort of sexual appeal to make her character more attractive or intriguing; she doesn't have one, she didn't need one. She's awesome fully because she took down seven guys and left one pissing in his pants, putting the Batgirls and Elektras to shame.
Perhaps most worth applauding is the no holds barred direction of the visual style and action of this movie. Too often, films have been toned down and made bland to avoid the R-rating and often causes creative integrity to suffer. From start to end, however, Kick-Ass showed absolutely no concern for going "overboard". There's no holding back from the excessive cursing, blood and gore of the movie that you could be forgiven if you thought Tarantino was behind this.
All in all, KICK-ASS is a refreshing take on the now badly exploited superhero genre, and is capable of taking itself seriously at times yet provide mindless entertainment with witty humor and high-octane action that promises to keep you at the edge of your seat. A terrific way to start the summer of 2010.