Kick-Ass

***Kick-Ass*** is a 2010 British-American independent superhero black comedy action film based on the comic book of the same name by Mark Millar and John Romita, Jr. The film was directed by Matthew Vaughn, who co-produced with Brad Pitt and co-wrote the screenplay with Jane Goldman. Its general release was on 25 March 2010 in the United Kingdom and on 16 April 2010 in the United States. It is the first installment of the *Kick-Ass* film series.

It tells the story of an ordinary teenager, Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson), who sets out to become a real-life superhero, calling himself "Kick-Ass". Dave gets caught up in a bigger fight when he meets Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage), a former cop who, in his quest to bring down the crime boss Frank D'Amico (Mark Strong) and his son (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), has trained his eleven-year-old daughter (Chloë Grace Moretz) to be the ruthless vigilante Hit-Girl.

Despite having generated some controversy for its profanity and violence performed by a child, *Kick-Ass* was well received by both critics and audiences. The film has gained a strong cult following since its release on DVD and Blu-ray. A sequel, written and directed by Jeff Wadlow and produced by Vaughn, was released in August 2013, with Johnson, Mintz-Plasse, and Moretz reprising their roles.

## Plot

Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) is an ordinary teenager who lives in Staten Island, New York. Inspired by comic books, Dave plans to become a real-life superhero. He purchases and modifies a bodysuit, and arms himself with batons. During his first outing, he gets stabbed and then hit by a car. After recovering, he gains a capacity to endure pain and enhanced durability.

In his absence from school, a rumor spreads that he is gay, as he was found naked by the paramedics after discarding his costume. As a result, his longtime crush, Katie Deauxma (Lyndsy Fonseca), immediately attempts to become his friend. Unhappy with the misunderstanding, Dave nevertheless appreciates the opportunity to get closer to Katie.

Dave returns to crime-fighting and gains notoriety after intervening in a gang attack. Calling himself "Kick-Ass", he sets up a Myspace account where he can be contacted for help. Responding to a request from Katie, he confronts a drug dealer, Rasul (Kofi Natei), who has been harassing her. At Rasul's place, Kick-Ass is quickly overwhelmed by Rasul's thugs. Before they can kill him, two costumed vigilantes, Hit-Girl (Chloë Grace Moretz) and Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage), intervene, easily slaughter the thugs and leave with their money. After coming home, Dave realizes he is in over his head, and plans to give up crime-fighting. However, Hit-Girl and Big Daddy pay him a visit and encourage him.

Big Daddy's real identity is Damon Macready, formerly an honest cop. Framed by Mafia boss Frank D'Amico (Mark Strong), he was jailed. His wife committed suicide, leaving behind his daughter Mindy. Against the protest of his former partner Marcus Williams (Omari Hardwick), Damon trains himself and Mindy (Hit-Girl) to prepare to get revenge on Frank. They have been undermining Frank's operations by raiding his warehouses, robbing his money and destroying his drugs.

Frank believes Kick-Ass is responsible for the attacks and targets him, impulsively killing a party entertainer dressed like Kick-Ass. Frank's son, Chris (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), suggests a different approach. He poses as a new vigilante "Red Mist" and befriends Kick-Ass. He plans to lure Kick-Ass into Frank's lumber warehouse and unmask him. However, they find the warehouse on fire and Frank's men dead. Red Mist retrieves the teddy-cam he earlier placed in the warehouse, and Kick-Ass and him part ways. D'Amico watches the footage and learns of Big Daddy and Hit-Girl.

Following the event, Dave decides to quit being Kick-Ass. He reveals his identity to Katie, and clears up the misunderstanding about him being gay. She forgives him and becomes his girlfriend. However, Red Mist contacts him again, and tricks him into revealing Big Daddy and Hit-Girl's location. At one of Big Daddy's safe houses, Red Mist shoots Hit-Girl out of a window, and Frank's men capture Big Daddy and Kick-Ass.

Frank intends to have his thugs torture and execute his captives in a live Internet broadcast. While Kick-Ass and Big Daddy are being beaten by Frank's gangsters, Hit-Girl, having survived the shooting, storms the hideout and kills all of the gangsters. During the fight, one thug sets Big Daddy on fire. Mindy and Damon say a tearful farewell before he dies of his injuries.

Hit-Girl and Kick-Ass resolve to defeat Frank D'Amico once and for all. Hit-Girl infiltrates Frank's headquarters, and kills numerous guards and henchman before running out of bullets. When she is cornered by the thugs, Kick-Ass arrives on a jet pack fitted with miniguns and kills the remaining thugs. Kick-Ass and Hit-Girl then take on Frank and Red Mist. Kick-Ass fights Red Mist and they knock each other out. Frank overpowers an exhausted Hit-Girl. Before he can kill her, Kick-Ass regains consciousness shoots him with a bazooka. Frank is blasted out of the window and explodes in mid-air.

Mindy and Dave retire from crime fighting. Marcus becomes Mindy's guardian, and she enrolls at Dave's school. The movie ends with a vengeful Chris quoting Jack Nicholson as the Joker.

## Cast

* Aaron Johnson as David "Dave" Lizewski / Kick-Ass: Johnson said that Kick-Ass is a "sensitive guy" who lost his mother and is a "nobody" at school, so he creates his superhero identity "as this whole different persona." Johnson said that Dave is "a kid who’s got the guts to go out there and do something different." Christopher Mintz-Plasse originally auditioned for the role of Kick-Ass, but during the audition the producers believed that his acting was too loud and obnoxious for the lead, so they immediately gave Mintz-Plasse the role of Red Mist instead.
* Mark Strong as Frank D'Amico: The head of a criminal organization. Strong says he is drawn to playing the antagonist. He tries to "understand the purpose of the character", and then work on building a believable individual.
* Chloë Grace Moretz as Mindy Macready / Hit-Girl: Vaughn commented on the maturity of Moretz, who said that because she has four older brothers, she was no stranger to much of the language in the script. Her mother read the script and permitted her to use the profanity in the movie. Jane Goldman, one of the two co-writers of the script, said, "We just really wanted Hit-Girl to be a character who, in a sense, simply happens to be an eleven-year-old girl, in the same way that Ripley in *Alien* could have been a guy but the part happened to be played by Sigourney Weaver." Goldman said that Mindy "is genuinely dangerous, she's genuinely mad. It's not her fault: she's been raised in this environment where she doesn't know anything different. She's unwittingly part of a folie a deux."
* Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Chris D'Amico / Red Mist: Frank D'Amico's son. Millar said that "the idea was that he was going to be a more minor character in the first film. Then we saw what Christopher Mintz-Plasse was capable of! [...] So the idea of McLovin' and the fun Red Mist doing something horrible is genuinely quite disturbing when you see it happen. We couldn't have got away with that with another actor. The minute we saw his performance, we were looking at each other and realised how good he was and what we could do with him in the future...." Mintz-Plasse said that when he first wore the Red Mist costume, he felt that it was entertaining and that he "looked so bad-ass." The actor sent photographs of himself in costume to his friends. Three weeks into the filming, Mintz-Plasse decided that the costume was not very comfortable and "a big pain in the ass." Mintz-Plasse wore the costume for 12 hours per filming day. Mintz-Plasse had to learn how to use a stick-shift in order to drive the Ford Mustang that is used in the film. Vaughn told Mintz-Plasse that the actor would have to pay for the car if he crashed it.
* Nicolas Cage as Damon Macready / Big Daddy: Vaughn described Cage's performance as a little bit Elvis and a little bit Adam West. A character in the film even says his costume looks like that of Batman. Cage was inspired by his costume to try delivering his lines in the same style Adam West used for *Batman*. The police officer father of an ex-girlfriend also influenced his performance; the habit of Big Daddy referring to Hit-Girl as "child" stems from the police officer.
* Stu 'Large' Riley (credited as Stu Riley) as the Huge Goon: Frank's chief bodyguard. Near the climactic fight between the main characters, Mark Strong accidentally calls out the actor's actual name, "Stu".
* Lyndsy Fonseca as Katie Deauxma, Dave's longtime crush and eventual girlfriend
* Clark Duke and Evan Peters as Marty and Todd, Dave's two best friends
* Omari Hardwick as Sgt. Marcus Williams, former partner of Damon Macready
* Michael Rispoli as Big Joe, Frank D'Amico's right-hand man
* Kofi Natei as Rasul: A gang leader stalking Katie whom Dave (as Kick-Ass) challenges until Hit-Girl arrives to kill the gang members
* Corey Johnson as Sporty Goon
* Adrian Martinez as Ginger Goon
* Dexter Fletcher as Cody
* Jason Flemyng as the lobby goon.
* Xander Berkeley as Detective Victor "Vic" Gigante: A police officer working for Frank D'Amico
* Garrett M. Brown as James Lizewski, Dave's father
* Elizabeth McGovern as Alice Lizewski, Dave's mother
* Sophie Wu as Erika Cho: Katie's best friend
* Yancy Butler as Angie D'Amico: Frank's wife and Chris' mother
* Deborah Twiss as Mrs. Zane: Dave's English teacher
* Craig Ferguson as Himself
* Katrena Rochell as Female Junkie
* Omar Soriano as Leroy, Rasul's doorman
* John Romita, Jr. as the Atomic Comics barista
* Sean Adames as lobby concierge

Series-creator Millar, a native of Scotland, asked Scottish television children's-show host Glen Michael to make a cameo appearance although his role was cut from the film.

Millar was also set to make a cameo as a Scottish alcoholic but the scene was cut from the film.

WCBS-TV news reporters Maurice DuBois, Dana Tyler, and Lou Young make cameo appearances.

An image of Matthew Vaughn's wife, model Claudia Schiffer, appears prominently on a billboard poster.