Kick-Ass
There may be some spoilers in this post, blah blah who really cares. I went to see Kick-Ass last night. I didn't know an awful lot about the film other than that it was a comic book adaptation centering around a geeky teenager, Dave Lizewski, who attempts (in the true Batman/Iron Man spirit) to become a superhero, the eponymous Kick-Ass. It's very good fun, but incredibly dark in places. For example, an Armenian lunatic kills himself by jumping off a skyscraper dressed as a superhero and Lizewski's mother dies of a brain aneurism, both in the early minutes of the film. It's also far more violent than I had anticipated, probably worse than the Dark Knight and movies of that ilk in terms of blood and gore.
Lizewski's first attempt at dispensing justice on the streets of New York City ends with him being stabbed by muggers and hit by a car. This sets the tone for the film, with Lizewski by and large dealing with the brutal realities of attempting to tackle the violent underclass of the city. Badly injured with metal plates installed and nerve endings damaged, Kick-Ass nonetheless returns to intervene in another assault. The confrontation is filmed by passers by and becomes the most watched video clip on the internet. Superhero notoriety in the 21st Century is apparently highly influenced by YouTube hits. After going to deal with the former boyfriend of Lizewski's obligatory love interest Katie Deauxma, he becomes implicated in a plot by a father-daughter team of would be superheroes, Hit Girl and Big Daddy (Nicholas Cage with an enjoyably ludicrous performance). Unlike Kick-Ass, the pair are armed to the teeth, with a vendetta to bring down the druglord Frank D'Amico. D'Amico's son Chris concocts a counter plot involving developing an alter ego of his own, Red Mist and the film marches towards a fairly predictable conclusion.
That said, the journey to that point is enjoyable with a lot of entertaining action sequences. Chloe Moretz as Hit Girl is the highlight of the film, playing a Tarantino-esque Japanese style assassin. Her role has been the subject of some debate, particularly in the Daily's Mail's astonishing so called 'review' of the film. I must admit I was slightly surprised to hear a 13 year old girl say the word 'cunt' but that's part of the reason why it was quite funny. The scenes involving Red Mist and Kick Ass are the comic highlights of the film, culminating in an amusingly piss weak fight at the films finale between the two. It reminds you that for all the bad situations they find themselves in, they remain two nerds attempting to live the dream.
My one criticism of the picture is that it sometimes struggles to find the right tone, attempting to play for laughs inappopriately in certain scenes. But that's a minor complaint. Kick Ass is otherwise a very entertaining action superhero romp and well worth going to see.
Lizewski's first attempt at dispensing justice on the streets of New York City ends with him being stabbed by muggers and hit by a car. This sets the tone for the film, with Lizewski by and large dealing with the brutal realities of attempting to tackle the violent underclass of the city. Badly injured with metal plates installed and nerve endings damaged, Kick-Ass nonetheless returns to intervene in another assault. The confrontation is filmed by passers by and becomes the most watched video clip on the internet. Superhero notoriety in the 21st Century is apparently highly influenced by YouTube hits. After going to deal with the former boyfriend of Lizewski's obligatory love interest Katie Deauxma, he becomes implicated in a plot by a father-daughter team of would be superheroes, Hit Girl and Big Daddy (Nicholas Cage with an enjoyably ludicrous performance). Unlike Kick-Ass, the pair are armed to the teeth, with a vendetta to bring down the druglord Frank D'Amico. D'Amico's son Chris concocts a counter plot involving developing an alter ego of his own, Red Mist and the film marches towards a fairly predictable conclusion.
That said, the journey to that point is enjoyable with a lot of entertaining action sequences. Chloe Moretz as Hit Girl is the highlight of the film, playing a Tarantino-esque Japanese style assassin. Her role has been the subject of some debate, particularly in the Daily's Mail's astonishing so called 'review' of the film. I must admit I was slightly surprised to hear a 13 year old girl say the word 'cunt' but that's part of the reason why it was quite funny. The scenes involving Red Mist and Kick Ass are the comic highlights of the film, culminating in an amusingly piss weak fight at the films finale between the two. It reminds you that for all the bad situations they find themselves in, they remain two nerds attempting to live the dream.
My one criticism of the picture is that it sometimes struggles to find the right tone, attempting to play for laughs inappopriately in certain scenes. But that's a minor complaint. Kick Ass is otherwise a very entertaining action superhero romp and well worth going to see.
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