Movie Review: KICK ASS
Let me start with saying that I had absolutely no interest in seeing this movie. I have no idea why, I just wasn't drawn in by it. Probably because the characters were ordinary people and I tend to like my super heroes to be, well, super. But a friend got free screener tickets and he's been squeeing like a fangirl over this movie since the first footage was release so, to fulfill my good friend quota for the week, I tagged along.
And I'm so glad I did. This movie was so much more than I ever imagined it would be. It's funny and violent and chocked full of some absolutely awesome action. Hit Girl is my new hero. But than I'm a bit disturbed and like watching 11 year old girls kick serious ass and call people cunts.
On the surface, the story is about slightly unbalanced people (though in Big Daddy’s case there’s nothing slight about it) who kick some serious ass. There’s a typical villain (Mark Stones mob boss) who’s greedy and violent with an under valued son (Christopher Mintz-Plasse’s Red Mist who has maybe the best line in the whole movie. It regards a bad-guy’s need for a bazooka) who just wants his father’s respect. There’s the moral compass dad (Kick Ass’s dad, NOT Big Daddy) and the comic relief friends, there’s the love interest and the young ward (Hit Girl who absolutely rocks hard core). And of course there’s the super hero - Kick Ass - who has to save the day.
On a slightly deeper level the story is about a boy - Dave - who genuinely wants to help people (and enjoy the perks) the way his idols do in all the comic books he reads but Dave never really considers the price his heroes pay. Oh he knows the various woos of superheroes, but he never really transitioned those woos into real life, into what it means to suffer those burdens. So when Dave takes up his mask and goes out to help people, he hasn’t really thought it through. He wants to help people, not hurt people, never once considers having to really and truly rough someone up, let alone kill them before Hit Girl comes flying through a window and saves his life, killing numerous people in the process. But by the end of the movie, this boy truly realizes that with great “powers” comes great responsibility, he’s taken his first real steps towards becoming a man and understanding the realities of the world, the grey areas the heroes of his comic books live in.
The cast is great. Nicolas Cage looks like he’s having the time of his life getting to play Big Daddy, an amalgamation of all his favorite super-heroes and Mark Strong is wonderfully blasé in his wickedness (but then, when doesn’t Mark Strong rock?). Chloe Moretz’s Hit Girl is crazy awesome and should be every little girl’s role model…minus the killing. Aaron Johnson as Kick Ass is sweet and completely believable as a boy who learns how to be a man.
The story isn't seamless, the movie gets a bit slow and uneven in the middle but not for long and not so much that it pulls you out of the movie or ruins the experience. There's a fair amount of information and backstory to deal with but it’s dispensed in a coherent, concise manner and only seems out of place for a moment. There are a variety of cinematic tricks here that, despite their vastly different styles, work wonderfully (there’s a particularly awesome transition from security camera to live action). Oh and the soundtrack totally rocks.
This is an all around awesome movie that is a great way to spend a fun, lighthearted evening this is a great way to do it, totally worth a $10 movie ticket and a trip to the concession stand.
And I'm so glad I did. This movie was so much more than I ever imagined it would be. It's funny and violent and chocked full of some absolutely awesome action. Hit Girl is my new hero. But than I'm a bit disturbed and like watching 11 year old girls kick serious ass and call people cunts.
On the surface, the story is about slightly unbalanced people (though in Big Daddy’s case there’s nothing slight about it) who kick some serious ass. There’s a typical villain (Mark Stones mob boss) who’s greedy and violent with an under valued son (Christopher Mintz-Plasse’s Red Mist who has maybe the best line in the whole movie. It regards a bad-guy’s need for a bazooka) who just wants his father’s respect. There’s the moral compass dad (Kick Ass’s dad, NOT Big Daddy) and the comic relief friends, there’s the love interest and the young ward (Hit Girl who absolutely rocks hard core). And of course there’s the super hero - Kick Ass - who has to save the day.
On a slightly deeper level the story is about a boy - Dave - who genuinely wants to help people (and enjoy the perks) the way his idols do in all the comic books he reads but Dave never really considers the price his heroes pay. Oh he knows the various woos of superheroes, but he never really transitioned those woos into real life, into what it means to suffer those burdens. So when Dave takes up his mask and goes out to help people, he hasn’t really thought it through. He wants to help people, not hurt people, never once considers having to really and truly rough someone up, let alone kill them before Hit Girl comes flying through a window and saves his life, killing numerous people in the process. But by the end of the movie, this boy truly realizes that with great “powers” comes great responsibility, he’s taken his first real steps towards becoming a man and understanding the realities of the world, the grey areas the heroes of his comic books live in.
The cast is great. Nicolas Cage looks like he’s having the time of his life getting to play Big Daddy, an amalgamation of all his favorite super-heroes and Mark Strong is wonderfully blasé in his wickedness (but then, when doesn’t Mark Strong rock?). Chloe Moretz’s Hit Girl is crazy awesome and should be every little girl’s role model…minus the killing. Aaron Johnson as Kick Ass is sweet and completely believable as a boy who learns how to be a man.
The story isn't seamless, the movie gets a bit slow and uneven in the middle but not for long and not so much that it pulls you out of the movie or ruins the experience. There's a fair amount of information and backstory to deal with but it’s dispensed in a coherent, concise manner and only seems out of place for a moment. There are a variety of cinematic tricks here that, despite their vastly different styles, work wonderfully (there’s a particularly awesome transition from security camera to live action). Oh and the soundtrack totally rocks.
This is an all around awesome movie that is a great way to spend a fun, lighthearted evening this is a great way to do it, totally worth a $10 movie ticket and a trip to the concession stand.