Kick-Ass

Two years ago Andre sent me an email asking if I wanted to go see Iron Man. I always enjoy the movie-going experience with Andre (My hetero life-mate as his wife Stacey describes it) but on this day I was hesitant. You see, I had given up on super-hero movies. I was tired of seeing the same old recycled dreck again and again. Daredevil was a poor man's watered down Batman. The Superman reboot failed to leap tall buildings in a single bound and the two Hulk movies redefined the term “unwatchable.” So on this day I explained to Andre that I would go see Iron Man as long as it met the following criteria: (1) As a child, the hero doesn't watch his parents die at the hands of his future arch nemesis (2) He doesn't have to hide his secret identity from his unrequited love who is really in love with the hero and (3) There won't be nipples on the superhero costume (That's right, I'm talking to you Batman & Robin). Andre assured me none of those applied and to his credit Iron Man was everything he said it would be and more. I thought it was the best movie in the genre since the first two Spider-Man movies and not even The Dark Knight surpassed it in my estimation.

But then came Kick-Ass.

I know all you Dark Knight fans are already writing your angry responses (probably led by Moore, Andrew) but this was the best superhero movie I have seen in the past six years, easily. How can I describe it? I'm trying to think of a two word phrase that conveys how this movie dominated in every conceivable way. Hmmmmmm. Oh well, it will come to me.

Kick-Ass tells the story of Dave Lizewski (Aarron Johnson), an anonymous high school student and comic book fan who wonders why nobody ever tried to be a super-hero in real life. His curiosity soon turns to obsession and before long he is out trying to thwart bad guys. The ensuing beating and aftermath he suffers leaves him with damaged nerve endings meaning he is mostly immune to pain. This is the first sign of brilliance in this movie. They are able to give the hero some kind of “super-power” that is both believable and successful in moving the story forward. Now buoyed by his condition, Dave goes out to avenge Katie (Lyndsy Fonseca), the girl he is crushing on.

Without revealing too much, it is safe to say that Kick-Ass comes in contact with two actual superheroes who are doing it for real – Big Daddy and Hit-Girl. This is where the movie really starts to take off. Nicholas Cage is brilliant as Big Daddy. He is able to portray both the doting father in his real-life and a believable Batman clone as his super hero alter ego. In fact, he pulls off a very nice homage to the Adam West portrayal of Batman with the way he delivers his lines.

As good as Cage is in this movie, the real star is newcomer Chloe Moretz as Hit-Girl, an 11 year-old trained assassin masked hero. The first time we see her, she is in a training session with her dad. This scene is memorable for the way it is able to convince us of their competence as highly trained killers while still making us believe she is a very real 11 year-old girl who loves spending time with her dad. And her first line as the masked Hit-Girl is cinematic gold, if not entirely age appropriate. Perhaps that is what is so great about that character. She is both a potty-mouthed deadly killer and a sweet little girl. This juxtaposition gives her an amazing screen presence that is so strong, when she is not on the screen, I eagerly awaited her return. My buddy Kelly predicted she will receive a nomination come next Oscar season and I wholeheartedly agree.

I thought Director Matthew Vaughn (Stardust, Layer Cake) did a very nice job in respecting the comic book origins while still making this feel like a feature film. He uses the convention of having the Cage character create a Big Daddy/Hit-Girl comic book. When one of the characters flips through this comic book, we are given the back-story of how these superheores came to be. Here Vaughn embraces the look and style of the comic book to serve his feature film storytelling. He displays a very deft touch which comes across nicely on the big screen.

This movie is categorized in the sub genre of super-hero/comedy. Most of the comparisons I have seen liken it to Ben Stiller's Mystery-Men. I don't believe these movies belong in the same category. I enjoyed Mystery-Men as a comedy but never took it seriously as a super-hero movie. The world of superheroes and villains were simply the backdrop for a fairly traditional comedy. This movie works because it takes the world of heroes and villains very seriously. The heavies would not feel out of place in any other super-hero movie. When Kick-Ass ventures into waters well over his head, the consequences are real and believable. That the movie plays for comedic effect and not big laughs from gags is what sets it apart from other failed action-comedies.

This is not to suggest that it is a perfect movie. There are times towards the end where the developments feel a little familiar. The character of Red Mist (Christopher-Mintz Plasse aka McLovin) is a nice twist as a guy torn between the family business and the super-hero world. Still they character arc for Red Mist wanders into territory that we've seen before. James Franco will certainly feel a sense of deja-vu upon seeing this film. But the truth is that for a genre which has been done to death in the past decade or so, there is much to this movie which feels fresh and fun.

As for my two-word summation, it will have to wait for another day. Wait, I got it! This movie....

TOTALLY ROCKS.

I can't believe I didn't see that before.