Kick-Ass joins Akira, V for Vendetta, and other movies in proving that you don’t have to follow a comic closely to make a great film.
Steeping itself in vulgarity and violence, Kick-Ass follows the story of a teen who decides to find out what happens when an ordinary person tries to become a super hero. While the storyline is more detailed than that, let’s face it…you aren’t here for the story line. You’re here to see a high schooler dressed like a fool, to see an 11-year-old-girl murder and horribly maim thugs and gangsters, to watch Nicholas Cage act as an oddly (but honestly) paternal guy dressed up like Batman. You will see all of this, and much more, during the film’s just-under two hour runtime.
The movie does deviate from the comic book by quite a lot…the violence is toned down dramatically (although some scenes are still cringe-worthy), many events and characters are completely altered, and some major plot points are even changed around. However, much like the film version of Akira, the film version of Kick-Ass is done so well that it becomes its own creation independent of the comic. Despite the major differences, the source material hasn’t been defiled, but merely modified. Hardcore fans of the comic will very likely enjoy this movie as much as people who have never read it, although they will spend a not-insubstantial amount of time comparing the film to its origins.
Kick-Ass is a movie that examines serious situations and concepts, yet wraps them up in a goofy, fun package. Death, injury, and horrible acts of violence abound…yet somehow don’t “feel” violent. In this world, violence becomes just a normal occurrence, one that is regarded as scintillating yet routine. Most of the negative reviews I have read or heard about have been because the reviewer felt offended, which is to be expected. Parents, don’t be fooled by the trailer; this isn’t a fun romp that is appropriate for the young kiddies. That being said, the violence is quite comical and sterile in its presentation, so YMMV as far as your kids are concerned.
Despite some seemingly purposeful hammy acting by Nicholas Cage (his character will seem very fake at first, although as the movie goes on you realize that it’s just the way the character is, not because Nicholas Cage is doing a bad acting job), most of the cast give great performances. Everyone seems to have a real good chemistry going on, and all of the characters feel genuine. From a technical standpoint, the comedic timing in this movie is flawless. Everything funny happens at just the right moment to make it a bit funnier, with whole-theater laughs averaging around one every six minutes or so. There are some more serious scenes towards the end, but the next laugh is never far away.
The fight scenes are impressive; while there isn’t any super complicated stunt work, there were definitely cuts and bruises sustained while filming this. Despite the heavy criticism levied towards Chloë Grace Moretz, her scenes are particularly impressive: a brutal fighting instinct combined with agility and dexterity along with her young age make for a killer combination. Although Nicholas Cage’s character has very few fight scenes, the ones which he does have portray him as a smooth, methodical fighter. Kick-Ass is portrayed as having no real fighting ability, yet having no fear either. He may look like he is just flailing around, but he gets in some pretty solid hits. Christopher Mintz does a decent job as The Red Mist, although I think the poor guy is yet another victim to “role-tying”…Kick-Ass is unfortunately yet another movie that doesn’t wholly rip him away from the name McLovin’. Hopefully, one of his future films will manage to do that…he seems to be quite talented at naturally portraying a character, and it’s a shame that he still has a role from an over-rated movie stuck to him. (That’s right, I said it, and I’ll say it again: Superbad was over-rated. Deal with it.)
Whether you have read the comic or not, Kick-Ass is a really fun movie that you shouldn’t miss. If you don’t care about seeing a comedy with a full audience, you could wait for this one to come out on DVD…but I would see it now. It’s definitely worth the price of a movie ticket.
