“Dave Lizewski is an unnoticed high school student and comic book fan with a few friends and who lives with his father. His life is not very difficult and his personal trials not that overwhelming. However, one day he makes the simple decision to become a super-hero even though he has no powers or training.”
Kick-Ass based on the comic series of the same name by Mark Millar (author of the Wanted series) features a wonderfully talented cast of actors in a fun, comedic and bloody violent tale of a young man drawing a line in the sand and saying enough is enough. From his friends, to the villains to his fellow heroes the cast all deliver a great performance especially Nicholas Cage and Chloe Moretz as Big Daddy and Hit Girl who threaten to steal the whole show.
The comedic aspects of the film are well written and paced throughout the course of the whole film constantly bringing the audience back to some humorous entertainment despite some of the dark undertones throughout the film. The characters of ‘Todd’ and ‘Marty’ played by Evan Peters and Clark Duke manage to play a huge role in this despite a small amount of screen time.
Comic-book fans are likely to get something extra out of this film, seeing the characters reading comic books such as ‘Runaways’, and spending their time in ‘Atomic Comics’ (one of the coolest comic stores on film), Matthew Vaughn delivers well on the small details that won’t go unnoticed by the comic fans though nether will some of the tweaks and adjustments made in the film which results in some events playing out a little differently than in Millar’s comic series.
I felt that there was a very small pacing issue in the later part of the film where things slow down slightly too much just prior to gearing up for the final act but make no mistake this is an intense, action packed and violent affair which all comes together to be an absolute blast of fun and entertainment with characters you’ll care about and be happy to spend time with.
Behind the in your face entertainment style of Kick Ass, the film has real heart and explores some interesting ideas about what some people are forced to live with in daily life, criminal acts impacting the lives of decent people who deserve better and the fear to act in the face of adversity. It takes a moment or two to challenge the audience’s thoughts, forcing them to think about what they’d do in a similar situation to what they are viewing on screen.
There has been some criticism of the character ‘Hit Girl’ partaking in such violent acts at a young age, to which my response is the film is classified appropriately, respect the classification and understand what you’re getting before going in. This is far from the first film to include such a young character in violent situations, (Kill Bill, Battle Royale), such criticisms don’t carry much weight in my view.
You can’t help but notice the level of care that has gone into this film, Matthew Vaughn has made something great and aimed directly at pop culture fans, it may not find the widest audience, but the ones it does find will love it.
I give this film 4 out of 5 stars and it is showing in cinemas now.