Kick Ass
Nicolas Cage, Chloe Grace Moretz
Lions Gate 2017
Kick Ass is a surprisingly violent movie based on the comic book series of the same name. Fans of the comic book series will not be surprised by the level of violence in the movie but those unfamiliar with it will be seriously shocked by it. Directed by Matthew Vaughn who also wrote the script with Jane Goldman the story of Kick Ass is a relatively simple one and asks the question: what would happen if regular, everyday, people decided to behave as if they were superheroes?
Starring journeyman British actor Aaron Johnson as Dave Lizewski a.k.a. Kick Ass. Dave is a normal high school student who doesn’t understand why more people don’t step up and try to prevent crime. To that end Dave decides he will become a superhero crime fighter. Kick Ass feels like a comic book but in a good way. The characters are well drawn but only just enough so that the audience has a feel for who they are and what motivates them and little more beyond that. The dialogue is well written and only mildly stilted at times mostly when the character of Big Daddy (Nicholas Cage) is talking. The character of Hit Girl has a gift for violence and peppers her language with more than a few expletives which might be surprising for an eleven year old unless of course you are an elementary school teacher. The core of Kick Ass is crime fighting. The good versus the bad and how in order to be an effective superhero you have to be a true borderline personality.
Offering up anything more in terms of describing Kick Ass would bring in spoilers which could ruin a fine movie. Kick Ass is a dark, violent and definitely not for children. The violence is not splatter movie graphic but it is more realistic than one might expect from a comic book based movie. For all the furor that rang out over the profanity in the movie when it was released it is surprisingly short on profanity not even coming close the the profanity on some television shows on HBO. This is a strong offering and well worth your time.