"Kick-Ass" (2010)

Written by Jane Goldman and Matthew Vaughn
Based on the comic book by Mark Millar and John Romita, Jr.
Directed by Matthew Vaughn
MARV/Plan B Pictures

“You just contact the mayor’s office. He has a special signal he shines in the sky. It’s in the shape of a giant cock.”

In every way possible, this movie lived up to its title. Kick-Ass is a really great movie and, a few cosmetic differences aside, an adaptation that stayed very loyal to its source material.

After being bullied, mugged, and since pretty girls generally ignore him, Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) decides to give being a hero a try. He dons a scuba suit and mask, goes out and confronts a couple of car thieves, gets beat to a pulp, and then run over by a car. After six months in traction, he tries again. He’s still in over his head.

Damon Macready (Nicolas Cage) and his daughter Mindy (Chloe Grace Moretz) are fighting a different fight; one that claimed several years of Damon’s life and tangentially the life of his wife. “Big Daddy” and “Hit Girl” are going after mob boss Frank D’Amico (Mark Strong) for being the catalyst behind their troubles.

These two worlds collide, combine, and begin to Kick-Ass.

The actors in this movie were great, and really helped bring the comic book to life. The cinematography was outstanding, the fight scenes were choreographed beautifully, and Marvel has another hash mark in the Win Column for movie adaptations.

This movie has come under fire regarding the depiction of Hit Girl, and even ÜberCritic Roger Ebert has condemned the film as “morally reprehensible” and couldn’t stand the sight of an 11-year old girl dishing out (and also being served) large amounts of violence.

To be fair, Ebert is consistent. He expressed similar reservations 16 years ago when he reviewed The Professional with Natalie Portman as an assassin-in-training, but I do think he’s missing the mark here. Mindy Macready hasn’t been suddenly thrust into a life of violence; she’s been training for it since she could hold a knife. She’s skilled, and able, and smart. She saves Dave’s bacon more than once, and is the stand-alone star of the movie’s two major action sequences.

Is showing children in adult situations difficult to watch? Absolutely. Kick-Ass is pure fantasy, however. It’s nothing like watching depictions of kids committing real-life crimes. Anyone who’s watched “The Wire” will understand that the stories of Wallace, Dukie, Michael, Randy, Namond, and Kenard are heartbreaking. Watching documentaries of kids in third-world countries doing what their society requires of them to survive is beyond the pale.

This film, and its characters, is simply a flight of fancy. The scene towards the end where Hit Girl is getting as good as she gives is 10 times more devastating in the comic book, and I felt that the filmmakers handled it perfectly. Furthermore, having a scene like that makes what happens next much more satisfying.

As a friend of mine commented after the movie, he didn’t see a scared little girl. He saw a trained powerhouse doing what she does best. Because I like the movie, and feel it is a faithful adaptation of the source material, Ebert states that “[I] inhabit a world [he is] so very not interested in.” Of course, Ebert also claims that video games are not an art form. He’s never played a video game, and maybe he’s never read a modern-era comic either. Still…these are strange words to hear coming from a man who wrote Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, but on these things Mr. Ebert and I will have to agree to disagree.

This movie is funny, touching, violent, profane, and completely over-the-top. I loved every minute of it.

Elwood Says: 4½ Stolen Bazookas out of 5.