Kick Ass Review

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Kick Ass  

With the mantra 'With no power, comes no responsibilty' you know full well from the get go that Kick Ass is not your everyday superhero movie.  In fact it's almost the anti-superhero movie done with the right intentions.  Matthew Vaughn (Stardust) scores big time with this film, free from the constraints of a big studio lets rip with an almighty movie that scores on all fronts.

Dave Lizewski is your common garden nobody, a tipical teenager, who gets bullied at school, goes unoticed by the famle population and has a couple of nberdy friends who get together at the local comic book store coffee shop to discuss how they could all be better off.  One day Dave wonders why with all these Superheroes in comic books in this day and age no-one has ever done for real, he gets laughed at by his firends, but secretly harbours the desire to give it a go.  He sets about creating his very own superhero and gives himself a cool name (The titular Kick Ass) and sets about on his first mission to rid the local population of crime.  When his firsy foray doesn't go as well as he planned and he ends up in hospital after a freak accident he discovers that his nerve endings have been severed, thus creating himself an actual power abiet one where he can sustain a tremendous beating without feeling it.

After his various mishaps hit the news and You Tube, not only does he become a small celebrity, but he also kicks off a fad of copy cat, non powered superheroes.  He also draws attention from the local mob boss  Frank D'Amico (Mark Strong).  Kick Ass is eventaully joined in his crusade by Hit Girl and Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage) would be actual assassins who can actually make a difference and Red Mist (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) who is possibly even worse than Kick Ass with the exception he has a cool car.  Soon Dave's situation has snowballed into a very public showdown with Frank and nothing in Dave's life will ever be the same again.

Kick Ass is like a breath of fresh air that ppunches you in the gut like an old friend would.  The film positively rocks from start to finish with an unrelenting pace and blistering script.  Featuring characters such as the Daily Mail baiting Hit Girl (An 11 year old who dishes and recieves beatings and dismemberings of the criminal fraternity), Nicolas Cages wonderful turn as Big Daddy (With a costume that may have Warner Bros. lawyers at the ready for very possible gimmick infringement of a certain Dark Knight, but featuring one of the most hilarious parodies as he channels the spirit of Adam West's take on the Winged Warrior.  Mark Strong as the resident goto bad guy is simply terrific and glues the back end of the film together without him becoming pantomime levels of villany. 

This film deserves to be seen by everyone although the (Cmic book) violence may nnot be for some, it is doen in a way that you can't help but punch the air.  Everything about Kick Ass hits the right note and it is nothing less than a triumph for Matthew Vaughn who puts together a action film with dollops of broad comedy that we haven't seen since Robocop.  The film however belongs to Hit Girl who as previously mentioned as a 11 year old hit girl who dishes out almost as much as she recieves absolutely eats up every scene she is in and you just can't wait for more.  The film from an action point of view the most feel good 'YEAH!!!' moment you will have had at the cinema for a long, long time and will live with you long after the end credits.  Already a contender for action film of the year (Even with the likes of The A-Team and The Expendables on the horizon), this film you absolutely have to make sure you see as soon as you possibly can.  At the risk of sounding lame this film certainly does Kick Ass!

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