What would happen if some regular person, with no real training or powers, decided they wanted to become a superhero? This is the question asked and answered in Kick Ass. Dave Lizewski, played by British actor Aaron Johnson, decides one day that he would like to become a super hero. So, he orders a wet suit online and becomes calls himself “Kick Ass.” After his first attempt at being a hero doesn't go so well, he gains fame thanks to a video of him fighting a group of thugs on the Internet. This ushers "Kick Ass" into a world of real super heroes and villains that he is not ready for. After having his life saved by "Hit Girl", played by Chloe Moretz, and "Big Daddy", played by Nicolas Cage, he must decide if he wants to be a real hero.
Aaron Johnson as "Kick Ass" is pretty good. He embodies the teenage comic-geek very well, but even better is the awkward manner in which he acts as a nervous budding hero is hilarious. The only problem with Aaron Johnson performance is he is overshadowed by "Hit Girl" and "Big Daddy." This is Nicolas Cage’s best role in his last 15 movies. His performance as a disgraced cop after revenge while channeling Adam West's "Batman" is fantastic. Chloe Moretz's "Hit Girl" portrayal is even better. Plain and simple: she is the youngest bad-ass in Hollywood history. No matter who else is on the screen with her, she steals the whole show. Christopher Mintz-Plasse, a.k.a. “McLovin,” as Red-Mist is fine, but nothing in comparison to the other performances. I did, however, enjoy Mark Strong as the head of the crime family. He is a great villain. 75% of the time you will want to see him meet his end; however, the remaining 25% of the time you will just enjoy his villainous.
The what-if premise to this film gets thrown out the window about half-way through for a more standard action movie, but it works. I enjoyed Kick Ass ,the comic, before it became a movie and was quite happy to see that it is very faithful to the source material. Kick Ass could have very easily have been turned into a rated PG-13 piece of crap. That's right! I am looking at you Daredevil and/or Ghost Rider. If the source material is meant for adults, then the movie needs to be meant for adults. So, kudos to MARV for making the movie that the Kick Ass comic deserves. This is a very entertaining movie and well worth your time.
My Rating 4 out of 5
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