Kick-Ass
If you don't love this we'll...
Review
Once in a lifetime (for it does feel that infrequent) comes along a film that you enjoy so thoroughly that you almost run out of the cinema so that you can tell people about it faster. It makes you laugh, cringe, and cling onto your seat with excitement. It doesn't lose your attention for even the slightest second. Or in other words, it Kicks Ass.
There have been a myriad of comic book films in recent years of hugely varying quality, and this one is in a class of its own. For the first few minutes, you may fear that this will be another Superbad (especially if you've recognised Christopher Mintz-Plasse, aka McLovin', in the cast list) but the jokes quickly unveil themselves as far more hilarious than previous high-school-geeks-try-to-be-cool bores. Shortly after you wipe the first tears of laughter from your eyes the plot jumps up to grab you, as somehow this reasonably simple story of family ties and revenge is more engaging than we could have imagined.
Dave (Aaron Johnson) is an ordinary high-school student who decides that if Bruce Wayne can do it, so can he. After a lot of ill-advised bravado his new alter ego, Kick-Ass, manages to actually fight crime and becomes an overnight sensation. But Kick-Ass isn't the only ”super-hero“ in town, and he soon gets tied up in the far more dramatic revenge mission of potty-mouthed eleven-year-old assassin Hit Girl (Chloe Moretz) and her father/partner in crime Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage). When the baddies pick up their scent they enlist the help of flashy fake hero Red Mist (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) and things get a little heated.
Although we're about to compare Kick-Ass to Leon, let's just take a moment to remember how great Leon is. OK? Good. In terms of plot brilliance and spectacularly atmospheric use of violence they are both superb pieces of cinema. Then there's also the fact that they both feature outstanding performances from teenage girls. Beyond the Leon-a-likes, you will enjoy a low-key but amusing love thread and a script with more jokes packed in than in Airplane! There's even a Tarantino style beauty to the blood-spattering violence. There's basically nothing we didn't like.
Kick-Ass ticks all the boxes but shouldn't be categorised by them, because anyone who can take a bit of gratuitous murder and the odd ”c“ word on their cinema screens will love this film. Good on Chloe Moretz's parents for letting her blow up bad guys and swear like a chav on screen. Kick-Ass wouldn't be as immense without her, and that would be a damn shame.
www.kickass-themovie.com
Dave (Aaron Johnson) is an ordinary high-school student who decides that if Bruce Wayne can do it, so can he. After a lot of ill-advised bravado his new alter ego, Kick-Ass, manages to actually fight crime and becomes an overnight sensation. But Kick-Ass isn't the only ”super-hero“ in town, and he soon gets tied up in the far more dramatic revenge mission of potty-mouthed eleven-year-old assassin Hit Girl (Chloe Moretz) and her father/partner in crime Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage). When the baddies pick up their scent they enlist the help of flashy fake hero Red Mist (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) and things get a little heated.
Although we're about to compare Kick-Ass to Leon, let's just take a moment to remember how great Leon is. OK? Good. In terms of plot brilliance and spectacularly atmospheric use of violence they are both superb pieces of cinema. Then there's also the fact that they both feature outstanding performances from teenage girls. Beyond the Leon-a-likes, you will enjoy a low-key but amusing love thread and a script with more jokes packed in than in Airplane! There's even a Tarantino style beauty to the blood-spattering violence. There's basically nothing we didn't like.
Kick-Ass ticks all the boxes but shouldn't be categorised by them, because anyone who can take a bit of gratuitous murder and the odd ”c“ word on their cinema screens will love this film. Good on Chloe Moretz's parents for letting her blow up bad guys and swear like a chav on screen. Kick-Ass wouldn't be as immense without her, and that would be a damn shame.
www.kickass-themovie.com
