Kick-Ass

Kick-Ass is a new take on a superhero film. Instead of greatness being thrust upon them, some people decide to create their own greatness despite not having any superhero powers.

The teenage nerd Dave (Aaron Johnson) wonders with his other comic book reading friends, since superheroes are so popular, why no one has tried to be one in real life? He takes his idea and makes it reality, becoming the ninja-like Kick-Ass, a superhero who battles bad guys with batons. But even under the costume, Dave finds his natural fear often takes over and at first his attempts are unsuccessful. He does eventually save a man and becomes an internet sensation.

Kick-Ass’ success inspires a father and daughter to do the same. Damon (Nicolas Cage), a former cop who was framed by a mobster Frank D’Amico (Mark Strong), has lived a strange life with his daughter Mindy (Chloe Moretz). Damon has raised his daughter with knowledge of weapons in an ultimate plan to get revenge on D’Amico, and they become Big Daddy and Hit Girl. Although their lives are scattered with references to the many weapons they have and knowledge of artillery, you can see it is a very loving though abnormal relationship.

When D’Amico suspects that Kick-Ass has killed some of his henchmen, D’Amico’s son Chris (Christopher Mintz Plasse) convinces his father to let him take the reins. He proposes to become Red Mist, to befriend Kick-Ass. Chris also has some issues with his dad as he wants to join the family business, although D’Amico doesn’t think he is ready. This is Chris’ chance to prove otherwise.

Based on a comic book (as 95% of superhero movies seem to be these days), Kick-Ass' action is often over the top, although I found the comedy and story mostly good. Some of the violence, while it is almost always comic book-type or cartoon-style, can be a little hard to stomach if you think about it a bit. For instance near the start of the film, Damon trains his daughter to take a bullet by shooting her while she has a bullet-proof vest on. The film was criticized a bit for its violence, because it was being enacted by and on children, especially Hit Girl who maybe enjoys her work too much.