Written by: Jane Goldman & Matthew Vaughn
Starring: Lee Pace, Carrie Coon, Amy Smart, Ray Baker
Rating: [4/5]
Quite often in comic books, a prerequisite to going out and operating as a vigilante includes either special powers or at least a competent level of fighting skill. Anything less would guarantee a short lifespan for this vigilante as they embark in taking on the most dangerous members of society. Kick-Ass posits the idea of diving right into this work with none of it and despite its eye-opening elements the film does not fail in delivering something wholly intriguing in the way it dissects hero culture in our modern age.
With zero luck attracting the ladies and not much else going for him as a high school geek, Dave (Aaron Johnson) plans to become a real-life superhero named Kick-Ass. After his first outing where he gets beaten up pretty bad, which multiple surgeries have helped him build a high pain tolerance that has set him up down a path where he meets actual capable vigilantes in Hit-Girl (Chloë Grace Moretz) and Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage).
Kick-Ass offers various fascinating points to dissect about the way it innovatively approached the superhero genre due to the requirement to operate within a world where physics exist, but also the cultural significance of vigilantism and how this mystique can build through an era where people watch things online and can build a reputation. Many elements have certainly not aged well, which comes with the territory of a black comedy superhero film but it all comes together in building out this wholly unique comic book story as compared to what gets offered out in the marketplace.
Gritty represents the word that comes to mind when thinking of what this film tries to display along with brutality. A level of violence gets displayed here that most comic book films would ever dare explore in their fear of getting branded with the Rated R stamp that kicks out a huge chunk of the audience they seek. Kick-Ass has no fear in this regard, as things get quite violent and bloody often throughout the film. It sets the tone from Dave’s first outing as Kick-Ass where he gets obliterated and the film displays right away these are not some villains who will just throw punches, but would actually try and kill him with knives. It certainly took me aback on the first viewing, but things only get crazier with the introduction of Big Daddy and Hit-Girl.
As Kick-Ass grows in notoriety, his interactions with this father-daughter crime fighting duo displays what having actual talent in this arena looks like. They operate as vigilantes as well but certainly do not follow the ethics and codes of most comic book characters who refuse to kill. Big Daddy and Hit-Girl have no problem in straight-up killing all of these villains without a second thought, which proves jarring at first. Having Bid Daddy so openly kill people with guns while looking exactly like a Batman rip off just takes the cake but it demonstrates an extreme level of violence that creates a weird feeling when seeing a young girl like Hit-Girl inflict on others that asks major questions as to why. Certainly one of the more objectionable elements of the film, but one very much in keeping with the jarring nature of this film as a whole.
Outside of the violence this film relishes in exhibiting, it also provides an intriguing look at the rise of a culture where social currency on the internet mattered more than anything else. We witness this in the way Dave records himself as Kick-Ass as a way to display his journey but when he continues to gain notoriety for it, his social capital begins to climb. It raises some questions about what really keeps him going, seeing as stepping out as a vigilante gets him the attention he has always sought from girls like Katie (Lyndsy Fonseca). We further see this divide between the various intentions in getting involved with this work and a selfishness that begins to show itself with Dave that stretches beyond his hero ambition, but also in the way he lies to Katie in pretending to be gay so he can get close to her. It definitely creates some disconcerting scenes but we get multiple facets into this character and his intentions, which makes the moments where things get serious all the more daunting.
With all of its fun and questionable elements, Kick-Ass presents a fascinating look at the world of being a hero and what this would look like in reality. It strips away all the glitz and glamour typically associated with this lifestyle and displays it for the recklessly dangerous lifestyle it begets for those choosing to don a mask and fight crime. Everything here makes it such a unique viewing experience warts and all as it has certainly aged and contains plenty of childish humor for something exhibiting several fairly serious elements to it.
Films with Josh 
