The End of the Page

Kick-Ass: Non-Stop Costumed Insanity

Say hello to my little friends, Laverne and Shirley.

Rating: 7 out of 10

It was only a matter of time until we reached this inevitable moment where the comic book stories started to move away from the radiation-powered heroes and villains  to the non-mutant kids that actually read them. Every kid who turned those colorful paneled pages had those moments where they gazed out the window and dreamed of a world where they could fly, burn holes through walls using only their eyes and actually help the good people in the world (or maybe just rob banks, depending on the kid). In the end it was all about wanting to be more than they were – something extraordinary. For some, gaining that elusive feeling meant putting their heads down and burying themselves in study, research and grunt work until they were recognized as experts in their chosen field. Others put on flashy tights. Tomato, tomahto.

Kick-Ass is a comic-book adaptation about a young boy who decides to make the transition from normal teenage wallflower into costumed vigilante justice. Ignoring the lack of any real powers or drive for vengeance, he plows forward only to find himself embroiled in a real-life crime ring, landing himself in the crosshairs of real criminals with real guns who really kill people. There is help though, from a costumed father/daughter pair who mentors him in what it really means to be a superhero.

[A quick disclaimer: I didn't read the original comic series, so this is a commentary on only the movie itself and not how well or not well the adaptation was made. If it was a wonderfully truthful adaptation, that's great, but that only really helps those people in the audience who have actually read it.]

While it starts out with a very Kevin Smith-style conversation, this movie quickly ascends into a level of ridiculousness that separates it solidly from the pack. It’s grows into something more akin to Unbreakable remade by high school kids, but I mean that in a positive way. The viewpoint throughout the film is not looking down or lording over these characters, but it looks from within, through the childlike eyes of what it would really feel like to try and become a superhero and transform yourself into the savior instead of the saved. It’s an old archetypal story — with a lot more spandex and pleather.

The lead character, Dave ‘aka Kick-Ass’ (played by Aaron Johnson), is the moral center of the story and he’s the audience’s window into this world. While his role is integral to the story, as a character he suffers a bit from being the launching pad for the more extreme and entertaining people. Quickly enough we are introduced to ‘Hit Girl’, played with unwavering intensity by Chloe Moretz, and her comically imbalanced dad, otherwise known as ‘Big Daddy’, played beautifully by the constantly working icon, Nicolas Cage. This dynamic duo are the comic book within the comic book, the fantasy within the reality of Dave’s world. Due to the level of violence and brutality these two characters generate throughout their screen time, it was fundamentally necessary to pick people who could play the ridiculous nature of their actions without allowing the characters themselves to seem or feel ridiculous. Cage was a godsend in this respect and there are few people better than him at accomplishing this kind of task. Cage may have become a joke to some, but I think they underplay this man’s range. Go back and watch Leaving Las Vegas, then immediately pop in Raising Arizona. He is supremely talented on both ends of the spectrum. While he might not be getting those prime roles lately, I think that has more to do with the fact he is working non-stop and those roles don’t come along as often versus proof of his decline in skill. Moretz, on the other hand, may be a relative newcomer by some standards, but in her six years of stealing scenes she’s already racked up a ton of voice-over credits and now seems quite poised to take over as the resident precocious, overly-intelligent little sister/neighbor/friend/what-have-you.

As for the man with the plan, Matthew Vaughn only has three directorial credits under his belt so far (Layer Cake, Stardust and this new addition), but all have been incredibly successful in their own right. He continues to do a beautiful job of creating the world of the story, both in front of the camera and behind it (he co-wrote the screenplays for Kick-Ass and Stardust). Yet, so far I think his best overall effort has been Layer Cake, the one script he didn’t touch (it was written for the screen by J.J. Connolly, the author of the original book). The only thing I believe this proves is the original author can be better with the cutting knife on their own story than someone else.

The End of the Page Recommendation: Kick-Ass doesn’t disappoint in the ass kicking department, but it borders on repetition by the closing credits. For comic book fans, it’s required viewing, just to relive the fantasies you know you had at that age. Oh, on a personal side note, National Treasure is popcorn genius! Viva la Cage!