Retrospective Review: Kick-Ass

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Score: 8/10

“Come on, be honest with yourself. At some point in our lives, we all wanted to be a superhero.” – Dave Lizewski/ Kick-Ass

Kick-Ass is not a movie for children. It is lewd, obscene, and over the top. However, it is an excellent movie as director Matthew Vaughn utilizes ridiculousness to keep the film funny and entertaining while balancing it with realism to develop the serious theme of the story. The movie is based on the comic book series written by Mark Millar. Kick-Ass explores the idea of actual people attempting to be superheroes in real life. Why does no one actually try it in real life? This question bugs the protagonist of the movie, Dave Lizewski (Aaron Taylor-Johnson). At the beginning of the film, he asks his friends “How come nobody’s ever tried to be a superhero?” His friends respond that no one has powers in real life, like Superman, to be a superhero. When Dave brings up that Bruce Wayne has no powers but is able to be Batman, his friends correctly answer that he has “expensive shit that doesn’t exist” and anyone foolish enough to try it would be dead within a day. Consequently, Dave concedes the reasons no one is able to be a superhero. Nevertheless, he does not understand why no one even tries since there are countless comic book fans that definitely fantasize about it. In his words, “Jesus, guys, doesn’t it bug you? Like thousand of people wanna be Paris Hilton and nobody wants to be Spiderman.” This conversation embodies the theme of Kick-Ass. It reinforces the reasons no one would ever seriously consider trying to be a superhero while indulging the comic book fan’s imagination of what the attempt would be like in a morbid yet fun way.

The protagonist of Kick-Ass, Dave Lizewski, is an unassuming, average teenager in high school. He has sexual fantasies about his English teacher and a crush on one of the popular and pretty girls in school, Katie Deauxma (Lyndsey Fonseca). He is just a teenager going through puberty that is trying to handle his hormones. There is nothing special about him. In his own words, “I guess I’m the last person you’d expect to become a superhero. I’m not saying there was anything wrong with me, but there was nothing special, either. I wasn’t into sports, I wasn’t a mathlete or a hardcore gamer. I didn’t have a piercing, or an eating disorder, or 3000 friends on MySpace. My only superpower was being invisible to girls. And out of my friends, man, I wasn’t even the funny one. Like most people my age, I just existed.” Moreover, Dave and his friends consistently get robbed by two muggers on their way home from the comic book store. Eventually, he decides to do something about it and goes with his idea to try to be a superhero. As such, he purchases a full body, green wet suit as a disguise and batons as weapons. He decides on the name Kick-Ass. His first attempt at being a hero is a disaster and he almost gets himself killed. He encounters the two muggers trying to steal a car and decides to confront them as Kick-Ass. Dave wildly swings at them with his batons and quickly gets stabbed in the stomach. He gets disoriented by the wound and stumbles into the street where he gets hit by a car. Although he survives, this scene highlights why no one ever tries to be a superhero in real life. It is dangerous world that includes bad people who may also have guns and knives. Even for trained law enforcement, it can be a perilous task to fight criminals. If you have no training, you will just get yourself seriously injured, like Kick-Ass, or killed. I like that this scene graphically illustrates this point.

Despite the setback, Dave is not deterred. His second attempt to be a hero ends much better. He intervenes when three gang members beat up a man. He fights them with his batons and protects the victim. As the incident occurs in a parking lot, the people in the nearby restaurants and stores watch and record it on their phones. For this reason, the gang members run away as they did not want to kill two people in front of a lot of witnesses. Moreover, they need to escape before the police arrive. However, the videos from the phones get posted to Youtube and go viral. As a result, Kick-Ass becomes an instant celebrity and the talk of the news and late night talk shows. Of course, Dave enjoys the attention as Kick-Ass receives a lot of MySpace friend requests and emails from fans. I really like this scene. He did not do anything more but stand up for what he felt was right. Nevertheless, he becomes an inspiration for others to do good deeds. It brings me back to Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy and one of the reasons that Bruce Wayne keeps his identity as Batman a secret. It does not matter who Batman is as “a hero can be anyone”. Kick-Ass reminds me of that point as Dave is an average teenager that becomes a hero. Although he does not defeat the gang members, the public respects the fact that he knew what was right and fought for his beliefs. While I do not suggest getting into physical confrontations with thugs or a gang, it is important to remember that you can be a hero by doing the right thing even if it seems simple and does not get publicized.

When Dave got stabbed as Kick-Ass earlier, the paramedics cut off all his clothes when they save his life. However, a rumor floats around his school that he was found naked. As such, his classmates assume that means he is gay. A comical consequence of the rumor is that Katie Deauxma finally acknowledges Dave and befriends him as she is looking for a gay BFF. As it allows Dave to get close to her, he goes along with it. As she believes he is gay, she becomes very comfortable with him. For example, there is a scene where she is only wearing her underwear and putting her hands in front of her nipples to hide them as Dave applies lotion to her bare back. As it is a fantasy of any horny teenager, it is the type of perks that motivates him to carry on with the facade. While this part of the storyline pushes the envelope a bit, it is very funny to watch. Moreover, Katie is also attracted to Kick-Ass. As such, Dave tries to capitalize on his superhero persona to impress Katie so that she will be his girlfriend. Although she is initially shocked when Dave reveals that he is Kick-Ass and not gay, she grew to have feelings for Dave anyway and the fact that he is Kick-Ass turns her on. In most comic book movies, the heroes generally do not like to abuse their superhero status to pick up women. The fact that Dave uses Kick-Ass to win over Katie makes the film realistic. Celebrities use their status to satisfy their desires. If superheroes existed, you can be certain that they would capitalize on their status for this purpose. Lyndsey Fonseca gives a solid performance playing Katie. She comes off as adorable and a caring person. In as graceful of words as I could come up with, she also has a very active libido when she is Dave’ girlfriend. In other words, she is the perfect dream girl for every teenage boy. When Dave dates her, he has an epiphany that no one would risk being a superhero as everyone has something to live for as Katie becomes Dave’s reason for living. The movie does an excellent job in using this relationship to link back to its theme.

While Dave becomes Kick-Ass, Damon Macready (Nicholas Cage) continues to aggressively train his daughter Mindy Macready (Chloë Grace Moretz) so they can be superheroes. Unlike Kick-Ass, they are the real deal. His code name is Big Daddy while hers is Hit-Girl. The first scene in the movie we see them is when Damon is teaching Mindy not to be afraid of getting shot. How does he accomplish it? He shoots Mindy a couple of times in close range so she knows how it feels to be shot and will not be scared when criminals shoot her. Of course, she has a bullet proof vest. While Damon clearly loves his daughter, his idea to turn his baby girl into a killing machine is obviously insane. As you watch their relationship, you cannot help but to think Damon has brainwashed his daughter and that someone needs to call child services. Their idea of a good time is Damon asking Mindy trivia questions about weapons. One of the funnier scenes in the movie is when Damon asks Mindy what she wants for her birthday. In order to mess with her father, she tells him she wants a puppy. After she sees he is distraught by the idea, she admits she is joking and asks for a knife. Relieved by the answer, he enthusiastically promises that he will buy her two knives.

Big Daddy and Hit-Girl is a very important part of the Kick-Ass story. First, they make it realistic as it shows that individuals would have to be highly trained and insanely dedicated as Big Daddy and Hit-Girl are in order to be superheroes. However, the two are so over the top that it is obviously not realistic. As such, it is consistent with the notion that it would be crazy and foolish for anyone to try it in real life. In my opinion, Chloë Grace Moretz is the star of the movie. She is cute and charismatic. There are also a lot of great scenes where she is killing criminals in spectacular and outrageous fashion. Quentin Tarantino would be proud. On the other hand, Big Daddy is a great character but I feel Nicholas Cage’s performance is terrible. I liked his earlier work such as his leading roles in the Rock, Face-Off, and Matchstick Men. Unfortunately, he is great at playing a neurotic, paranoid, and self loathing character but is not capable of doing anything else. In Kick-Ass, I did not understand the purpose of the stutter, monotone speech in some scenes which made him sound like a 1980s computer. In general, he is overacting a lot of his scenes.

During the movie, Katie tells Dave about ex-boyfriend, Rasul, who is a drug dealer and will not leave her alone. He convinces her to email Kick-Ass to deal with Rasul. Consequently, he gets in over his head as he confronts Rasul at his house as Kick-Ass. Before Rasul is able to kill Dave, Hit-Girl intervenes to kill Rasul and all his associates. As such, Dave learns about Hit-Girl and Big Daddy. They help him conceal his identity, such as rerouting his IP address. In addition, Kick-Ass is blamed for the vigilante justice that Hit-Girl and Big Daddy commit. As a result, aiding Kick-Ass also helps them cover their own tracks as law enforcement and the mob will be distracted and looking for Kick-Ass instead of realizing it is actually Hit-Girl and Big Daddy waging a war against organized crime. I also like the scene since Dave realizes that he was disillusioned in thinking he was a superhero after watching Hit-Girl do things he could never do. Again, it emphasizes the fact that average people cannot be superheroes.

We also learn that Damon was a former police officer. With his partner Marcus (Omari Hardwick), they were very successful in fighting the mob, led by Frank D’Amico (Mark Strong). As a result, D’Amico targets Damon and frames him for dealing drugs. As Damon is imprisoned, his wife commits suicide due to the strain. Consequently, Damon dedicates him and his daughter to revenge and will not stop until they destroy the entire mob and kill D’Amico. They are ruthless in the task. For example, they brutally kill one of D’Amico’s men with a car crusher even though he tells them everything they wanted to know from him. On the other hand, D’Amico is more sadistic. His one redeeming factor is his unconditional love for his son, Chris D’Amico (Christopher Mintz-Plasse). Chris is a needy teenager that yearns for his place in his father’s organization. Naturally, Frank is hesitant to involve Chris as he is still very young and only a teenager. However, Chris comes up with a brilliant idea to be a superhero called Red Mist. He uses the persona to gain the trust of Kick-Ass. The plan is to lure Kick-Ass into a trap so Frank D’Amico’s men can kill him. However, Chris realizes that Kick-Ass is just a wannabe superhero and that Big Daddy and Hit-Girl are the real threats. As such, he is smart enough to trick Kick-Ass into leading his father’s men to Big Daddy and Hit-Girl. Christopher Mintz-Plasse does an excellent job playing Chris D’Amico. He definitely comes off as a spoiled brat who needs his dad’s affection and approval.

Nothing shows Frank D’Amico’s lack of mercy or compassion more than his intention to have Kick-Ass killed publicly on television and the internet despite his son’s protest. Although his son explains to him that Kick-Ass is just a geeky teenager and Big Daddy and Hit-Girl are the real threats, Frank does not care. As Kick-Ass is the only superhero the public knows about, Frank explains that Kick-Ass must also be killed to deter anyone else from believing they can be a superhero and be a problem for his business. Mark Strong’s performance is superb. He is definitely believable as a ruthless mob boss. The fight scenes at the end of the movie are very fun and entertaining. The final fight scene is an assault on D’Amico’s home. The battle also features a bazooka and another special toy. Hit-Girl leads the charge killing mobsters in gruesome manner. Again, it is so over the top that it is fun instead of morbid. I also like that Kick-Ass gets an opportunity to step up and actually be a superhero.  In general, Vaughn’s action scenes are very well done. It is simple and does not rely on special effects. For Quentin Tarantino fans, I think of Kick-Ass as Kill Bill lite.

Kick-Ass is definitely not a movie for everyone. It is rated R for a reason and is definitely not intended for children. For anyone over 18 who ever dreamed of being a superhero at some point in his life, it is an excellent movie that has great characters and plot. Again, I enjoy it because it answers the very important question of why no one tries to be a superhero while indulging us in the fantasy.

Pat Wong

About Pat Wong

Patrick is a contributor for Rookerville. He is an avid sports fan. Before joining Rookerville, he was part of a defunct New York Yankees message board, NYYankeefans, where he was its top poster and was inducted in its Hall of Fame for his contributions. Patrick is also a passionate fan of movies. He has enjoyed reading movie reviews over the years and is excited about the opportunity to review movies.

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