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"KICK-ASS"
(2010) (Aaron Johnson, Chloe Grace Moretz) (R)

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QUICK TAKE:
Action-Comedy: A teenage superhero wannabe finds himself in over his head when he takes to the streets to fight crime, but runs afoul of a drug kingpin who doesn't like his efforts or that of other superheroes, including a father-daughter duo.
PLOT:
Dave Lizewski (AARON JOHNSON) is an average teenager who, like his best friends Marty (CLARK DUKE) and Todd (EVAN PETERS), wouldn't stand out in a crowd and thus is essentially invisible to the girl of his dreams, Katie Deauxma (LYNDSY FONESCA). Of course, Dave's comic book obsession probably doesn't help matters, although he doesn't let anyone know he's ordered his own superhero outfit.

With that, he decides to hit the streets as "Kick-Ass," but his first foray into crime-fighting results in him being knifed in the gut and then hit by a car. The latter not only results in him receiving various metal plates throughout his body, but also the inability to feel pain. That gives him new confidence for his next outing as a superhero, and while he gets beat up quite badly, he saves a victim and in the process becomes a viral Internet sensation after video of his deed goes online.

That doesn't sit well with drug kingpin Frank D'Amico (MARK STRONG) who thinks this masked figure is responsible for thwarting the efforts of his goons. When his men, including Big Joe (MICHAEL RISPOLI) and corrupt cop Det. Gigante (XANDER BERKELEY), can't find Kick-Ass, Frank's teenage son, Chris (CHRISTOPHER MINTZ-PLASSE) -- who wants to join his dad in the family business -- offers to pose as another superhero, Red Mist, and thus lure the fellow teen into a trap.

Little do the criminals know that the real thorn in their side is Damon Macready (NICOLAS CAGE), a one-time cop -- and former partner to Sgt. Marcus Williams (OMARI HARDWICK) -- whose superhero alter-ego is Big Daddy and who has an axe to grind with Frank. Unlike the teens, Damon is highly trained and possesses a large arsenal of powerful weapons, something he shares with his equally proficient 11-year-old daughter, Mindy (CHLOE GRACE MORETZ), a.k.a. Hit-Girl.

As Dave continues on his quest, little does he anticipate the ramifications his actions will have not only on himself, but also for others.

OUR TAKE: 7 out of 10
Every few years or so, a controversial movie gets released that, as the descriptor directly implies, generates strife. That can occur among certain religious, ethnic and other sorts of groups, or can pretty much apply across the board to everyone. And, of course, such films usually benefit from said controversy as that generates more discussion about the release and thus, in effect, boatloads of free publicity.

All of that said, the passage of time and softening of social mores often make once highly controversial films seem like no big deal in hindsight. While something like Larry Clark's 1995 "Kids" will probably always be disturbing (with its frank portrayal of sexually active and drug using teens), other films such as 1976's "The Bad News Bears" have lost much of their shock value (the latter stemmed from kids cussing, using ethnic slurs and generally acting like miniature and ill-mannered adults).

Granted, comedy (whether straight-up, satirical or tinged black) often softens the severity of such material, as was the case with "Bears." That sort of comedy is apparently what some filmmakers have in mind with "Kick-Ass," an offbeat, occasionally quite funny and sometimes highly entertaining but also viciously violent and profane send-up of comic book superheroes and their related movies.

Its controversy stems from otherwise ordinary kids being those characters who curse like sailors, get the stuffing beaten out of them, and kill the various villains without blinking an eye. And while hers isn't the main character, Chloe Grace Moretz (who also appeared in this year's far more kid friendly "Diary of a Wimpy Kid") is getting all the media and related attention as she only turned 13 this year and is playing an 11-year-old sporting all of the above qualities. In doing so, she nearly makes Uma Thurman in the "Kill Bill" films seem like a nun or at least choir girl in comparison.

Working from Jane Goldman and Matthew Vaughn's screenplay adaptation of Mark Millar's comic book series, director Matthew Vaughn is going for something of a similar giddy action vibe as Quentin Tarantino mined in the two "KB" flicks. The stunts, fight choreography and various kill shots (and stabbings, blows, explosions and such) are all cinematically balletic in nature and are arranged to exude the maximum amount of "cool" for the target audience of those 25 and under, while there's plenty of slick dialogue and other such elements designed to stoke said young eyeballs.

The result is likely to divide viewers who get the parody and willingly go along for the ride and those who don't want to see, hear and/or experience kids involved in such things, be they the deliverer or recipient. While such material certainly caught yours truly off guard (not being familiar with the source work) and some of the brutality inflicted on young "Hit-Girl" is indeed shocking, I didn't have any issue accepting the approach the filmmakers took with their story and characters or the decidedly black comedy tone in which all of it's bathed.

In fact, it doesn't take anything more than the opening scene to signal just that. In it, a kid, dressed in a superhero outfit, leaps off a tall building and plummets toward terra firma (or, more accurately, concreta firma). Yet, rather than pull up, fly off and/or perform some sort of skilled acrobatic maneuver like all other superhero characters, this poor soul smashes directly into a car, putting an abrupt end to any related crime-fighting efforts (not to mention the lives of anyone who might have been in that vehicle).

You'll either chuckle or wince at that moment, with that reaction then indicating or at least coloring your view of everything that's to follow (including Moretz's character, when we first see her, having things explained to her by a calm Nicolas Cage before he guns her down).

The shooting of a child is obviously no laughing matter, especially when it's done by the father. But the joke here is that she's wearing a bulletproof vest, is training her for a career in fighting crime, and is going to be shot two more times in the line of said training.

Again, you'll laugh or recoil at that material, as well as most everything that comes after that. While I can't say how much of the latter occurred with our preview screening audience, I can attest that I haven't heard such enthusiastic applause -- as occurs when the 11-year-old starts doing far more damage than the title might suggest -- in quite a long time.

Yet, hers isn't the main character, as the titular figure is played by Aaron Johnson who also serves as our narrator, viewing and commenting in hindsight about the action and such, including how the catalyst for him becoming a superhero isn't what one usually expects.

It's such moments, the various nuances in behavior, physical movements and dialogue delivery (including Cage having a hilarious sort of Adam West-playing-Batman cadence while in the role of his alter-ego) and, of course, the black comedy tinged moments of shock that make the flick -- at least to yours truly -- something of a fun and enjoyable ride.

No, it isn't for everyone, and certainly isn't anywhere near appropriate for kids (the irony being that Moretz has said in interviews that her parents won't allow her to see the finished film, even if they agreed to let her say such things and pretend to do the rest). But for those who get the joke and don't mind the approach, it's likely going to be entertaining to one degree or another, even as the young actress' supporting character steals the movie from the titular one. "Kick-Ass" rates as a 7 out of 10.




Reviewed April 7, 2010 / Posted April 16, 2010


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