Kick-Ass - A Review

Image via Wikipedia

"Are you one of the people who see something that they're not supposed to and pretend not to see it, instead of doing something about it?" This question is the premise of Kick-Ass, directed by Matthew Vaughn. Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) is your average nerdy high school kid who is into comic books. He and his nerdy friends were occasionally getting mugged by the thugs in their town. One day, he decided he was tired of it and made up his mind that he would be a superhero named Kick-Ass, even though he did not have any training on self-defense or weaponry. During his first venture as a superhero, he sees the two men who mugged him trying to steal a car. The men told him to leave but he did not and he ended up getting stabbed. When the paramedics arrived, he pleaded with them to hide his suit due to embarrassment. He survives the attack but he ended up in the hospital, with frayed nerves and a body full of metal plates. After this unfortunate incident, he was still determined to be a superhero, so he set up a MySpace page where people could contact him to ask for help. While on a mission, he sees a guy getting beaten up by the thugs of the local mobster Frank D'Amico (Mark Strong). Due to his numb condition, Kick-Ass did not feel much pain and in the end he beat up the thugs. People were watching during the incident and somehow the video made it to YouTube, making Kick-Ass an overnight sensation. Meanwhile, a father-daughter team who saw the video wanted to help Kick-Ass because they somehow sensed that he did not know how to defend himself. Damon (Nicolas Cage) and Mindy Macready (Chloë Grace Moretz) were well-trained in weaponry and had mad fighting skills. Damon was an ex-cop holding a grudge against D'Amico. He initially thought it was not necessary to help Kick-Ass, but Mindy changed his mind. In one of Kick-Ass' missions, Damon and Mindy appear to him as Big Daddy and Hit-Girl, their superhero alter egos. They also managed to save his life and offered to help him whenever he needed it. Kick-Ass went home frustrated and wondered, was it really worth it to be a superhero?

The movie is quite refreshing because it breaks a lot of molds. A nerdy superhero with no superpowers? Check. A purple-haired 11-year old sharp shooter who looks like an angel but swears like a sailor? Check. These attributes make watching the movie fun though, because they were so unexpected. The scene where Damon shoots Mindy on the chest was shocking, only to find out she was wearing bulletproof armor and he just wanted her to get used to the impact. Her expertise with the folding knife was also fascinating to watch. I would say the real star of the movie was Chloë Grace Moretz because she was the one who kicked ass, literally and figuratively. This movie certainly would pave the way to good roles and of course, success, because she is exceptionally talented. All in all, the movie was exhilarating and a lot of fun to watch.