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Directed by: Matthew Vaughn Premise: An average high school student (Aaron
Johnson) who likes comic books decides to assume the identity of a superhero and
spends his nights in costume, fighting crime. At the same time, a father and
daughter (Nicolas Cage and Chloe Moertz) take on a local crime lord. What Works: Kick-Ass is a lot of fun to
watch. The film is funny and irreverent, deflating the sense of self-importance
that often hurts a lot of these films. Kick-Ass is split into two
narrative plot lines, which eventually merge together pretty smoothly. The
primary storyline of high school student Dave Lizewski and his superhero
identity as Kick-Ass is done with a fair amount of credibility as it follows the
character’s trials and failures. Although it plays up the ridiculousness of it
and falls prey to some romantic clichés, there is also some underlying themes
of living a life of significance and meaning that are well intended and cut a
little deeper than expected. Similarly, the subplot of crime lord Frank
D’Amico (Mark Strong) and his son (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), although
indulging a lot of gangster posturing, has some thematic weight to it as the son
begins to incorporate himself into the family business. The other major plot
line of Kick-Ass occurs between a father and daughter who also fight
crime as vigilantes but are dead serious in their approach and professional in
their execution. Nicolas Cage gives one of his (intentionally) funniest
performances in years in this movie and his character’s relationship with his
daughter, played by Chloe Moertz, also gives this film some emotional reality. Kick-Ass
is extremely violent and bloody but the violence of the father and daughter is
often offset by humor and ironic music choices, giving the action scenes the
same sense of ridiculousness as a Road Runner cartoon. What Doesn’t: Kick-Ass is hurt by a lack
of commitment to some of the themes of its story and style. The film begins as
some kind of metatext about comic books and superheroes but it does not go all
the way with it and never completes its point about heroism or vigilantism. The
film also goes awry at moments when it suspends the more realistic approach for
a more traditional shoot ‘em up action style. Bottom Line: Although Kick-Ass does not reach the heights of The Dark Knight or Iron Man, it is better than a great deal of other, more high profile comic book films including Superman Returns and Watchmen and it’s worth a look by action and superhero aficionados. |
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