Kick Ass - Rating 7/10
It's such a simple and potentially brilliant idea, it makes you wonder why no-one has thought of it before.
Geeky teen, Dave Lizewski, the lead character in Matthew Vaughn's (Stardust, Layer Cake) newest offering asks the same question, wondering why no-one has thoght of actually being a superhero. Aided by a scubo suit from ebay and deadened nerve endings meaning he can take more of a beating than most - and he does - Dave takes on the criminal underworld. After a youtube video of Dave taking on a street gang propels him to internet stardom, Dave - now called Kick Ass - collides with slightly psychotic daddy/daughter crimefighting team Big Daddy and Hit Girl , who are waging their own private war against the city's criminal underworld.
Its such a great idea, it just doesn't quite work.
Much has been said (mainly by the Daily Mail) about the fact the star of the piece is a foul-mouthed, knife wielding 11 year old girl Hit Girl. Played brilliantly by "one-to-watch" Chloe Moretz, there is undeniably something quite disturbing about the way her father has stripped her of a normal childhood, in order to become a killing machine. There is, though, something undeniably entertaining about an 11 year old girl taking on an entire group of mafia gangsters. Any violence in the film - and there is a lot - is far from gritty and real, with a taste of comic book super-splatter along with some very clever set pieces.
The second revelation of the piece is Nic "Crazy" Cage. Its been a long time since he has done anything worth singing about, but with the character of Big Daddy, a blatant rip-off of Batman even down to the use of Adam West speech style, Cage has rediscovered something of the wild, manic genius of former glories Face Off and Con Air.
The acting talent on display is undeniable, there are some great back stories (Kick Ass is chasing a girl who thinks he is gay) and the plot races along at a high pace. There are some brilliantly entertaining points such as Big Daddy training his daugther by shooting her point blank. The final scene in particular is the movie's salvation with what is essentially a reworking of The Matrix's lobby scene, and is uber-cool, super violent and very, very funny. The soundtrack choice is sublime, using Elvis in ways you would have never dreamed, and mimicking The Dark Knight's pulse-racing one note strings to build tension very effectively.
It just feels like it could have been more - kind of like a 99 ice cream without the flake. With a great initial premise, and some brilliant characters, the centre of the film seems to lose itself, getting into all sorts of cliched existential talk of "why am i here/what am I doing?", which was the biggest weakness of Sam Raimi's Spiderman/Peter Parker. Vaughn's temptation to go darker in a fairly harrowing torture scene, screened on the internet, also feels a little out of place and unnecessary.
Kick Ass does deliver on many levels, and certainly keeps a frenetic pace while still leaving time to delve into some interesting characters. There are some wildly entertaining moments, but it feels like there is more fun to be had with this idea. Perhaps the inevitable sequel would develop this further.
Sex/Nudity - opening scenes show Kick Ass fantasising over his teacher and a couple of topless internet images. There are a few references to breasts, with some close ups on cleavage. One sex scene where characters are clothed.
Swearing - Lots of uses of the f-word. One use of the c-word by Hit Girl.
Violence - Quiet graphic but comic book style. Mainly blood splatter.
