Kick Ass Review

Don’t worry, no spoilers…

Kick ass is fucking awesome.  There, Ill start it with that.  Yet when I first saw the trailer a few months back I thought it was going to blow.  I know some people share my thoughts on that, because the trailer doesn’t do the movie justice at all.  For those who know me, throw a rated R on something and im automatically interested, then toss in controversy and im sold. I also learned that every large Hollywood studio refused investing in Kick-Ass.  So that means to get funded the director Matt Vaughn went outside the studios and financed it with people like Brad Pitt.  This is great news for LOTS of reasons but the main thing is that Vaughn had the freedom to go to town!  Its violent, anti-PC, vulgar, crude, and no bullshit thrown in to cater to toy companies or sponsors.  Yet with that comes controversy especially with a character who cusses like a drunk sailor and kills people brutally and without remorse, oh and shes an 11 year old girl. Chloe Grace Moretz isn’t new to acting but she just came on my radar, and easily stole the movie. So much so that she is now currently one of my favorite movie characters of ALL TIME.  I shit you not, she was that awesome, much Kudos to the kid.  Right now the movie is getting mixed reviews, and in all honesty I can see why. Its violent, has graphic language, goes over the top at times and is crude.  I personally loved everything about it.

The main character is a nerdy high school kid who gets tired of taking shit from bad guys and feels he needs to do something about it.  Yes, I know this sounds familiar but the way it is approached and unfolds is ingenius.  I wont ruin everything, but what do you think would happen if a scrawny kid came up to some bad ass guys stealing a car and threatened them? It goes above what you could think and I love the movie for not pulling any punches and going to town on the action and violence.  Yet there is still some great humor to the movie, even the most disturbing and eye popping moments get broken up by hilarious one liners and comedy.

The great thing is that this movie takes place in OUR universe, not in the DC or Marvel universe.  So there are references to Batman, and Spiderman as inspirations and ideas.  This movie takes the comic book genre and fucks its face off.  The regular ol cliché’s that have been beaten to death this past decade are used and satired but also given a brutal dose of reality.  The hero isn’t just a nerd… hes a nobody, a nieve and dumb kid thrown into a cold world.

The writing is great with smooth and quick witted dialogue that will crack you up.  The director does a great job with subtle details and information to keep you in the story, and Kick-Ass actually has four credited composers. So the music is great and works seamlessly in bringing you into the story, as well as every single set design that looks like its been brought right out of a comic book.  The acting is also top notch from everyone except McLovin who really just seemed like a gimmicky nerd attachment.  Yet everyone else does an awesome job and Chloe Grace Moretz as HitGirl deserves a fucking Oscar. Even Nicolas Cage who hasn’t had a decent outing in years does a good job and even mimics the Adam West voice as Batman.

So even with all these strengths and me licking its taint with love there are still a few cliché’s that just couldn’t get avoided.  The final act gets pretty predictable and slowly loses its realism, but the movie is entertaining as hell. The director did an awesome job putting this together and I plan to see any movie Matt Vaughn makes from here on out.

For anyone looking to see a ridiculously bad ass movie who loves controversy and going as far from PC as possible, then go check out Kick-Ass.