Reviewed By: Emanuel Caros

There's a thing about comic books that seems to be taken for granted when they're adapted into film.  At the movies, an audience can be wowed, and their senses stimulated, by pretty colors and kitschy lines.  In a comic book, the author is forced to rely on 2-d drawings and a good story to captivate the reader.  So when a comic is adapted for the screen, the interesting plot or appealing premise is already there, allowing for polished cinematography to act as icing on the cake.  Matthew Vaughn's (Layer Cake, Snatch) adaptation of Kick-Ass melds a new take on the superhero and the fancy camera-work of his past projects to create a movie that tears apart the genre and steps valiantly from the rubble.  

Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) is the most average comic book nerd imaginable until a beat-down at the hands of some local thugs leaves his body full of metal plates.  With justice in mind, and his recently accrued nerve damage, Dave sets out to do what others haven't done before: mimic the characters in his beloved comics.  After becoming a youtube sensation, he realizes he might have bit off more than he can chew, and enlists the aid of some other renegade vigilantes, some more capable than others.  

While the plot isn't groundbreaking, the perspective of a teenage kid without super powers fighting crime certainly is.  Still, that alone would not be enough to make Kick-Ass what it really is.  Two characters in particular catapult the film from mediocrity and into magnificence: Big Daddy and Hit Girl.  Played by Nicolas Cage and Chloe Moretz respectively, the father-daughter vigilante duo are much more prepared than the main character, equipped with a secret room full of guns, knives, and bazookas.  Cage puts his over-the-top acting to brilliant use in a hysterical Adam West (Batman in the live-action TV series) impression that only he could've made work.  Moretz, who was a bit annoying as the foul-mouthed little sister in 500 Days of Summer, steals the movie with a captivating performance as the extremely foul-mouthed and efficiently violent Hit Girl.  Aaron Johnson's performance as the protagonist, Dave/Kick-Ass, falls flat, at least in comparison to the incredible interaction between Cage and Moretz.  Every scene featuring the two is pure gold and leaves audiences anticipating their return whenever not on screen.  

The movie stalls in the second act, mainly because of Johnson's "blah" performance; but Vaughn's third directorial effort shows that he knew what he was doing on his other two films and in his role as producer of the Guy Ritchie classics.  Choppy transitions are reminiscent of quick scene changes in comic books, and his use of slow-motion is very Zack Snyder-esque (300, Watchmen) and that's definitely a good thing.  But what stand out the most are the action scenes.  The pages of the infamously violent comic book are brought to life without mercy as Big Daddy snipes between the eyes and Hit Girl slices people in half.  To make things even better, Vaughn gives the viewer, not one, but TWO epic action sequences.  Not since Brad Pitt boxing in Snatch has a mainstream movie displayed such satisfyingly gruesome fight scenes.  

The film's lack of major star-power, R rating, and virtual anonymity outside the nerd ranks will unfortunately limit its viewership; but Kick-Ass breathes much-needed fresh air into a genre made stale by excessive money-grubbing sequels.      


7.5/10