Kick-Ass (2010)

I have waited three years for the sequel so I can watch both in quick succession. Was Kick Ass worth the wait or is it a big disappointment?

I'll be honest, there wasn't a whole lot of crime-fighting in those first few weeks. But even so, my new vocation kept me plenty busy. I called it preparation. But if you called it fantasizing, it would've been hard to argue. All I knew was, I never felt so good about myself.


I looked forward to it coming out in the cinema but was too busy to go and see it. Upon hearing the new that the second one is coming out, I decided to get in on DVD and watch it. The story follows the life of Dave (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), your average loner in school with two friends and no girls. Whatsoever. This is made clear with the line 'My only super power is being invisible to girls'. This really sets the tone of 'pathetic loner', which is constantly emphasised more as the opening of the film continues. This is especially shown when he is being mugged and his friend claims to have no phone as someone else mugged him just last week.

The story continues and he decides he is fed up of being a looser and being picked on. So he becomes his own little super hero. He doesn't have much crime fighting to do to start with, until he comes across the people who usually mug him as they try and break into a car. He tears off his clothes in a back-ally showing off his costume and goes to fight them. In the process he is stabbed and run over and rushed to hospital. (When I first saw that scene I thought it was in his imagination but it isn't). Once he has recovered and gone back to school he finds people suddenly know who he is. It isn't until he stubbles across a fight and is recorded being the hero and protecting someone that the whole city starts to know about 'Kick Ass'. From here the story develops as he meets Hit Girl (Chloë Grace Moretz) and Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage).

The acting throughout this film is done really well, by everyone. Cage does one of his best performances at date that I have seen (and yes, I am comparing this to the bee sequence in 'The Wicker Man' remake as well). The level of acting was important here for the director as Kick Ass only had a few bits of his face being shown with the mask on, and this is one of the reasons why Johnson was chosen for the role. Each actor and actress seems to suit their characters well and appear to enjoy being in this film, something which really shows in their performance.

I have never been a fan of swearing, or excessive swearing in films. But when someone who looks like an 11 year old is swearing as much as Hit Girl does, then I have a big problem with the film. 

The script was mostly well written. They included jokes, which are funny, and it helps to develop the characters really well. When the back story to Hit Girl and Big Daddy starts, it switches over to a comic book and this is so out of place, but works so well. This bit is both well written, well styled and well directed. There are a few problems with the script (or so I believe) with the main one being all the swearing. Hit Girl looks like she is 11 years old, but swears like a drunk old man. People can call me old fashioned, but I don't believe children should be swearing at that age, or any age in fact.

The music throughout this film is cheesy and reflects the mood well. It isn't like your normal film with a few instruments being played, but it is actual songs being sung as well. Including 'Bad Reputation' and 'Make Me Wanna Die'. It gives some of the scenes a fun, light tone, over such a serious event, and I do love juxtapositioning.

The film looks great, for the most part. The costumes are inventive and colourful and there is a good amount of clever directing to keep me spotting new things every time I watch the film. The only problem is that some of the special effects look false and really bad. Thankfully this is only down to a small number of them and it only affect the few seconds they are in. Once the effect is over it's on to the next part of the film and you get carried away and forget about the effects.

This film was extremely entertaining. I have watched it several times already and I got it a week and a half ago. This film comes highly recommended from me for everyone to watch, especially if you love comics and/or superheros. The film looks and sounds great. There are a couple of problems, but they are quickly forgotten except the swearing which happens throughout the film. If you haven't seen this then give it a go, if you have seen it and enjoyed it, watch it again before going to see Kick Ass 2!

I am looking forward to the next film, with only one problem. Jim Carrey. I like him in so many films, but from what I have seen in the trailers, his character looks poor and he doesn't seem to suit the role.

Rating: 8.7/10