Review of Kick-Ass (2010) by Matthew H — 05 Mar 2014

Unique, witty, and relatable, Kick-Ass proved to be exactly the opposite of what I expected. Intrigued by its dark, gory, and comedic nature as seen in many Coen brothers and Tarantino films, I was immediately drawn in. While not as gory or chock full of profanity as many critics made it out to be, Kick-Ass nonetheless took a certain pleasure in portraying gore in unique and occasionally disturbing ways. Its dark elements, however, are often balanced out by the relatable themes portrayed by the movie's lead, Kick Ass himself (played solidly by Aaron Johnson). He is just an ordinary kid who, seeing his chance, reached out and grabbed greatness by the neck and held on tight. He just wanted to do something to impact the world and show people how to intervene and do good deeds. The film deals with the dark side of humanity and the lack of people willing to step in and help someone when their down. Examples of this in the movie are rather extreme, such as a man witnessing a mugging from his window and closing the blinds instead of helping and an arrogant old man who hits Kick Ass with his Mercedes and just keeps on driving.

One of the highlights of the movie were Hit Girl and Big Daddy, two born and bred vigilantes out for revenge. Hit Girl (Chloe Grace-Moretz) was foul mouthed and violent and represented the dangers of conformity in modern society. She was raised to be a killer by her father (Nicolas Cage in his most memorable recent role) and knew not of the joys of an ordinary childhood.

In the end, Kick Ass overcame evil and acted as an example for other people and made a mark in the world. He got the girl and lived an entirely improved upon life. Though near the end it became somewhat formulaic, Kick-Ass was a very original film both in style and story and was chock full of great performances. Plus Christopher Mintz-Plasse has a small role as the anti-hero, so what more could you ask for?