When I first heard that there was a movie coming out called “Kick-Ass,” I started to laugh. When I saw the film, I laughed even harder. Surprisingly, “Kick-Ass” was entertaining, action-packed, and heavily flawed.
“Kick-Ass” stars a bunch of no-name actors and Nicolas Cage. Even several days after seeing the movie I can’t figure out what he was doing in it. I guess he needed money. Anyway, the story follows a typical comic-book geek with glasses (because all comic-book geeks wear glasses) named Dave Lizewski, played by Aaron Johnson, who always fantasized being a superhero.
His friends, played by Clark Duke from “Hot Tub Time Machine” and Evan Peters from the audition line, are questioning his beliefs. When Dave buys a superhero costume on eBay, his fantasy comes true and he becomes Kick-Ass. However, since this kid is a geek, he really doesn’t have the full potential of being a superhero. He later joins forces with Hit-Girl, played by the incredibly brave Chloe Moretz, to battle the forces of evil in their town.
The story also involves the Russian mob, the one kid from “Role Models,” and Nicolas Cage dressing as Batman, but the plot pretty much stays consistent throughout. There aren’t any big plot twists or real surprises, just typical teenage humor and incredibly violent and over-the-top action scenes.
Speaking of these scenes, a word of warning for any parents reading this: this movie is really sick. Not just because of all the blood, but mainly because of Hit-Girl. She is about 11 years old, and she is killing, cursing, and dismembering anybody that gets in her way. It’s disturbing, but also mildly amusing and it’s good that this film is taking risks that don’t dampen the experience.
While “Kick-Ass” is funny and shocking, there are many real big problems. The biggest problem is that I’m not sure exactly what the film is trying to be. Is it a comedy? Is it an action film? Is it a love story? Many times throughout the film it changes mood, and goes from a teenage comedy to a teenage bloodfest and finally a high-school love story, and then back again. It’s hard to tell what the film is, but thankfully it’s decent enough to forget about.
Another major issue is the romance side of the story. The film tries WAY too hard to have a thought-provoking, lesson-learning love story that has nothing to do with the plot. The “love” interest, played by the beautiful Lyndsy Fonseca, is simply there for eye-candy and doesn’t add to the drama. I won’t give away what she is doing in the film, but I will warn you again: it’s stupid.
Overall, “Kick-Ass” is, well, not quite what it’s titled. It has its moments, sure, but most of the time I just felt like I was watching “High School Musical,” replacing the music with violence. For every step it takes forward, it takes another big step back, and places itself at just “meh.”