Opening Day: 15 April 2010

Synopsis:

"Kick-Ass" tells the story of average teenager Dave Lizewski (Johnson), a comic-book fanboy who decides to take his obsession as inspiration to become a real-life superhero. As any good superhero would, he chooses a new name -- Kick-Ass -- assembles a suit and mask to wear, and gets to work fighting crime. There's only one problem standing in his way: Kick-Ass has absolutely no superpowers.

His life is forever changed as he inspires a subculture of copy cats, is hunted by assorted violent and unpleasant characters, and meets up with a pair of crazed vigilantes, including an 11-year-old sword-wielding dynamo, Hit Girl (Moretz) and her father, Big Daddy (Cage).

Movie Review:

I am your average teenager – one of those guys whom you don't pay extra attention to. I’ve had no luck in scoring goals on the soccer field, no luck in becoming Mr. Popular on campus, and absolutely no luck in winning the school belle’s heart.

Damn, how I wish I was a superhero. I’ve been surfing online to get one of those really cool superhero costumes.

I hear that there’s this mega celebrity out there called Kick-Ass. I seriously have to learn a few tricks from him to get things right. From what I’ve researched on the Internet, this icon was an unnoticed high school student named Dave Lizewski with few friends and stays alone with his father after the death of his mother. And you know why this guy rocks? He does not have superpowers like Spider-Man or have super gadgets like Batman. But he feels the need to become a superhero do right all the wrongs in this world. Eventually, he gets caught up in a bigger fight and meets other superheroes with no supepowers, including the Batman lookalike Big Daddy, his cute purple wigged daughter Hit-Girl, and the somewhat over friendly Red Mist.

That day, while I was in one of my many epiphany states, I was whisked off into this 117 minute comic book adventure. So yes, I’ve seen the four of them in action, and I must admit it is one mindblowing visual treat which makes the geek in me even more determined to be a superhero. The action is gleefully violent and audaciously entertaining. The splattering blood, the dismembered limbs and the exploding heads are sadistically fun to watch, and have rightfully raised the concern of the more conservative crowd. The areas of contention doesn’t stop there. Every other minute, these four superheroes spout vulgarities, and the profane language will definitely not go down well with self important people. You know what they say – never judge a book by its cover. The source of all these coarse language and stylised violence is that Mindy Macready girl aka Hit-Girl, but gosh, the things this seemingly adorable 11 year old is capable of doing shocks me.

It is probably the 'in' thing now, but Kick-Ass has also taken the somewhat convenient way out of narrating his superhero life with a voiceover. But what the heck, it is very engaging and makes me want to listen (especially when I hear my own voice in my head ever so often), and I must say his pop references are quite apt. He mentions movies like Sin City, Sunset Boulevard and American Beauty at some point, and that made me chuckle quite a bit. Plus, due to some strange phenomenon, there are are also numerous catchy songs performed by contemporary rock artistes like Mika, The Prodigy, Primal Scream and The Hit Girls played in this fanastical escapade. These tunes provide the necessary energetic vigour for the superheroes to crush the baddies to crumbles.

Amidst the punches and smashes, I also feel the razzle and dazzle of the star power behind those superheroes’ masks. Kick-Ass had a fresh vibe which seems to be that of young English actor Aaron Johnson. I absolutely connect with his 'with no power comes no responsibility' outlook in life. Red Mist may have an eye catching costume, but he has an alluring undercurrent that nerdy actor Christopher Mintz-Plasse possesses. There’s also somehthing about the villain which reminds me of British actor Mark Strong’s commanding demeanour. That guy named Big Daddy? He looks like Nicolas Cage. The one who leaves a lasting impression is the cutesy behaviour of Hit-Girl, who is as endearing as Chloë Grace Moretz’s presence.

These folks are so cool, I’ve got the urge to do something about my life right now. I am going to set up a Facebook page to create awareness. People are going to know about my superhero status. And since Kick-Ass has chosen green for his costume, I have to go with navy blue instead.

Movie Rating:



(Watching this makes me want to be superhero – right now)

Review by John Li