Box Office Review - Kick Ass

The most important thing to know about this film is that every studio approached turned the film down due to its violent content. Director Matthew Vaughn (Layer Cake, Stardust) ended up raising all the money himself and made the movie independently. Once the movie was finished and screened a few times, the buzz began to build. Studios came a calling and a solid distribution deal was signed. While all this buzz could have led to a movie that didn’t live up to the hype, Kick Ass thankfully does. Director Vaughn out did himself on this film. The movie is able to pay tribute to and make fun of all the super hero films that have come before it. The movie is funny and violent, often at the same time. This seems to bother some people. The violence involving Hit-Girl, a pre-teen murdering super hero is the catalyst for the anti-violence argument. Personally I didn’t find any of her scenes offensives. In fact, she is the main reason to go see the movie. Young actress Chole Mortez plays the role very well. Her character is the most sympathetic, and interesting in the movie. She is put on a path of revenge by her father Big Daddy (Nicholas Cage) and as with most tales of revenge, things get messy. Her reasons for killing are justifiable, even if they are very violent. The movie should have been called Hit-Girl instead of Kick Ass. I would rather have spent more time on her story than on a teen kid living the origin story of Spider Man. Aaron Johnson plays the title character in the film, and he does a good job. His character could have been fleshed out a little more though. He mostly existed to make Hit-Girl and Big Daddy seem more awesome. His reasons for fighting crime are entirely selfish, and this is apparent once he is faced with a real enemy. The bad guys in this are played by Mark Strong and Christopher Mintz-Plasse. Think Willem Dafoe, and James Franco in Spiderman. Strong seems like an obvious choice for the role, but Mintz-Plasse not so much. Both handle the physicality of their roles very well. The action is shot very well throughout the film, the best scene involving a strobe light and slow motion. While that may seem like something you have seen before, believe me you haven’t seen it like this. This movie delivers everything that was promised by the months of buzz, and what more can you ask for. Go to see Kick Ass, and stay to see Hit-Girl.

A Gold Banana