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“HEY! THERE’S A GUY OUT THERE DRESSED LIKE A SUPERHERO FIGHTING A COUPLE OF GUYS… IT’S FUCKING AWSOME!”
With a superheroic budget of $70 million, raised by billionaire friends of Producer-turned-Director Matthew Vaughn it seemed that with a great budget came a great responsibility and boy, does Kick Ass deliver.
Comic book writer Mark Miller said his frustration with Comic book heroes was that they were never in any real danger and their triumph was always inevitable.
Where’s the fun in that? With his agenda set, Kick Ass took on a life of its own and the end result is some gory beatings and lots and lots o’ blood.
Being described as a superhero flick that will ‘Redefine superhero movies in the same way that Pulp Fiction redefined crime movies’ Kick Ass sucker punches its way onto the big screen.
Loaded with a soundtrack that is uber hip including Primal Scream, The Little Ones and Zongamin and relying on some golden oldies like Sparks and New York Dolls to bring the noise.
Spandex cinema has taken over tinsel town in the last few years making conventions like Comic Con into major must see events for all. But all the Hero worship has brought a stale taste to the super hero plotline. Queue the dark, brooding tale of vengeance with full orchestral overtures.
What we need now is a new hero, a hero to rival the bedraggled Batman and read the riot act to a not so Fantastic Four.
Step forward Marvel writer, Mark Miller (Wanted) harking in a new age of Comic Book heroes, Miller has kept some conventions but broken many rules of Comic book writing and created Kick Ass, Replacing brooding with cackling inducing humour and swapping the old tale of revenge with that of ordinary heroism.
Leading an invisible life at school, noticed only by his geeky buds, hanging at the local comic book store and competing for a gold medal in jerking off to his big bosomed English teacher Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) is just a regular 16-year-old boy.
After a run in with their regular muggers, Lizewski asks his quick witted friend why caped crusaders don’t exist in real life only to be answered quite rightly ‘Because they would get their ass kicked’ but a good intentioned Lizewski takes this as his platform, purchases a green wet suit and sets out to prove his clever buddy wrong.
As predicted Lisewski does in fact get his ass kicked and as he recovers in intensive care ex-cop Damon Macready (Nicholas Cage) is practicing firing rounds into his 11-year-old daughter Mindy’s Kevlar-clad chest.
Not the most orthodox introduction to an affectionate father-daughter relationship, but this pairing are in fact the well trained, heavily armed merchants of justice Hit Girl and Big Daddy.
Having been told that Kick Ass’s story is not one of vengeance it seems the story has very little room to expand… Enter Hit Girl and Big Daddy. There’s is a plan to take down super baddy New York drug lord Frank D’Amico.
Director Mathew Vaughn ensures a nod to the original comic using the voice over and comic book panelling to tell the Macready saga and keeps his story tight, playful but with enough darkness to justify the violence and danger that faces all three masked crime fighters.
With a plot for vengeance now in play, Lizewski once again taking to the streets as his alter ego Kick Ass and through the power of Generation X is propelled into stardom among his neighbourhood thanks to the power of the internet.
One of the most significant points to come out of this film is the force with which the internet and social networking can affect the chosen subject.
After a 16 minute screening at Comic Con last year, a frenzy of online posts began the awesome hype leading up to the films release.
No marketing PR’s or big wig execs needed, just the sheer power of bloggers, Facebookers and techno geeks meant that Kick Ass had a following even before posters and trailers came out.
Much like the real life Kick Ass hype, Lizewski finds himself an overnight sensation after being captured on film during a fight. Three million hits on YouTube later and Kick Ass is a household name and top of the bad guys most wanted list.
But with great fame comes great responsibility and just as Kick Ass finds himself in over his head a nicely timed save from Big Daddy and Hit Girl ultimately entwines their stories.
Steam rolling through some hilarious dialogue and fight sequences that would be justified in some retro exclamations of “POW!â€, “SHAZAM!†and “KABLAM!†Vaughn brings the adventure to a roaring climax.
With Nicholas Cage doing his best Adam West impression and Aaron Johnson being the epitome of Geek-boy superhero it’s left to 12-year-old Chloe Moretz to steal the show. Wielding her blades of fury, a pair of pounding tank girl style boots and a purple wig Hit Girl is every parent’s nightmare and every young girl’s idol.
Matthew Vaughn has created something funny, original and that speaks to a new generation without compromise, in short “It’s Fucking Awesome!â€