(Originally posted December 8th, 2017)
From the dark tone of Batman Returns to the not-that of today's movie, this was a weird one to watch directly after. Thankfully, Kick-Ass (2010) is a great watch, and I had a blast from beginning to end. Starring Aaron Johnson as Dave Lizewski/Kick-Ass, Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Chris D'Amico/Red Mist, Chloe Grace Moretz as Mindy Macready/Hit-Girl, Mark Strong as Frank D'Amico and Nicolas Cage as Damon Macready/Big Daddy.
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| Kick-Ass (2010) |
One of the best things this movie has going for it is its atmosphere and tone. It's one of those movies that effortlessly rides the line between ridiculous and believable. Okay, not too believable, but they find a way to not make the plot come across as one big joke, which, really, is what it is. It takes itself just seriously enough to have stakes, which help when the film takes its darker turn towards the end. I never found myself rolling my eyes or scoffing at anything I was seeing. The movie does a great job of setting everything up early on so you can buy it when it goes a little wackier later on.
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| Chloe Grace Moretz as Mindy Macready |
Aaron Johnson is a great pick for the lead role here. He's a very believable awkward teenager with his head in the clouds, and the movie does a great job of getting you on his side. He's a likeable character, and though he does some questionably bad things, he never does anything so awful it kills the character. He's what I would imagine a teenager with lofty dreams of becoming a real-life superhero would be like. I also love that they didn't shy away from having the teenagers use foul language, and they talk like actual teenagers talk, which I guess proves that I wasn't an actual teenager, since I never talked like that.
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| Aaron Johnson as Dave Lizewski |
Christopher Mintz-Plasse is great in his supporting role of the villain's son and fake superhero. Maybe I'm just happy they didn't go down the road I expected them to with his character, but I really found myself engaged in his arc. It was never clear which path he was going to go down, and I could have easily believed any outcome for his character. They never really dwell on his dilemma for too long, which part of me really wishes they did, since I was so invested in his arc. They kind of just show you how he turns out at the end without too much build-up, and even though it wasn't really his movie, I still wished I could have seen more of his struggle.
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| Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Chris D'Amico |
But, the best thing about the movie by far was the relationship and chemistry between Chloe Grace Moretz and Nicolas Cage. They were such a great father/daughter team, and I really loved watching them work off each other. Nicolas Cage gives a comparatively subtle performance, at least compared to some of his other work, and it's actually kind of welcome. But Chloe Grace Moretz steals the show here, and gives a performance that I really didn't see coming. her character was just so entertaining to watch, and I loved watching this 13-year-old girl say and do things no 13-year-old should. It never gets old, it never wears off, and it's all so good.
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| Nicolas Cage as Damon Macready |
It's very hard to poke any holes in this movie, given it's not really meant to be taken too seriously, yet it treats itself seriously, which again is one of the best things about this movie, but if I was being honest, the villain didn't really do much for me. He's just your typical bad businessman, and, again, the movie's not really about him. But so much of an emphasis is put on how evil this guy is, and we see and hear about all the horrible things he's done, a little backstory would have gone a long way here. Did someone he loved die? Is he just evil for the sake of the money? We don't know. And especially because I found his son to be such an interesting character, the fact that I didn't feel the same for the father kind of irked me.
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| Mark Strong as Frank D'Amico |
In conclusion, Kick-Ass (2010) was a very enjoyable experience that I would happily watch again and again. It's similar to Deadpool, in that there's really nothing else like it I've seen before, and I'm very much looking forward to watching the sequel on the 16th. 9/10.
Tomorrow: Spidey's back in Spider-Man 2.
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