2010, thus far has been mostly miss with movies for me., so each time I attend a screening, I wonder, will this be the one – the film to wow me? SXSW opening night, I stood in line for almost two hours (yes, even with a badge we stand in line) to see ‘Kick Ass,’ a raucously funny, rightly R-rated film about a wannabe super hero and the good and bad guys he encounters. English director Matthew Vaughn and comic and screenplay writers, Jane Goodwin and Mark Millar (comic book series creator) do kick ass (sorry – it is just too easy) with this truly funny tale of coming of age, good versus evil, the angst of teenagers and a some serious ass kicking!
The film’s stars Brit Aaron Johnson, who well plays Dave Lizewski, an awkward American teenager who becomes, or at least attempts to become Kick-Ass, a green wetsuit wearing superhero. He and the entire ‘Kick Ass’ cast pleases. Nicolas Cage does an incredible job playing Damon Macready, a former cop turned vigilante – an embittered fellow who seeks to exact revenge on the man who caused his wife’s death. His alter ego, Big Daddy – who, to pleasing laughter from the audience, speaks a great deal like Adam West (the original television Batman) – and his 11 year-old daughter Mindy (excellently portrayed by Chloe Moretz) live in a warehouse-like home filled with guns, gadgets and other assorted weaponry. Mindy, born at her mother’s death, is taught and groomed by her father to be the purple, bob wig and school uniform wearing, adorable fighting machine – Hit-Girl. She can withstand bullets (with the aid of Kevlar), perform martial arts like Bruce Lee, shoot and reload nearly simultaneously and looks adorable in pigtails. It’s all great fun!
A superbly sinister Mark Strong plays Frank D’Amico, drug kingpin and father to Chris (Christopher Mintz-Plasse). Chris, a slightly awkward geek, wants to be involved in daddy’s very successful drug business. It seems, however, that a masked, batman-like super hero is stealing drugs and money from him. Meanwhile, Dave in a strange “coming of age” way, decides to don a green and yellow wetsuit and mask and to help the helpless – starting with a missing cat, and he inadvertently falls into the public eye, when first falling on and then taking on three armed attackers.
Strong and Mintz-Plasse are excellent picks for these characters, and when I sat in on a SXSW panel and mingled at an after party, I learned that comedy and campy suit Mintz-Plasse and he is awesome as Red Mist (Kick-Ass’ new nemisis). He is truly a funny guy. Pretty Mortez sat in on the panel too, and I could not help but laugh when she told us all that she has not seen ‘Kick-Ass’ yet, because she is too young for an R-rated film. She does have some strong (an understatement) language and exceptionally violent scenes in the movie – not the kind of stuff you expect to see from an eleven-year-old girl, but in truth, she steals the show. I did not mind, but a couple of my fellow critics, thought her being more interesting and appealing than the lead took away from the film. She does pretty much own the show, and I can easily imagine sequels and spin offs.
Vaughn told the audience at a Q & A session following the film that no studios would back ‘Kick-Ass,’ apparently hesitant to have a little girl act as a killing machine (among other things) and the language overall is pretty harsh. I initially assumed I would hate ‘Kick-Ass,’ the same way I hate say ‘SuperBad,’ because I have a difficult time with teenagers (and old people) spewing out curse words like so much vomit and doing idiotic things. Using his own connections, Vaughn found funding for his film and now Lion’s Gate has pick up distribution – big money will be had by all. When it opens on April 19th, word will spread and cash registers will ring – big!
‘Kick-Ass’ succeeds because Vaughn and crew manage to bring a totally fresh perspective to the superhero genre, mix in a decent teen drama, add a kick-ass (oops I did it again) soundtrack and the perfect amount of campy, witty humor. I am placing an A in my grade book. ‘Kick-Ass offered an outstanding opening to SXSW this year, revving me up for the rest of the week.
The film’s stars Brit Aaron Johnson, who well plays Dave Lizewski, an awkward American teenager who becomes, or at least attempts to become Kick-Ass, a green wetsuit wearing superhero. He and the entire ‘Kick Ass’ cast pleases. Nicolas Cage does an incredible job playing Damon Macready, a former cop turned vigilante – an embittered fellow who seeks to exact revenge on the man who caused his wife’s death. His alter ego, Big Daddy – who, to pleasing laughter from the audience, speaks a great deal like Adam West (the original television Batman) – and his 11 year-old daughter Mindy (excellently portrayed by Chloe Moretz) live in a warehouse-like home filled with guns, gadgets and other assorted weaponry. Mindy, born at her mother’s death, is taught and groomed by her father to be the purple, bob wig and school uniform wearing, adorable fighting machine – Hit-Girl. She can withstand bullets (with the aid of Kevlar), perform martial arts like Bruce Lee, shoot and reload nearly simultaneously and looks adorable in pigtails. It’s all great fun!
A superbly sinister Mark Strong plays Frank D’Amico, drug kingpin and father to Chris (Christopher Mintz-Plasse). Chris, a slightly awkward geek, wants to be involved in daddy’s very successful drug business. It seems, however, that a masked, batman-like super hero is stealing drugs and money from him. Meanwhile, Dave in a strange “coming of age” way, decides to don a green and yellow wetsuit and mask and to help the helpless – starting with a missing cat, and he inadvertently falls into the public eye, when first falling on and then taking on three armed attackers.
Strong and Mintz-Plasse are excellent picks for these characters, and when I sat in on a SXSW panel and mingled at an after party, I learned that comedy and campy suit Mintz-Plasse and he is awesome as Red Mist (Kick-Ass’ new nemisis). He is truly a funny guy. Pretty Mortez sat in on the panel too, and I could not help but laugh when she told us all that she has not seen ‘Kick-Ass’ yet, because she is too young for an R-rated film. She does have some strong (an understatement) language and exceptionally violent scenes in the movie – not the kind of stuff you expect to see from an eleven-year-old girl, but in truth, she steals the show. I did not mind, but a couple of my fellow critics, thought her being more interesting and appealing than the lead took away from the film. She does pretty much own the show, and I can easily imagine sequels and spin offs.
Vaughn told the audience at a Q & A session following the film that no studios would back ‘Kick-Ass,’ apparently hesitant to have a little girl act as a killing machine (among other things) and the language overall is pretty harsh. I initially assumed I would hate ‘Kick-Ass,’ the same way I hate say ‘SuperBad,’ because I have a difficult time with teenagers (and old people) spewing out curse words like so much vomit and doing idiotic things. Using his own connections, Vaughn found funding for his film and now Lion’s Gate has pick up distribution – big money will be had by all. When it opens on April 19th, word will spread and cash registers will ring – big!
‘Kick-Ass’ succeeds because Vaughn and crew manage to bring a totally fresh perspective to the superhero genre, mix in a decent teen drama, add a kick-ass (oops I did it again) soundtrack and the perfect amount of campy, witty humor. I am placing an A in my grade book. ‘Kick-Ass offered an outstanding opening to SXSW this year, revving me up for the rest of the week.
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