Why So Blu?

Kick-Ass Lives Up To Its Name

…for the most part, but we’ll get to that in a moment.  Spawned originally from writer Mark Millar and Marvel artist John Romita Jr., Kick-Ass made its presence known to the mainstream as a comic book in February of 2008.  Going under the label of Icon Comics, Kick-Ass secured a cult-following to a loyal fanbase, though it hadn’t yet reached a level of grand success.  Somehow, somewhere along the line, someone picked up on the concept and said, “Hey, let’s make this a movie.”  Can you say ‘gamble’?  Kick-Ass has actually been completed for some time and was just waiting for studio distribution and a possible re-scoring of the film’s soundtrack.  Enter Lionsgate with their sometimes odd though creative pictures.  The studio picked up the film for mass distribution to theaters nationwide and the film got the remodeled soundtrack it was looking for. 

Kick-Ass stars Aaron Johnson (The Illusionist) as Dave Lizewski, a typical average-Joe high schooler who is trying to find his niche in life.  He has his friends, though no girlfriend, gets bullied, and loves comic books and bare-breasted women.  One day Dave gets hit with a revelation that he is going to fill a void in society that no one has yet attempted.  Dave was going to become a superhero.  Putting together his own costume and armed with a couple of nightsticks, he takes on the moniker ‘Kick-Ass’ and attempts to fight crime wherever he encounters it.  Unfortunately for Dave, he proceeds to get his ass kicked at nearly every turn.  It isn’t until he meets up with the crime-fighting father-daughter duo of Big Daddy (Nicholas Cage) and Hit-Girl (Chloe Moretz), that he realizes he is not alone on the hero front.

The team makes their way through the streets cleaning up the dastardly deeds of common thugs and organized crime as blades pierce and bullets fly.  They even hope to get a little help from newcomer to the costumed scence; the Red Mist (Christopher Mintz-Plasse; Superbad).  Throughout the film, the quartet provides a fair share of laugh-out-loud humor and over-the-top action in this sometimes curse-fest and super violent comedy-action.  With that being said, I don’t think I need to point out that this one is not for the kiddies (in case you hadn’t picked up on that from the film’s title).

Chloe Morentz does a fantastic job in her role(s).  I don’t want to say she stole the show, but she makes a strong case for it with her vigilante character.  Although, someone recently told me if it wasn’t for Hit-Girl, the movie would sink.  Well sure, but that’s not a fair statement.  That’s like saying if it wasn’t for Scotland, Braveheart would have failed.  Of course it would have, but that’s part of the storyline.  You wouldn’t remove punctuation and expect a sentence to survive, would you?

Viewers will find the occasional and even excessive lull throughout the movie and as fellow reviewer Blu-ray Brian pointed out at the screening, the film’s music just doesn’t seem to carry the scene at times, perhaps contributing to the noticeable downtime.  Brian seemed to feel this was more frequent than I did, but still, I see where he was coming from as one could tell a little oomph was lacking here and there.  My take-away from this all was the trailer shown at San Diego’s 2009 Comic-Con had revealed a lot of the best parts, which led me to believe I was in store for a ridiculously fun film.  Yes, Kick-Ass was fun and I do recommend a theater viewing and even though the movie didn’t deliver the ‘action at every turn’ that the trailer hinted at, you’re hard-earned money spent at the cinema will put you in the front seat for a wild ride.