Kick-Ass (2010)

Matthew Vaughn’s Kick-Ass is a competent yet somewhat perfunctory addition to the superhero genre, often times unable to fulfill on its stellar concept and ambitious potential. I can’t help but feel a tinge of disappointment from the film, especially once the films roars towards the final third. The first half of the film is quite effective at conveying its themes and ideas about the superhero genre injected with a nice sense of tongue-in-cheek humor. One of the aspects I liked about the first half of the film is that it is grounded in a sense of reality, the feeling that regular people could stand up to the crime and injustice of the world to make a difference while looking a bit ridiculous in the process. Also, the film does an adequate and often times humorous job of satirizing the superhero genre. Unfortunately, any sense of realism or satirical bent found near the beginning is almost completely thrown out the window by the climax of the film, where they are replaced abruptly and generically with acrobatic moves and explosive weapons aplenty for the rest of the running time.

Director Matthew Vaughn (Layer Cake, Stardust) cannot quite seem to make up his mind what kind of tone he wants to set with the film, ultimately leaving the entire project without much personality of its own. While the film thematically plays like a braggadocious kid brother to 2008’s Wanted (naturally, writer Mark Millar one of the main creators for both the Wanted and Kick-Ass comic book series), but it seems a little too afraid to push itself over the edge of originality, thus robbing the film of a much needed personality of its own. The film actively cribs from not only other superhero films (primarily Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man series), but also Kill Bill, Battle Royale, The Dark Knight, Scarface, Goodfellas, The Matrix—practically a hit list of fanboys’ wet dreams. Unlike a director like Tarantino, however, Vaughn is unable to let the influences gel into something resembling a personal stamp, resulting in a borderline empty exercise.

The acting is a solid yet slightly uneven. Aaron Johnson plays the title character well, effectively portraying the awkwardness of teenage life and the new responsibilities of being a self-made superhero. Chloe Grace Morentz gives an enigmatic performance and steals the show as the foul-mouthed but adorable Hit Girl. She effectively alternates between bravado and vulnerability of a young heroine suddenly plunged into the newfound world of superheroes. Her father, played by a typically zany Nicolas Cage, gives off a great deal of creepiness with a little bit of Adam West’s Batman thrown in for good measure. Mark Strong seems to have a good time chewing the scenery as the film’s main villain, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse is competent as his son/wannabe superhero Red Mist (full disclosure/possible spoiler alert: I have not read the comic book series, but the fact that Red Mist is the son of the main villain is not revealed until later in the story in the comic is personally a more effective and emotional twist than how it is portrayed in the film, which gives its hand away almost immediately from the second Mintz-Plasse’s character is on the screen.)

There has been some controversy concerning the film’s irresponsibility towards violence, especially violence involving children (more specifically, an 11-year-old girl kicking ass and taking names with no remorse). These charges might carry more weight if the film weren’t so silly in its ultimate approach. While I was never bored with the film, I also felt that I started becoming less and less engaged with the characters and the story as the film went on. I wish Vaughn and company would have either taken the satirical elements all the way, or else given me a film so borderline ridiculous I couldn’t help but smile throughout. Unfortunately, all I’m left with is a smirk and a shrug.

Rating: 3 stars (out of 5)