Directed by: Matthew Vaughn
Starring: Aaron Johnson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Chloe Moretz, Nicolas Cage
Here's one of the creepier films I've seen in many a moon. At first, Kick-Ass is a harmless, if not altogether compelling movie about a teenager who decides he wants to be a superhero despite having no superpowers or ability to do anything unusual. Then, Hit-Girl shows up and things fly off the rails in a hurry. The film goes from uncompelling to just plain wrong. There's something fundamentally creepy about the sight of an 11-year old girl beating guys to a bloody pulp and brandishing automatic weapons. Call me whatever you want but don't call me if they make Kick-Ass 2.
Hit-Girl (Moretz) is the daughter of Cage's character, a former cop framed and jailed by mob boss Frank D'Amico (Mark Strong) and wants revenge. How? By training his daughter to be a killing machine who is as lethal with her fists as she is guns. Child Protective Services has taken kids away from their parents for a whole lot less, I'm sure. The pity is, this is somehow supposed to be fun.
The filmmakers believed that the sight of Hit-Girl taking care of bad guys in this fashion would somehow be amusing to audiences, but I'm missing the boat on that idea. It's not just that she commits these acts, it's how lovingly the camera focuses on blood spurting from guys that Hit-Girl maims, wounds, or kills. I'm not against blood or violence in films at all, but the whole idea and method used here is simply rotten.
It seems the character of Kick-Ass has taken a back seat in this review and guess what? He does in the movie too. Despite his desire, he is far from lethal and the film counts on Hit-Girl to do what Kick-Ass can't. From the 45-minute mark on, Kick-Ass the character is an afterthought. But since a whole lot isn't done with him anyway, I didn't miss him much.
What a dreary movie this is. It is not any kind of a joy to watch. There are pretty good actors in it who have been better in other things or will be soon. Does Nicolas Cage agree to star in any script that is placed in front of him? I understand he has tax issues, but c'mon. The IRS would understand if he passed up this garbage.
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