Does anyone ever get tired of watching the story of the gangly, voice-cracking teenage underdog turned badass? The answer is no, especially when said underdog decides to stick up for New York’s underappreciated, becomes a real-life superhero and adopts the moniker “Kick-Ass.”
Matthew Vaughn’s hilarious interpretation of Mark Millar’s comic book series of the same name, “Kick-Ass,” follows a similar vein as other contemporary blockbusters. Aaron Johnson portrays Kick-Ass’s nerdy counterpart Dave Lizewski, an average teenager with a big comic book collection and a sad inability to talk to girls, while Christopher Mintz-Plasse, also known as Fogell/McLovin’ from “Superbad,” plays the rich loner who is desperate to join in on his mob-boss father’s business.
Before you start gearing up for another stoner flick featuring teenagers that just want to get laid, keep in mind that this movie is rated R for a reason. The film’s controversial portrayal of minors doing drugs, dropping f-bombs and using weapons (bazookas included) may leave many viewers in shock. “Kick-Ass” leaves nothing to the imagination during fight sequences; blood sheds everywhere in unusually grotesque ways (human-sized microwave, anyone?).
What may be even more disturbing is Nicolas Cage’s character, Big Daddy. A crazed vigilante with a chip on his shoulder and an NRA membership, he trains (read: brainwashes) his 11-year-old daughter into becoming a knife-wielding dynamo who assumes the name “Hit Girl” in order to help fight off daddy’s enemies.
Yet, the main character himself admits that this is not the run-of-the-mill superhero movie, asking the audience, “Have you ever seen ‘Sin City?’” Human cruelty, as gruesome as it can tend to be, is not concealed or euphemized, which is probably what makes this film more believable and therefore worth watching. After all, what leads Dave to don his superhero guise to fight injustice is not radioactivity or super-strength, but his ability to be pissed off enough to do something about it.
“Kick-Ass”
Rating: 3.5/4
Released: April 16
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Starring: Aaron Johnson, Nicolas Cage, Chloe Moretz and Christopher Mintz-Plasse
Alexandra Leon may be contacted at alexandraleon@themiamihurricane.com.