The Red Right Hand
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KICK ASS
I Can't Fly But I Can Kick Your Ass

Director
Matthew Vaughn

Starring
Aaron Johnson
Christopher Mintz-Plasse
Nicolas Cage
Chloe Mortez
Mark Strong

Why aren't there more vigilantes? It's a fair question; many are frustrated with rising crime rates, corrupt officials and laughable concepts of executable justice, you would have thought that at least one person would have tried it by now. The simple answer, as explained in this film, is that it is virtually impossible without getting arrested or stabbed up.

Based on the comic by Mark Millar, Kick Ass is the story of young Dave Lizewski [Johnson] who purchases a wet suit and decides to stand up against criminals. His first encounter is far from successful, concluding after a severe stab wound to the stomach and collision with a car. Following this incident, he is layered with several pins and rods, as well as suffering significant nerve damage; in other words, his senses are somewhat numb to pain. His second encounter with the criminal element pits him against three villains chasing and beating one individual. The somewhat scrappy showdown is recorded on CCTV and mobile phones and makes its way online, becoming an internet phenomenon. Shortly after his online popularity flares, Dave - using the alias Kick Ass - encounters two heavily trained vigilantes, Damon Macready aka Big Daddy [Cage] and his twelve year old daughter, Mindy, more commonly known as Hit Girl [Mortez]. It is later revealed that Big Daddy was in fact a policeman who was sent to prison after being set-up by mob boss Frank D'Amico [Strong] -- a bit of a deviation from the original story but it works extremely well. D'Amico is the main heel of the piece, along with his son Chris [Mintz-Plasse], who later adopts the alias Red Mist. Like any comic-book origin story, there are several arcs and characters to outline but I believe this to be a fair overview.

Creatively speaking, this movie is energetic, witty, intelligent and risqué; combining commonly accepted superhero elements with underdog humour and over-the-top action violence. Equally, from a technical perspective, this film is thoroughly impressive. The lighting, direction and cinematography are all top-notch, the visual effects and choreographed imagery are stunning, the comic-book back-story (though a tad cliché) works really well and looks damned impressive and the choice of tracks for both orchestral score and musical accompaniment fit beautifully. The only negative aspect that stood out could have been the underdeveloped supporting characters (not to mention the eventual shrill cries of 'irresponsible' and 'immature' from the typical censors in select audiences) but that's such a minor point, it's barely worth mentioning.

With Layer Cake and Stardust under his belt, I'm quietly convinced Matthew Vaughn's career is well on the way to become something of legend -- alright, that may be something of an overstatement but he's still stupidly talented. Either way, Kick Ass is an incredibly daring and humorous piece that parodies the superhero trend intelligently with a surprising amount of heartfelt sincerity.

Release Date:
UK - 26th March 2010
US - 16th April 2010

The Scene To Look Out For:
**Spoilers ahead**
Two scenes for you, both spoilery. The first is Nicolas Cage in action as Big Daddy, seen through a hidden camera; the whole thing is expertly choreographed and magnificently paired with John Murphy's 'In The House - In A Heartbeat'. Secondly, we have Kick Ass and Big Daddy's online torture scene that meshes together grisly action with an emotional urgency that creates an incredibly tense atmosphere.

Notable Characters:
Without question, the two performances of note are that of Chloe Mortez as the foul-mouthed Hit Girl - it was bugging the hell out of me but I've finally realised that she was in (500) Days Of Summer - and Aaron Johnson as the well intentioned Kick Ass. The supporting elements are superbly acted but both Johnson and Mortez prove that they are more than capable of handling an exceptional amount of on-screen responsibility whilst still delivering hugely enjoyable characters.

Highlighted Quote:
"There's a guy outside dressed as a superhero fighting three guys.. it's fucking awesome!"

In A Few Words:
"Silly, over-the-top and uproariously amusing, Kick Ass is little short of magnificence"

Total Score:
9/10


Matthew Stogdon