Let's get to the basics.
Kick Ass stars Aaron Johnson as the films title star Kick Ass. Chloe Moretz Stars as the films true superhero Hit Girl aka Mindy Macready. Christopher Mintz (McLovin) Plasse as the films Costumed villain and mob son, Chris D'Amico aka the Red Mist. Mark Strong stars as the Red Mist's old man and mob boss, Frank D'Amico. And who can forget Nicholas Cage as Damon Macready, Hit Girls mentor and Big Daddy. Mark Miller wrote, and produced, while Matthew Vaughn directed this movie.
I loved this movie right from the start. The opening scene of the guy jumping from the roof top trying out the capabilities of his new flying suit, only to find out the ultimate reason why normal people DO NOT become super heroes, was great. The only thing Fly boy achieved was totaling some suckers car as he dived face first into it from 100 or so stories above. It was great foreshadowing for the entire movie.
Aaron Johnson showed us Kick Ass. Aaron captured the Human side of being just a normal nobody and he would keep turning in Movie Moment after Movie Moment throughout Kick Ass. Aaron really did a great job with the title character and he answered the films question of choice: To be a Super Hero or not to be a Super Hero and why. The way Mark Miller and John S. Romita wrote Kick Ass as a character was brilliant! Kick Ass's Mom died not from a nuclear explosion or fried on a dying planet but from a Brain Aneurysm while eating breakfast. This type of thing happens in normal every day life, opening up the possibility for a lot more fans to relate to the film now on a more personable level. The best part about Kick Ass was that he wasn’t trained in martial arts on top of a mountain for 4 years or lost his parents to a crazed lunatic in a back alley. Kick Ass was just a normal guy who said enough. He wanted to stick up for the greater good and become a super hero despite not having Superman's powers or Batman's money.
I enjoyed Chloe Moretz and Nicolas Cage as Hit Girl and Big Daddy the most out of Kick Ass. I actually like Nicolas Cage as Big Daddy more then I liked Nicolas Cage as Johnny Blaze in Ghost Rider. Nic made Big Daddy have a lot more depth in his character then the entire Ghost Rider movie. I thought it was great that Big Daddy was modeled after Adam West's Batman, however, the same campiness could not be said for Hit Girl (no Robin comparisons here, in fact Hit Girl would have beat the sh#$ out of the 60's Robin, um with ease). 11 year old Chloe Moretz turned in what people in the movie business call an Unforgettable Performance. Meaning whatever role she takes in the future she will ALWAYS be remembered first as Hit Girl. Compare this statement to what Claudia did for Kirsten Dunst. I said Hit Girl was the films true super hero purely from the standpoint of that she was trained all her life by Big Daddy to do just that, be a super hero. On top of that Hit Girl was simply bad ass and ruthless. Her first scene as Hit Girl left you wanting more and Mark Miller did not disappoint.
I like how the film developed McLovin into the villain that he would eventually become. It was not cheesy. There was no automatic reason why The Red Mist became The Red Mist. No vat of chemicals no Red Meteor Rock (Gay) no one stop over the top reason at all. Red Mist was simply the son of a mob boss that was trying to help out in dear old dads business when he saw an opportunity to step up and he took it. I thought Mark Strong did a good job as the Red Mist's father and Kick Ass's main adversary. But I also felt like anybody from The Sopranos could have played that role as well. As I said up above, Spoilers but I won't delve too deeply into this only saying that these two set the sequel up beautifully.
Mark Miller and Matthew Vaughn are now the Dynamic Duo of Super Hero movies. I almost wish Joss Whedon would take a step aside and let these two handle The Avengers. No, after seeing Kick Ass, I demand it!!! Hey, at least they have a shot over at DC/Warner, no one has been charged with the feat of getting us a Justice League movie yet. I say let Mark Miller and Matthew Vaughn take on the project with Nolan Godfathering it. Kick Ass is a good example of what these two guys can do with a team ensemble flick and MAKE IT GOOD.
Every kid who ever read a comic book wanted to be a super hero in some form or capacity. That’s the beauty of this movie; Kick Ass gives us realistic reasons why normal people do not become super heroes. Kick Ass also shows us the consequences that can happen when a handful of people do get Froggy and start screwing around in costumes clipping people or just kicking their ass.
The only downside to Kick Ass was the money it generated. $19.75 Million is a joke. How to train you’re Dragon, which has been out for 4 weeks, made more at $20 million this weekend. Hey ComicBookMovie fans, where were you? How come you didn’t show up to this movie in droves? Kick Ass was made for you. This was an Adult oriented movie (meaning this movie was made for the Comic Book readers that have grown up) that had kids Kicking Ass, foul mouths and a solid story. If you ever wonder why major tent pole movie blockbusters don’t care about the fan boy community or what you have to say it's because you don’t pay to go see the movies you demand! You bitch and moan when a director doesn't put in the fan nods you want but more then likely you don’t go see the movie anyway, you download it or you arm chair critique it.
Kick Ass to me is NOW the movie of the year. I am making that statement so Gtrman can sleep better at night now. It had a better plot then Clash of the Titans, the story flowed better then 'The Wolfman' and had way more substance then Percy. So Kick Ass is the movie of the year SO FAR. I want to clarify so Gtrman doesn't go into other threads and miss quote me AGAIN. Movie of the year SO FAR! That is until Iron Man 2 comes out in a few weeks. That's 2010's Comic Book Movie money shot.
Now that the review is officially in the books I want to introduce you all to a new way for me to gauge movies. Gtrman has called me out. Which is fine. When you’re filming a movie review you don’t have time to express or get everything on tape that you might want to. Especially if John is going on or spinning off in a different direction then what was first intended. I'm sure Gtrman has never attempted this but somehow he knows all about it. So to improve and make our future movie reviews better and more informative I am incorporating Jman's Movie Meter:) Jman's Movie Meter is as long as the movie is good. It includes Marks on how good the:
Plot
Special Effects
Acting
Screen Play
Directing
Originality
Source Material
& Movie Moments
are! For instance, Kick Ass had an excellent Plot, no Special Effects really to speak off, the Acting was memorable by Hit Girl and Kick Ass, the Screen Play solid, the Directing remarkable, and the Originality was obviously there as we have never seen a movie like this before. I did not give this movie a mark for Source Material because I have never read the comic book. My bad but I wanted a fresh take on Kick Ass. That's what I got. (Relax Comic Book faithfuls; Casey at BuymeToys.com has already added this to my pull list file).
I also note note worthy movie moments.
Movie Moments are like when Hit Girl put that bladed staff right through the heart of that goon in her opening scene as Hit Girl. That’s a movie moment. Or when Kick Ass first appears on screen to face those jack holes trying to boost a car and gets stabbed. That's a movie moment. Or when Jack Nicholson looks at the camera and says 'Wait till they get a load of me'! That’s a movie moment. In this case it was the Red Mist at the end of the movie who earned that Movie Moment. Jman's Movie Meter came in at the mark of 13 for Kick Ass. Gtrman, just so you know Clash earned a Jman Movie Meter of only 5. I gave it 2 marks for Special Effects, 1 mark for the Director, it did not earn any other marks in other categories except for a couple Movie Moments.
We all want to improve whatever it is we do Dailey, or at least you should. So I want to take this opportunity to thank Gtrman for helping me improve as a critic. Jman's Movie Meter will reflect why Jman and Johnny Love say the movie is cool or why it is poo! The higher the mark, the better the movie!
So Gtrman, don’t take offense to this you helped me improve so a big shout out and thank you goes to the bald guy looking in your bedroom window. Thanks Bro!
Hopefully there will be a sequel! I want more KICKASS!