OC Screenwriters Association

Kick-Ass may not be your archetypical blockbuster superhero movie, but don’t think that director Matthew Vaughn (Layer Cake, Stardust) is simply doing a goof on the genre--because he’s not fooling around. Kick-Ass is a gleeful deconstruction and reinvention of everything that has gone down before it. All the audacious violence interspersed with coming-of-age protagonists backed by a killer comedic script guarantees that Kick-Ass will be a classic cult hit for the fan boys and girls even if it doesn’t clean up at the box office.

Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) had come to terms with his anonymity long ago, but now he’s 16 and his reality has shifted. His hormones are raging, his mother dropped dead of a brain aneurysm during a discussion regarding Count Chocula and he’s wondering if there’s something more to life. He fantasizes about his teacher’s cleavage and ponders why “nobody ever tried to be a superhero.” Dave orders a green wet suit online, transforms from bespectacled comic book geek to his vigilante alter ego Kick-Ass and then quickly finds out why: because it hurts.

Kick-Ass’s first outing ends up with Dave broken and bleeding on a gurney. His back is reinforced with metal plates and his nerve endings are dulled--this is as close as he’s going to get to an actual super power. Kick-Ass is back patrolling the streets as soon as Dave’s released from the hospital and thwarts an attempted mugging before a cheering crowd. His heroics are caught on video, uploaded on YouTube and overnight Kick-Ass becomes an instant phenomenon with a million Facebook friends seeking him out. Dave is keen to keep his secret identity just that, but otherwise things are going well self-confidence wise and he even gets the girl, sweet and pretty Katie (Lyndsy Fonseca). Okay, so she actually thinks he’s her new gay BFF, but it’s just another alter ego he has to hide.

Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage) and Hit Girl (Chloë Grace Moretz), the otherwise mild mannered father Damon Macready and his daughter Mindy, share a cup of hot chocolate with extra marshmallows and plot the annihilation of drug lord Frank D’Amico’s (Mark Strong) evil empire. Mindy has been expertly trained in the fine art of assassination by her doting father; as Hit Girl, the petite 11-year-old dons a purple Clara Bow wig, cusses like a sailor, flourishes a butterfly knife and stings like a bee as she eviscerates a gang of grown men in record time.

D’Amico is not at all amused by the current crop of would-be superheroes in town. Like any criminal mastermind worth his salt he is determined to destroy the enemy, specifically Kick-Ass, whom he holds responsible for bringing down his evil lair and all henchmen in residence. D’Amico’s teenage son Chris (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) is desperate to prove himself and contribute to his dad’s business. He hits the streets in the souped-up Mist Mobile as Red Mist, a stylish neo-punk rival for Kick-Ass’s claim to fame. Red Mist gains Kick-Ass’s trust with the ulterior motive to betray him along with Big Daddy and Hit Girl. Dave/Kick-Ass learns during his darkest moment that “with no power comes no responsibility:” if he flees does it even matter? If he stays, will it make a difference?

Kick-Ass is based on a graphic novel by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr. Millar, who also wrote the source material for Wanted, pitched the undeveloped concept of a teenage wannabe superhero teaming with a father and daughter dynamic duo to director Vaughn; the comic book was created and released in tandem with the production of the movie. Vaughn co-wrote the script with Jane Goldman (Stardust) giving Kick-Ass its backbone, a pitch perfect story high on humor, comic book references and satisfying characters.

Then there’s the hard-core violence that is, well, comical, but consider the source. Whenever an opportunity presents itself, Vaughn does not hold back. There will be blood. Death and destruction hits hard and as often as possible, but rather than gratuitous it almost always serves to propel the story forward. Kick-Ass just wouldn’t be Kick-Ass without it.

Kick-Ass has many super strengths, but is truly invincible due to inspired casting for each and every role. Johnson’s Dave/Kick-Ass is not a stereotypical meek geek who struggles to stand up for himself; his earnest drive to find courage is always sincere and never pathetic. Mintz-Plasse will be forever recognized as Superbad’s McLovin; his facial expressions and voice are unmistakable but work perfectly for Chris/Red Mist as comic relief and menace. Mark Strong’s villain is simultaneously utterly detestable and deliciously enjoyable. And Cage does a crack up Adam West impersonation when clad in his Big Daddy get up. He is absolutely terrific here: a manic mix of Father Knows Best meets Rambo.

But the single character that could have meant the ultimate end of Kick-Ass is Mindy/Hit Girl. It’s tough to swallow an 11-year-old girl who prefers heavy artillery over Bratz dolls, can completely annihilate a heavily armed team of thugs and uses cringeworthy language, let alone like her. Moretz has the chutzpa, charm and smarts to pull it off, though. Never overly cute or contrived and fortified with a relatable backstory, Hit Girl saves the day in more ways than one.

Will Kick-Ass make the world a better place? Hard to say. But the film is definitely an escape from the inevitable burn out of the ongoing onslaught of comic contrived superhero flicks. Plus it’s a lot more fun.