KICK-ASS Review

Millar has decribed it as having the tone of a 'glaswegian chick-flick' and he's not far off the mark as this is a film that's witty, silly, profoundand bombastic in just the right amounts.

Kick Ass is probably the best example of a film that is defined by expectation. Those who have seen one of the early tralers - in which a winged superhero takes an ill-fated jump/fall of a high storey building might think this is a remake of Condorman. Those who have seen the adult red-band trailer will probably see it as a profanity-laden teen flick with added kevlar. And if you work for the Daily Mail you're probably already forecasting the end of morality in the modern world and hyper-ventilating at the fact you can link it to Jonathan Ross ( Jane Goldman, his wife, wrote the screenplay).

But if you've read the original comic (by Mark Millar and artist John Romita Jr) on which the movie is based then you probably have an idea of what to expect. Even then, be prepared to be surprised. Kick Ass is not only an extremely faithful adaptation, but arguably improves on aspects the original by transposing it into a moving medium that serves it even better.

“Why do thousands of people wanna be Paris Hilton and nobody wants to be Spider-man?” muses Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson), a teenager who decides to buy himself a costume - a garish eBay scuba suit - and tackle some of the gang-members terrorising his neighbourhood. For his efforts he gets derision and a hospital visit, but that doesn’t deter him. When further exploits end up on YouTube he becomes a cultural phenomenon despite himself. But local mob boss Frank (a delightfully menacing Mark Strong) doesn’t like the idea of his hoodlums being humiliated by a bargain-bin would-be ninja and those he seems to be inspiring. Kick Ass must die… but two better-prepared ‘heroes’ Hit Girl (Chloe Moretz) and Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage) may have something to say about that…

The controversy that the film has already kicked-up is something of its own making and it would be naive to think that wasn't somewhat the strategy all along. But once you get past a ten year old using the word 'cunt'  (and, sadly, that's hardly a novelty in the real world) and into the meat of the movie, you see that this is a love letter to not only comic-fans but anyone who's ever experienced the difficult task of growing up. Millar has decribed it as having the tone of  a 'glaswegian chick-flick' and he's not far off the mark as this is a film that's witty, silly, profound and bombastic in just the right amounts.

Nowhere Boy's Johnson is a capable lead and Cage - a hit and miss actor - channels a perfect Adam West via The Dark Knight vibe. But the breakout performance is Moretz as Hit Girl, the potty-mouthed, angel with a dirty face who comes across as a new century's re-invention of Natalie Portman's 'Mathilda' in Leon. Even those who feel umcomfortable with her language will be cheering her on by the final reel.

Perhaps, whatever your stance, Kick Ass is utimately everything you've heard mentioned. It's secret is that it is also so much more and I haven't had this much fun at a cinema in ages.