Kick-Ass (2010)

Surprisingly Real - 4/5

So I saw this film just now called 'Kick-Ass'. This film literally blew any expectations I had of it out of the water. The violence was so real and extreme! In a way the fight scenes reminded me of 'Repo Men' in the sense that they were bloody and very visually based. The viewer was allowed to see, in slow motion in many cases, exactly what took place in the fight and there seems to be a market for this type of violence in films recently. In terms of the Superhero element of the film, it was unlike any I'd ever seen. At the start we saw how the feel was not taking it too seriously and was not based on some guy caught in a nuclear reaction or anything but simply a normal nerdy teenager looking to do some good. Superhero movies never acknowledge themselves as such but this one did; I think this is the reason I found the story so fresh. Underneath the main story was one about the nerdy boy trying to get the beautiful girl. Now, this may sounds like the cheesiest storyline ever, but somehow I managed not to be. I think the level of violence and the addition of comedy were behind this.

In terms of acting, main man Aaron Johnson was superb. He pulled off the nerdy teenager well, as many actors can do these days (Jesse Eisenberg) but managed to bring a different dimension with his emotional scenes. I feared some of Johnson's scenes where he is learning to become a superhero would be similar to those nerdy fight scenes from 'The Sasquatch Dumpling Gang' but again Johnson made them his own. Christopher Mintz-Plasse's performance was largely forgettable, as was Johnson's love interest, Lyndsy Fonseca. Nicolas Cage was brilliant as Big Daddy and Chloe Moretz must have studied 'Leon' because she was awesome. I tell you who else was good, Clark Duke. This is my second Duke film in as many days and I wish I had only watched this one. I watched 'Hot Tub Time Machine' yesterday and it was pitiful. After watching it I instantly forgot about Duke and didn't think I'd ever see him in anything again. Then he pops up in this and with every line is totally hilarious. Why couldn't we have seen this Clark Duke in 'Hot Tub Time Machine'? To be fair it wouldn't have made that movie much better.

The DVD for 'Kick-Ass' has only recently been released, and if you are wondering whether to buy it, I think you definitely should. It's a film that will surprise you, make you laugh, shock you and make you smile.