Three Trashwire writers agree: Kick-Ass kicks ass
Any filmmaker will tell you, it’s hard to please film critics. Sure, audiences might love your film, but nerdy film geeks like myself might hold it to a different standard. Impressing one critic is tough, but try impressing all three of the regular writers at Trashwire. Wil, Chris and I all had the chance to see Kick-Ass at different screenings and we all came back with the same opinion of the film: it kicks ass!
In this rare occurrence, Trashwire readers now have the chance to view a triple review of Kick-Ass.
What Chris had to say…
So what if somebody tried to be a superhero in real life? You know like the ones you see in all the comics. What would happen? Well one way to find out is by watching Kick-Ass, the new film from director Matthew Vaughn.
Dave Lizewski, played by Aaron Johnson, is a high school comic book nerd who goes unnoticed by the girl of his dreams. One day, after being fed up with getting his money stolen from the same common street thugs, Dave decides he’s going to become a real-life superhero. Dave creates the alter ego of Kick-Ass and tries to start helping his fellow citizens out. Shortly thereafter, Dave runs into another pair of superheroes in Hit Girl (Chloe Moretz) and Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage) and realizes he’s in way over his head.
If I had to choose one word to sum up how I felt about this movie, I’d go with awesome. Luckily for me I have more than one word.
First, I’ll start with the performances. I won’t spend much time here though because it won’t do them justice. Nicolas Cage. That’s all I need to say. His acting in Kick-Ass is brilliant. Simply hilarious. Go watch this movie and try and tell me differently.Next was the pure entertainment value this film provided. Easily the most fun I’ve had at the movies this year. From start to finish I was glued to the screen, couldn’t take my eyes off. Kick-Ass has everything the typical movie-goer wants in a film: action, brutal violence, sex, drugs, and comedy. The difference between this and the normal comic book movie is that this movie is actually good.
Never once have I watched a comic book movie and thought that I’d like to be a crime fighter, that is until I saw Kick-Ass. After screening Kick-Ass my first thought was, “yes, let’s go get us some bad guys!”
Sure, there’s going to be some people out there that aren’t going to like seeing an 11-year-old participate in Tarantino-esque violence. There are some people will probably have an issue with the language as well. To those people I say, chill out. The movie is meant to be fun. Enjoy.
What Wil had to say…
The opening film at the South By Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival kicked a certain amount of ass at the Paramount Theater in Downtown Austin, Texas. Visually mirroring the successful eight-part comic book, Kick-Ass is an entertaining film that brings an exciting new talent that can hold her own under a five-foot stature. Chole Moretz (Hit-Girl) engages the entire film with her presence as a child assassin trained by her dad. Although the protagonist-titled film tells the story of Aaron Johnson (Dave Lizewski, Kick-Ass), Moretz is the breakout star that pulls off adult language and moves that make this action-comedy enjoyable.
Kick-Ass is about Dave Lizewski who’s only power is “being invisible to girls”. After a viral video of “Kick-Ass” saving someone’s life from muggers hits the internet, the entire city becomes taken with the idea of a human superhero. The other two stories in the film involve The Macreadys, a family of weapons experts, and gangster Frank D’Amico (Mark Strong).
Nicolas Cage (Big Daddy) brings a certain charm to his role while alluding to Adam West, as discussed in a panel with the cast at SXSW. The chemistry between “Big Daddy” and “Hit-Girl” as father and daughter is the most interesting storyline to watch. Along with McLovin, or Christopher Mintz-Plasse (Chris D’Amico/Red Mist), Kick-Ass lets you know that this is based on a comic – visually through shots, computer animation, and inter titles in comic-sans – where each hero is mortal.
Just like a comic book series, you have to wait around for the next issue’s cliffhanger and punchline. Those climaxes occurred every time Moretz took the screen and carried the spirit of a true comic hero in this film.
My final take…
I could not agree more with Chris and Wil! The film was both hilarious and action-packed and the performances from the cast were absolutely flawless. Moretz is undoubtedly the stand-out star with a performance that channels Uma Thurman in Kill Bill and a face that makes you want to read her a bedtime story. Cage is another major highlight with his Adam West/William Shatner delivery as Big Daddy. As if all that wasn’t enough for me, the movie also features Clark Duke in a small role as one of Dave’s friends.
Three Trashwire writers can’t be wrong. Kick-Ass is a hit.
Review by Alexis Gentry, Chris Coffel and Wil Chinchilla
