They ought to have some formula by now for dictating the chances of someone making a genre satire. Just think about it, after “28 Days Later” we had Shaun of the Dead, a few zombie movies and years after that we got the delightful “Zombieland.” Looking at the track record of satirical parodies we are long overdue for one in regards to super-heroes films, which apparently have become the “bullet time” of cinema. So then, how does “Kick-Ass” hold up as our first parody? I walked in the theater really wanting to love “Kick-Ass” for it's clever, dark humored satyr; instead I left a bit confused trying to figure out if I really liked it or not; and whether thinking Hit-Girl is cool makes me a morally questionable person.
“Kick-Ass” follows the tale of an average teenage loser named Dave Lizewski. Needless to say, Lizewski is a comic book geek who seeing all the comics throughout the world has wondered why no one has ever tried to be a super-hero. “Probably because it's impossible” his friend sarcastically replies, “What, putting on suit and helping people? That's not impossible.” Looking up from his comic his friend gives him a look: “Dude, if anyone every tried that they'd get their ass kicked.” And how right he is.
“Kick-Ass” certainly gets off on the right foot. The opening scene we watch as a mental patient dressed up in super-hero attire falls gloriously to his death in a vain attempt to fly. When we get the traditional quickie on how how our central character came to super-heroism the film gleefully takes the opportunity to expose the formula by having Lizewski go through some sort of twisted concept of the super-hero right of passage: “My mom died of an aneurism at the breakfast table …. the only epiphany I've since [she] died is that life goes on.” Not to mention the first time he tries to stop a few criminals he gets stabbed in the stomach and has to spend two weeks in the hospital. At first glance it appears to be a full blown satire at the genre, however, as wears on it seems to run out of ideas.
A definite reason “Kick-Ass” was able to hold itself together was because of its strong performances. Chloe Grace Moretz gives an outrageous portrayal of the infamous Hit-Girl, which has generated quite a bit of controversy. The first time we see her plow through a group of bad-guys with her spear like weapon is unsettling to say the least. However, the film doesn't try to lighten the mood by displaying her as caricature, which is even more unsettling. However, later in the film, once dramatic events which I will not reveal have occurred, she is set up against a large group of bad guys that she just as easily conquers in a gory, but for some reason this time not unsettling, manner. I'd like to think of her as a caricaturisation of women super-heroes superimposed onto a young girl to exemplify how they are objectified. However, I know I would be bullshitting myself to say so. I have to admit, I thought she was cool but I also felt morally compromised for thinking so. Another noteworthy performance is by Cage of all people. Leaving the action-hero persona behind Cage steps into a bat-maneque mold and creates an incredible character out of the infamous “Big Daddy/Damon Macready,” so incredible was his portrayal that I'd like for someone to make a film solely about his story. Lead actor Aaron Johnson does a noteworthy job in portraying Lizewski: he balances fervent frustration and pathetic reality perfectly to give us a protagonist we can really care about. Mark Strong's character felt out of place in the generally lighthearted story of “Kick-Ass.” His character is bad enough so that at times I hated him instead of laughing, but when he was funny, the tone had already been set dramatic by another character.
However, when we put the controversial Hit-Girl and out of place antagonist aside, what we find at the warm, chewy, center of this story is narrative of human struggle. A story of framed cops and frustrated teenagers, both fed up with the inaction of society to stop criminals. And because of this, much of the humor in “Kick-Ass” feels out of place. For an example, there is a scene where we watch from a security camera as Big Daddy slaughters Frank D'Amico's men, the music playing in the background sets a heavy and dramatic tone, inadvertently making it the most bad-ass thing I've seen in years. However, quickly after this the film cuts to Strong, with a surprised and comical look on his face that was supposed to make me laugh, but instead just raised my eyebrows making me think “What the hell?” There are many, many more scenes that seem to contradict themselves such as this one did. However, the overall product did not feel muddled (i.e. “Alice in Wonderland”) simply because of the power of the dramatic sequences. If it really tried “Kick-Ass” could have been a meticulous and fully dramatic deconstruction of the super-hero myth, but it's doesn't, so it isn't. Despite all of “Kick-Ass's” imperfections it still amounts to fun, compelling adventure; if only it had more coherent direction it really could have been something good. 3.5/5
