Saturday, 26 March 2011

Film Review: KICK-ASS (2010) - Revisited

Director: Matthew Vaughn
Running time: 113 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 15

Genre: Comedy/Action/Thriller/Comic-book
UK Release date: 26th March 2010

Watched on Sky+ Saturday 26th March 2011.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I saw this film when it first came out in the cinema and really enjoyed it. This week it came to our TV screens in a slightly cut version (about 4 minutes shorter than the theatrical release) but that didn’t spoil my enjoyment of it. It was one of the best films I saw last year and the filmmakers will have to work hard to beat it again this year! If anything, I enjoyed it more second time around (if that’s possible!). But enough of my prattling on, here’s a short summary before I give you my thoughts (summary haters and those that don’t wish to know anything about the plot please practice swearing with Hit Girl while I write the next paragraph).


Dave Lizewski is an average teenage school kid, he says he has one superpower, he’s invisible to girls. He and his friends, Marty and Todd, are into comic books and after hanging out one evening they are mugged by a couple of scumbags. It seems this is not the first time this has happened and Dave is getting a little fed-up with it. He goes online and gets himself a costume, a green wet-suit. After a bit of self-training, he decides he’s ready and ‘Kick-Ass’ is born. He decides to confront the two muggers who held up him and his friends but things don’t go well and he ends up having his ass kicked. After recovering in hospital and being screwed together with metal plates he finds his nerve endings are a bit damaged, which means he can take a bit more of a beating than before. Meanwhile, a real Superhero known as ‘Big Daddy’ is training his eleven year old daughter, ‘Hit Girl’. They have a grudge against crime boss Frank D’Amico who framed ‘Big Daddy’ some years before. D’Amico’s son, Chris is disillusioned with his father and decides to become a Superhero himself, called Red Mist in order to lure Kick-Ass out of hiding. They blame Kick-Ass for some losses they have been suffering recently. Kick-Ass eventually gains notoriety when he beats up three guys picking on another guy. The fight is filmed and put up on the internet, bringing a lot of media interest in Kick-Ass. Dave is also noticed by Katie Deauxma, although she doesn’t know his secret identity, and thinks he’s gay. I won’t say too much more, but needless to say all of these various characters are destined to meet, and when they do… I’ll have to leave it there or I’ll be having a knock at the door from the ‘Spoiler Police’ (& I don’t want that).


I must first say that it is a really well made film with some excellent stunt work. I thought the music chosen for the score was really great as well. Excellent performances from all of the leading cast, Aaron Johnson as Dave Lizewski/Kick-Ass, Nicolas Cage as Damon Macready/Big Daddy, Chloe Moretz as Mindy Macready/Hit-Girl, Mark Strong as Frank D’Amico, Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Chris D’Amico/Red Mist and Lyndsy Fonseca as Katie Deauxma.


There is a lot of humour in this film, both spoken and visual. It’s also very very violent, so I wouldn’t recommend it to those of a nervous disposition. I don’t usually enjoy teen comedies, but this is very original, very different and it’s very refreshing to see a film that pushes the boundaries somewhat. It’s a film that any superhero film fan should try to watch at least once a year and I recommend it very highly!

My score: 9.2/10

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