Film Review: KICK-ASS (2010) – 2nd Revisit

Director: Matthew Vaughn
Writers (Screenplay): Jane Goldman, Matthew Vaughn
Writers (Comic Book): Mark Millar, John Romita Jr.
Running time: 113 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 15

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

Watched on DVD Saturday 22^nd November 2012.

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. It then appeared on TV back in March 2011; a second viewing ensued (also enjoyable). This week (having some free time) presented an ideal opportunity to re-acquaint myself with this minor masterpiece as I now possess the DVD. It was one of the best films I saw in 2010 and Hollywood will have to work hard to beat it! If anything, I enjoyed it even more third time around (if that’s possible!). But enough of my prattling on, here’s a brief 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 in a big way 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 confronts 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 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, who is disillusioned with his father, 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 is excellent, Chloe Moretz as Mindy Macready/Hit-Girl (also superb), 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, just to see how it should be done!

SteelMonster’s verdict: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

My score: 9.3/10

IMDb Score: 7.8/10 (based on 233,147 votes at the time of going to press).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1250777/

MetaScore: 66/100: (Based on 38 critic reviews provided by Metacritic.com at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Tomatometer’ Score: 76/100 (based on 242 reviews counted at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 83/100 ‘Liked It’ (based on 211,361 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1217700-kick_ass/

If you’re crazy enough… You can find me on Facebook at:
http://facebook.com/andy.steel3

FAVOURITE QUOTES:
WARNING: STRONG LANGUAGE
Dave Lizewski: Jesus, guys, doesn't it bug you? Like thousand of people wanna be Paris Hilton and nobody wants to be Spiderman.
Marty: Yeah, what's with that? She has like no tits at all.
Todd: Maybe it's the porn tape; he doesn't have a porn tape.
Marty: You guys never saw "One Night In Spiderman"?

Hit Girl: Okay you cunts... Let's see what you can do now!

Dave Lizewski: How do I get a hold of you?
Hit Girl: [sarcastically] You just contact the mayor's office. He has a special signal he shines in the sky; it's in the shape of a giant cock.

Damon Macready: Mindy, no more homework, Babydoll. Time for Frank D'Amico to go bye-bye.

Dave Lizewski: Even with my metal plates and my fucked up nerve endings, I gotta tell you, that hurt! But not half as much as the idea of leaving everything behind. Katie, my dad, Todd and Marty... and all the things I'd never do. Like learn to drive or see what me and Katie's kids would look like or find out what happened on "Lost". And if you're reassuring yourself that I'm going to make it through this since I'm talking to you now, quit being such a smart-ass! Hell dude, you never seen "Sin City"? "Sunset Boulevard"? "American Beauty"?

Dave Lizewski: With no power, comes no responsibility. Except, *that* wasn't true.

Chris D'Amico: As a great man once said... wait 'til they get a load of me.

LINKS:
(Note: All were working at the time of going to press)
Official Site (for the new Kick-Ass movie out in 2013): http://www.kickass2movie.co.uk/
Trailer:

Film Review: X-MEN: FIRST CLASS (2011)

Director: Matthew Vaughn
Running Time: 132 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 12A

Genre: Action/Adventure/Drama
UK Release Date: 1st June 2011

Watched at the Cinema Wednesday 1st June 2011.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

It isn’t often I get to see a film on the first day of release, but due to a timely week off work I was able to make it to the first screening at my local cinema. There was no need to rush, the other eight people there were well spread out and I had an entire row (or six) to myself! I guess I should talk about the film… that’s why you’re reading this after all. Really enjoyable with quite a complicated plot but I found that despite a running time of over two hours it really flew by! Testament to the writers, actors, director and everyone else involved, it’s a big thumbs up from me.

We are told the story of how Charles Xavier founded his school for mutants in 1963. How he and his best friend, Erik Lehnsherr, later to be known as Magneto, had differing visions for the future for mutants. The stories of Hank McCoy (Beast) and Raven (Mystique), amongst others, are also told, particularly how Raven grew up with Charles but ultimately couldn’t see his vision. The narrative is set against the Cuban Missile Crisis, which, for the purposes of this story, is manipulated by one Sebastian Shaw, who has his own reasons for wanting to start a nuclear war. Shaw also has a very strong significance to Erik but I’m not going to tell you about that here (no spoilers here).

Great performances all round, particularly from; James McAvoy as Charles Xavier, Michael Fassbender as Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto, Kevin Bacon as Sebastian Shaw, Rose Byrne as CIA agent Moira MacTaggert, Jennifer Lawrence as Raven / Mystique and Nicholas Hoult as Hank McCoy / Beast.

As we have come to expect from these films, the special effects are of the highest quality. Fortunately this does not distract from the excellent plot that gives so much more depth to the main characters. There is a fair amount of humour as well, look out for a very brief appearance from Wolverine (very funny). Over all, an exceedingly well made film that I hope becomes a big hit. It’s intelligent without ever talking down to the audience and I really enjoyed it. I would be happy to see it again and it’s already pencilled in to be added to by DVD collection… Recommended.

My Score 8.5/10

LINKS:
(RT = Rotten Tomatoes)
IMDb Page: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1270798/
RT Page: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/x_men_first_class/
Official Site: http://www.x-menfirstclassmovie.com/
Trailer: