KICK-ASS the movie ...Is it REALLY "KICK ASS”?
Back in April of 2008, I picked up the first issue of “Kick-ASS” because prolific and controversial writer Mark Millar had engendered a lot of good will with me because of his initial run on “THE ULTIMATES” which is a modern day take on Marvel Comics Avengers property.
I read the first issue which really left little to no impression on me other than feeling it was some sort of vanity project for Millar and endless pontification on why he chose John Romita Jr. as the book’s illustrator.
I found Kick-ASS to be one of the most nihilistic comics I’d ever read. I’ve read the final issue a number of times to make sure I wasn’t just angry at the expansive delays that plagued it’s initial run … but, NOPE, it’s as sh**ty as ever from my point of view. I mean, I’ve read more than my fair share of SIN CITY, Millar’s excellent Authority run and other nihilistic comics over the years, but reading this comic actually left me feeling “empty” on the inside.
Today, I REALLY get KICK-ASS as a comic (I believe). It mirrors the REAL WORLD esthetic of the eternal stereotype of the perpetual loser and I even get why John Romita Jr. had been chosen as the book’s artist. His lazy, homogenized, dirty art style suits the sleazy world Millar created for his Un-Hero Dave Lizewski.
Well, that being said … let’s talk about the movie adaptation of KICK-ASS.
KICK-ASS the movie
RELEASE DATE: March 26, 2010-08-15
Featuring: Aaron Johnson, Chloe Moretz, Nicolas Cage, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Lyndsy Fonseca & Mark Strong
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Screenwriter: Jane Goldman & Matthew Vaughn
Note: The rights to a film version of the comic book were sold before the first issue was published.
When this film adaptation was announced, I was a little weirded out at the timing. The first issue of the comic had recently hit the shops and stands. I was sure this was just a part of the big studios bull run on all things “comic book” in lieu of the success of properties like Batman and more recently the advent of the Iron Man film. I was like F**k the suits; they don’t even wait for the thing to have a proper run before snapping it up into their greedy clutches. So, “Kick-Ass” was the equivalent of a cinematic dinkleberry to me from that time on.
About four months before the movie was to open, I happened to be surfing these very internet pages when I happened upon two or three rough scenes from the rough cut of the movie.
Hitgirl being “trained” by her father & the subsequent rampage at the apartment of some unfortunate street types.
Dave’s initial unsuccessful foray into crime fighting.
These scenes really won me over and I researched the film joyfully discovering that the director had initially raised much of the movie’s cost alone to retain as much artistic control as possible. I literally felt like this could be the Pulp Fiction of Comic book movies. Kick-Ass was added to my list of summer movie excursions.
The film was picked up by Lion’s Gate and after viewing the posters and one of the trailers, I was worried once again. The posters were decidedly splashy with the characters leaping out of CGI looking dashes of color.
I was worried about the amount of violence that would be excised from the studio print of the movie. How would the critics respond to Hitgirl? Would the entire film be given a Daredevil “studio re-edit” to make it more mainstream i.e. marketable to kids?
Suffice it to say that I was one of the first to see the film on its release date and it won me over. Cuts to the film and material appear to be minimal and it retains the spirit of the comic and flashy homemade looking costumes.
As some of you know, KICK-ASS tells the story of average joe Dave Lizewski who decides iladvisedly to become a “super hero”. In the comics it appears that this decision comes as a result of his non-existent social status and being basically a latch key kid left to his own devices by his hard working single parent. The film posits alternate views of his motives after Dave and associate experience what appears to be a routine mugging by street toughs.
Basically Dave gets his ass “seriously” handed to him when he attempts to deter the same two street toughs from brazenly stripping a car in broad daylight.
What I like about this adaptation is that Matthew Vaughn wisely decided to make the movie an ensemble piece. No disrespect to Aaron Johnson’s heartfelt portrayal of Dave Lizewski, but splitting the films focus allowed more character development for the cast as a whole. The audience is privy to the private lives of not just the protagonist, but supposed peripheral characters and the villain as well. Mark Strong services the role of Mob Boss Frank D’ Amico well with a balanced portrayal of the crime lord as a family man first. Not something we haven’t seen before in other gangster movies, but Strong just approaches it like “crime is just my job”.
Big ups to Vaughn for finally finding a character that Nicolas Cage can portray that doesn’t make me wanna claw my eyes out after five minutes (Ghost Rider anyone?). Cage does justice to the character of Big Daddy wisely choosing to make alter ego “Damon Macready” little more than a chyper of Robert Reed’s Mike Brady while creating a creepy version of Adam West’s Batman to use for crime fighting purposes.
And while I’m speaking of creepy turns for established actors, Christopher Mintz-Plasse has proved to be a comer as Chris D’ Amico / Red Mist. Yes, he is a villain, but Plasse gives him plausibility as a son seeking the approval of his father (by any means necessary as it seems).
Chloe Moretz has the acting chops for bigger things, but presented here as a living special effect and used wisely in three BIG SET PIECES that definitely demonstrate and make the heart ache for what could have been Vaughn’s version of X-Men 3. (I’m not going to spoil the impact of these scenes by detailing them here. You will just have to rent a copy to enjoy them as they were intended. Moretz demonstrates the ability to go from saccharine sweet to Vaughn’s version of Marvel’s X-23 in a matter of seconds. Much has been made of Hitgirl’s excessive profanity, but I simply took it as part of the character. I don’t see it causing Moretz to rob a 7-11 down the line somewhere.
Much has been made of the fact that KICK-ASS the movie has a different ending that KICK-ASS the comic. People will be wise to note that the comic was still in production when the film was being made.
Ultimately, I feel that Matthew Vaughn and Jane Goldman among others have made the movie a SUPERIOR version over its source material.
This is NOT a KNOCK on MARK MILLAR; he is a superb comic book writer.
It is however a knock on the mean spirited comic he and Romita Jr. created and peddling to comic reading minority. I believe that Millar might have been a little pissed at the film’s ending due to the angry, spit-in-your face way he ended his first volume of KICK-ASS.
SPOILER ALERT- (Wikipedia)
Big Daddy reveals he is not an ex-cop at all but an accountant frustrated with his marriage, who took his daughter and left his empty life to create a new one, financing himself through selling comic books. He chose Genovese as a target because he and Hit-Girl "needed a villain". The gang kills Big Daddy and tortures Kick-Ass, but Hit-Girl, revealed to be alive, arrives at the scene and kills several of the gang members, saving Kick-Ass from meeting the same fate.[7] Hit-Girl and Kick-Ass attack Genovese's headquarters. Hit-Girl kills most of the henchmen, while Kick-Ass beats Red Mist unconscious. Genovese and his remaining thugs manage to capture Hit-Girl, but Kick-Ass comes to the rescue armed with a gun and shoots off Genovese's penis. Hit-Girl finishes off Genovese with a meat cleaver and guns down the remaining henchmen.[8]
Lizewski helps Hit-Girl go back to a normal, calm life with her mother - who had never been murdered, unlike what Big Daddy had made her believe - and stepfather, but his own life is no better than before. He revealed to Katie Deauxma that he is not gay, confessing his love for her, but rather than return the feelings, she is outraged at him lying to her. In retaliation, Katie induces Carl, her new boyfriend, to thrash Dave before sending him a picture of herself performing oral sex on Carl. When he comes home, he walks in on his father having sex with Eddie Lomas' ex-girlfriend Lucille. Despite all of this, he remains optimistic, as he has gone from a loser to a cultural phenomenon over the course of the story.
SUMMARY
I recommend a least one viewing of this film for those of you who haven’t seen it yet and as a collection item for anyone attempting to collect only “GOOD” comic book related films.
This movie makes me feel that perhaps Vaughn and Co. are perhaps wasting their talents on X-Men: First Class and maybe, just maybe he should have pursued the Re-Boot of the Spider-Man franchise instead. KICK-ASS definitely makes a good case.
*Take care everyone. Shadowgeek returns to the darkness once more.*