As the credits rolled, I have to admit that I was left with mixed feeling about Kick-Ass. I’ll start off with the positive though. This was one hell of a movie and most definitely up there with The Dark Knight and Watchmen as being one of the best comic book movies ever. I know that Matthew Vaughn has previously been linked to both X-Men 3 and Thor and so I cant help but wonder what amazing things he would have done with big budget movies like them after the fantastic job he’s done with a film made on a fairly small budget. Everything from the huge action set pieces to the smaller moments are well directed and the use of music is the best I’ve seen in a long time. (keep an eye out for the Banana Splits theme, “The Tra La La Song” in Chloe Moretz’s first major scene)
Talking of Moretz, everything you’ve read about her stealing the show is true. She really is a fantastic young actress and probably gives the funniest and most enjoyable performance in the whole film. Mark Strong is also great here and although I’m not the biggest Green Lantern fan I cant wait to see what he does with Sinestro. Aaron Johnson excels as the geeky and awkward Dave Lizewski (with a flawless America accent) and although I had my doubts about Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Red Mist, he manages to wash away the memory of McLovin in a few scenes to deliver what will now surely be considered as his most memorable role yet. The rest of the supporting cast also maintains the same high level of quality, especially Lyndsy Fonseca who is another actress that I’d like to see go on to do more. The only weak link for me was probably Nicolas Cage. He was good for the most part but the Adam West impersonation just didn’t do it for me.
So, why the mixed feelings? Well, up until a point, and apart from a few minor changes here and there, this is pretty much a direct adaptation of the comic book series. However, then things are suddenly completely different. Don’t get me wrong, the story still goes pretty much the same way as it did in the comic book but the events that lead there as well as the relationships between some of the characters aren’t even remotely similar. Sometimes this is actually a good thing and sometimes it’s not but I’m sure that’s just the comic book geek inside of me disappointed not to see some scenes I was looking forward to on the big screen! Of course, this is down to the movie being made before the comic series was finished and so I hope the same mistake wont be made with Mark Millar’s latest project, Nemesis.
Still, that really isn’t the end of the world because despite that small disappointment, this is still a kick ass movie (sorry, I had to say that at least once!) and both the friend who I went with who’s never picked up a comic book in his life as well as the audience around me, loved it. If you live in the UK then stop reading this and go an watch the movie. If you live in the US then book your tickets for April 16th now because wherever you are and whenever you get to see this, you’ll love Kick-Ass just as much as I did.
Although I was tempted to knock a star off for the changes made in the second half of the movie, that would be petty and unfair to such a brilliantly acted and excellently directed CBM. Fingers crossed for a sequel…
-JoshW
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