The movie lives up to the hype! I missed countless screenings and heard many peoples’ reactions to the film throughout the past few weeks so my expectations fluctuated with every person I talked to. Still, I was surprised with what I saw and smiled from beginning to end…it was exceptional and well delivered. Kick-Ass is the story about a regular kid living at home with his dad. He goes through the regular routine day to day: going to school, hanging with friends, and generally being unimportant. He’s not into sports, isn’t popular, and doesn’t have any special skills at all. He constantly thinks to himself why nobody has ever tried to become a superhero. He thinks the comic books have it wrong – you don’t need to have special powers, you just need to have a mix of optimism and naivety.
If you haven’t guessed yet, Dave decides to become a superhero. He buys a scuba suit from the internet and transforms himself into Kick-Ass. The movie takes a real look into what could happen to someone who actually tries to do this and throws a lot of unexpected twists at you. They are great! You expect one thing going into a comic book movie like this and are shown something completely different, fresh, and original.
Kick-Ass and Red Mist hanging out in the Mistmobile
If you have seen any of the trailers or marketing materials, you’ve met Hit-Girl and her dad, Big Daddy. Chloe Moretz and Nicolas Cage play amazing roles which could have been made into a movie in itself. They really add an element to the film which puts it over the top for me. There’s going to be plenty of backlash and opposition for the story line, but I think it was scripted and depicted really well. The relationship between them is very strong and realistic and sure to bring some tears to some audience members’ eyes. You didn’t expect that from this movie, did ya?
Hit-Girl from Kick-Ass
Be forewarned, this movie is gruesome, vulgar, and out there. If you’re not into violence, this isn’t the movie for you. There are scenes where you would expect for the camera to turn away but instead you have to turn away yourself. But that’s not all the movie has to offer – it’s really funny and the action scenes are amazing. On top of all that, the music contributes so much to every single scene…the score is wonderful. You’ll have your head bopping and wondering where you can get the soundtrack afterwards…or buy all the songs off of iTunes if they’re not already in your collection.
The sound effects and music add to the cinematography of the film which go through a range of different views. There is a comic book style drawing sequence with 3D (not 3D glasses 3D), there is strobe light-esque scene, fantasy scene, night vision, multiple camera views, etc, etc. Pretty much you’re on a wild ride and it’s fun as hell. There are some sequences which reminded me a lot of a movie called Equilibrium and if you remember the action scenes with Gun Kata where they combined guns and martial arts, that gives you an idea of the awesomeness that you can expect from this film.
Big Daddy and Hit Girl talking to Kick-Ass
So far, Kick-Ass is the best movie of the year. My friend commented that he couldn’t remember a movie where he had so much fun in the theater. Not only were people clapping when the credits rolled, they were clapping during the movie. Kick-Ass is in your face and never stops delivering – the only bad thing with this film is that it leaves you wanting more! GO SEE IT!
Tags: Aaron Johnson, Chloe Moretz, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Clark Duke, Kick-Ass, Lionsgate, Mark Miller, Nicolas Cage
Matthew Fong created advancescreenings.com and is the lead contributor. He watches every type of movie and will try almost anything twice. You can follow him on twitter here: @matthewfong
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