(Courtesy of Lionsgate)
As children, we all want to grow up to be a superhero. With arms outstretched and blankets tied around their necks, superheroes zoom around the neighborhood saving imaginary damsels in distress.
By the time high school comes around, thoughts turn from super-human strength to how to get that next date. Dave Lizewski (played by Aaron Johnson), refuses to give up his superhero dream in Matthew Vaughn’s movie “Kick-Ass”—and gives the audience a good laugh while doing so.
After being the victim to bullies, Dave decides he needs to take a stand. After surfing the Internet for a diving suit, the neighborhood hero named Kick-Ass is born. With no real adversaries to start with, Kick-Ass makes it his goal to do small deeds, and his first mission begins with finding a missing cat.
Eventually, Kick-Ass gains attention after an online video consisting of one of his feats goes viral. Fellow superheroes Mindy Macready (Chloe Moretz) and her father Damon Macready (Nicolas Cage), recruit Kick-Ass to their team of superheroes and it becomes their mission to take down the local mob.
A ridiculously funny movie, the trio of superheroes keeps the laughs coming. A mix between a Quentin Tarantino masterpiece and a Marvel classic, the movie has its share of violence so its not recommended for the faint of heart.
While most comic-based hero movies tone down the blood and gore, “Kick-Ass” revels in it. Blood flies realistically out of wounds, and at one point a body explodes against a window after being thrown in a microwave torture-chamber.
Although Kick-Ass is the star of the movie, little Mindy takes center stage as Hit-Girl. Watching the youngster, clad in a purple wig and plaid skirt, it almost feels wrong to laugh as she stabs enemies through the heart.
Though gory at times, the visuals are as engaging as the dialogue. The bright greens, reds and purples pop, while the script focuses on the story rather than overwhelming viewers with unnecessary special effects.
With the price of movie tickets approaching $10, few movies are worth seeing on the big screen. But “Kick-Ass” is a must-see, and will induce more laughs than anything else currently in theaters.
“Kick-Ass” will make anyone want to pull out their dusty old capes, don a mask and stand up in the name of justice.
Contact CU Independent Multimedia Editor Stephanie Davis at Stephanie.davis@colorado.edu.
