“Kick-Ass” Does its Namesake

How many of you ever dreamt of being a superhero? …OK, that's a lot of you. Then "Kick-Ass" is your cup of tea. A surprisingly realistic take on a not so realistic topic, "Kick-Ass" is the first great movie of the summer, and will please fans of Mark Millar's and John Romita Jr.'s comic.

Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) is the average high school student. While being enthralled with comics, he isn't too nerdy but at the same time not much of a jock. He likes a girl that is way out of his league, Katie (Lyndsy Fonseca, "Hot Tub Time Machine"), who doesn't notice him.

Dave and his two comic book geek friends, Marty (Clarke Duke, "Hot Tub Time Machine") and Cody (Dexter Fletcher, "Band of Brothers"), are sick of always getting robbed on the way home. Dave then asks the now famous question, "Why aren't there any superheroes?" Like any sane person his friends say, "Because you'd get your ass kicked."

Does Dave listen? Of course not. He orders his own suit on eBay, but can't figure out a name. After "training," which amounts to walking around roofs for a few weeks, he decides it's time to go out and give it a try. "Like a rapist, fantasizing will only go so far," Dave thinks before attempting his first acts of heroism.

Ultimately, he fails. Epically. The muggers stab Dave and he subsequently gets hit by a car. He begs the paramedics to remove his costume to keep his secret identity. The report comes out that he was found, naked, which makes everyone at his school think he is gay for some reason, including his crush.

Dave gives it another go as a hero, after legitimately training. This time he is successful. Like any hero, he ends up on YouTube within a few minutes of saving a guy. The name he gives, Kick-Ass.

Legitimate heroes catch wind, in the form of Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage) and Hit-Girl (Chloe Moretz, "(500) Days of Summer"), who use ruthless violence to take down the big mob boss, Frank D'Amico (Mark Strong, "Sherlock Holmes). Frank's son just so happens to be one of Dave's peers named Chris (Christopher Mintz-Plasse of McLovin fame).

"Kick-Ass" is very over the top oriented, but at the same time has a very grounded feel on reality. While this may seem impossible, "Kick-Ass" makes it work. The movie takes the stance that if some kid with minimal training goes up against real bad guys, you're going to die. Slow, and painful. Even Hit-Girl is the subject of one of the more hard scenes to watch, as she is beaten mercilessly by D'Amico. No matter how much training she has, she is still a 12 year-old girl.

The action scenes are great, with Hit-Girl's being the highlight. Her big entrance, set to The Dickies "Bananas Song (Tra La La Song)" works perfectly. Having a kid's song play while she is cutting people in half just adds to the over the top feeling. All the action sequences feel over the top, but don't feel so over the top that it gets ridiculous.

Johnson does a good job of narrating the movie, but the real stars are the supporting cast. Nicolas Cage gives his best Adam West impersonation when in his Big Daddy costume. His usual stiff acting works great with the character, especially when giving insane life skills to his assassin daughter. "This will only hurt for a second child," he tells her before shooting her with a handgun, trying to help her adjust to the pain you feel even with a bulletproof vest.

Moretz shows again that she is going to be a big star. Her maturity is well above her age, as well are her acting skills. Kick-Ass' buddies inject a "Superbad" type humor in between the fight scenes, making the movie feel much more like Mark Millar's (the writer of the "Kick-Ass") comic. Mark Strong does a great job as the villain, but doesn't get as menacing as we have seen him in recent movies like "Sherlock Holmes." Mintz-Plasse seems like a bad ass version of McLovin.

What the fanboys really want to know is, "does it keep true to the comic?" Well yes and no. Up to a point, the movie is faithful but then veers off in another direction that is nothing like the comic at all, except some minor plot points but comes back in the end.

Millar's comic is very dark and it's easy to see why Lionsgate wanted to cheer it up a little bit, as they are trying to appeal to a mass audience. The movie was also in production before "Kick-Ass" #7 and #8 were done being written, so it's easy to see how they aren't the same.

The movie still has its edge though. Between Big Daddy's dark parenting skills to Moretz's filthy mouth, "Kick-Ass" is a dark movie. The love interest aspect of the comics is changed in the movies, but still works. Think of the movie as a supplement to the comics and not a straight adaptation.

Comic book junkies will also notice the many references to different Marvel comics. John Romita Jr. (the artist for the comic book "Kick-Ass") draws the animated sequence for the origin of Big Daddy and Hit-Girl. Fanboys will appreciate the addition, and Romita's art style works well. It's a risky addition that could have easily jolted the momentum, but in the long run the sequence seems essential to understand the characters.

Action fans, comic book fans and just fans of movies should check out "Kick-Ass."

Overall, "Kick-Ass" gets a 5 out 5.