Kick-Ass:
Dave Lizewski is a nerdy high school kid who decides to take the law into his own hands and become a "real life superhero", an amateur vigilante who dresses in a comic book costume. He takes the name "Kick-Ass" and begins taking down small-time thugs in New York City. He eventually teams with Big Daddy and Hit Girl, and father-daughter vigilante/murderer team who are highly skilled in all types of combat. Unfortunately, these new superheroes begin to get the attention of the NYC mob, led by the ruthless crime boss Frank D'Amico. Frank is getting really pissed that a few costumed vigilantes are taking down his criminal empire, and decides to take down their entire operation and kill them. Kick-Ass must now try to survive and protect the streets as the entire NY mob is after him and his allies. The film, despite being based on a comic book, often pokes fun at the superhero genre and does a good job at it. Speaking of the comic, although the film pays tribute to the original graphic novel and it's writers (Mark Millar and John Romita, Jr.), it doesn't follow the plot of the comic book that well, so it's like it's own separate story using the same characters. The cast, featuring Aaron Johnson, Chloe Grace-Moretz, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Mark Strong, and Nicolas Cage do a good job, despite Cage sometimes doing his usual over-the-top bits. Clark Duke (Hot Tub Time Machine, The Office, Sex Drive) and Evan Peters (known for his starring roles on the hit FX series American Horror Story, as well as in the TV drama film An American Crime and the upcoming X-Men: Days of Future Past film) have supporting roles as Dave's best friends Marty and Todd. Omari Hardwick is featured as Marcus, an old colleague and friend of Big Daddy. The characters are well-cast and are written fairly well. I still don't like Hit Girl in this movie though. I don't know why, but I just don't like her cocky, almost sadistic and sociopathic personality, or the fact that an 11-year-old girl is a master of all types of military combat, that just would never happen, even if her dad trained her since she was a toddler, it just wouldn't happen. That's actually a big problem in this movie for me: it paints itself as this portrait of "this is what superheroes would really be like in our world", but yet it is far too stylized, over-the-top, and unrealistic to be taken seriously, or at least, to be looked at the way the filmmakers intended it to be looked at. One last negative thing to add is, although the film is funny, it is very violent, in fact, sometimes it's too violent and dark for it's own good, and casts a dark shadow over the rest of the movie. One scene in particular comes to my mind, I won't say what it is, but if you've seen the film, I'm sure you'll know what I'm talking about. The scene is just too brutal, sadistic, and cruel, and I know that's what they were going for, but it just kind of makes you sick and it seems totally out of place in an action-comedy. But on to the positive, the movie is funny and has well-written dialogue. The actions scenes are well-choreographed and shot, and they are pretty inventive and cool to watch. The soundtrack/musical score is great, and the movie overall is just a fun experience, despite that one scene I mentioned before. Matthew Vaughn (director of Layer Cake and Stardust, and producer of Snatch, who would go on to direct X-Men: First Class) co-wrote and directed this film, and he has a unique style that really makes the movie. He also co-produced this film with Brad Pitt. Kick-Ass definitely isn't as good as other "realistic" superhero films like Chronicle or Unbreakable, and isn't as good as the spoof Mystery Men, but it is entertaining, funny, and inventive, and that should be enough to constitute at least a few viewings. 3.5/5 stars
Kick-Ass 2:
(Some spoilers from the first film)
Dave Lizewski is now a senior in high school, and has retired from the Kick-Ass costume. But, when a new supervillain, "The Motherfucker" (Chris D'Amico), arrives in New York, Kick-Ass must suit up and join a team of amateur superheroes to take down The Motherfucker and his gang of villains. Meanwhile, Hit Girl (Mindy Macready) is trying to balance her vigilante lifestyle with high school social status while in the care of her new guardian, Marcus, her father's best friend and ex-partner (as her father, Damon, or "Big Daddy", was brutally tortured and killed by the mafia). Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Chloe Grace-Moretz, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, and Clark Duke return from the first film. Omari Hardwick and Evan Peters (probably too busy with X-Men and American Horror Story) are replaced by Morris Chestnut (another actor from American Horror Story, who also appeared in The Best Man, V, Boyz in the Hood, and Like Mike) and Augustus Prew, respectively, but they do a good job, and I actually couldn't tell the difference too much. Newcomers also include Jim Carrey, John Leguizamo, Claudia Lee, Donald Faison, and Lindy Booth. Carrey, Leguizamo, and Faison all do great jobs and they were my favorite new characters, despite Carrey not supporting the film in promos because of Sandy Hook. Despite having a new director (Jeff Wadlow), the film has the same style as the first, despite the more realistic and dark tone. I still don't buy Hit Girl as a master assassin, but she is more relatable and less cocky this time around, so that's a plus. The soundtrack/score is still fantastic, as are the action sequences and writing. The movie is actually less violent and gruesome than the first, and there are no moments that are too dark for the film. One of the few complaints is that it's not as good as the original, and feels far too short. Another complaint is that certain characters, I'm not going to say who, are killed way too early on, like either half-way through or before. (Minor spoiler ahead!) Hell, Dave's girlfriend isn't killed, but she's booted out of the film and forgotten about really early on. There's also a small subplot involving Chris' evil uncle that's completely unresolved. Another thing is that it feels like a conclusion but is the second in a trilogy. Again, the film barely follows the comics it's based on and strays from the material a little too much, despite paying homage to them. But what is good is the soundtrack/score, and the villains are threatening and have cool designs. The film still has bad-ass action sequences and funny dialogue. Kick-Ass 2 is a fun movie, but isn't as satisfying as the original. It is however, not to be corny, a kick-ass way to end the summer movie season, and for fans of the original, it's an acceptable follow-up. 3/5 stars.
SPOILER SEGMENT: There is an end-credits sequence that shows that Chris D'Amico, who was thought to have been killed in the end battle with Kick-Ass by falling into a shark tank, is in the hospital, horribly wounded and whining about not being able to get a sip of water. END OF SPOILERS.
(Images: Wikipedia)
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