Can superheroes be made, not born? It's a question 'Kick-Ass' tackles head-on.
Adapted from the comic books by Mark Millar and John S. Romita Jr., 'Kick-Ass' turns preconceived notions of herodom on its head, as it follows your normal, everyday comic-book loving geek, Dave (Aaron Johnson,) as he dons a tight-fitting wetsuit and mask and acts the part of his revered superhero.
Dave soon discovers that being a vigilante isn't as easy as it seems. But thanks to the power of viral video, the do-it-yourself upstart -- and his alter-ego, Kick-Ass -- quickly become a worldwide phenomenon.
This newfound notoriety also gets him in touch with fellow characters Red Mist ('Superbad's Christopher Mintz-Plasse), as well as Big Daddy and Hit Girl (Nicolas Cage and Chloë Grace Moretz), a father-daughter duo who aim to take down the crime circuit of a local mobster.
An unabashedly R-rated film directed by Matthew Vaughn ('Layer Cake'), 'Kick-Ass' exhibits strong language and violence that should serve to give parents pause before allowing their kids on this big-screen comic book adventure. Scene-stealer Moretz in particular beats up bad guys with a bloodlust beyond her years and unleashes heaping amounts of profanity (including one Crass Word That Shall Not Be Named) that could make sailors blush.
But you don't have to take our word for it. Here's what the critics had to say:
Entertainment Weekly: "An enjoyably supercharged and ultraviolent teen-rebel comic-book fantasy that might be described -- in spirit, at least -- as reality-based. ... Is it a problem that 'Kick-Ass' is by far the most violent movie ever to feature kids as heroes? Parents should consider themselves warned, though personally, I just wish that the film had ended up a bit less of an over-the-top action ride. It didn't need this much slam-bang when it had us at real-life superheroics."
New York Magazine: "In schizoid fashion, I both spluttered and enjoyed myself. ... 'Kick-Ass' is a compendium of all sleazy things, and it sings like a siren to our inner Tarantinos."
Roger Ebert: "Shall I have feelings, or should I pretend to be cool? Will I seem hopelessly square if I find 'Kick-Ass' morally reprehensible and will I appear to have missed the point? ... This movie regards human beings like video-game targets. Kill one, and you score. They're dead, you win. When kids in the age range of this movie's home video audience are shooting one another every day in America, that kind of stops being funny."
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