I’ll admit, though I’ve been reading Kick-Ass the comic for more than a year now, I wasn’t expecting much from the movie. The comic, by superstars Mark Millar (Wanted) and John Romita Jr. (X-Men, Spider-Man, the Eternals, Wolverine) — son of the legendary John Romita — was overhyped to say the least. The first issue’s cover proclaimed, “THE GREATEST SUPERHERO BOOK OF ALL TIME IS FINALLY HERE.” In comic circles this caused two things: backlash and fanaticism. First, local comic shop gurus would talk about how mediocre Millar is (it’s true, he basically only has variations on one story) and how mediocre the plot is (the first issue isn’t entirely amazing, merely solid). Then the obsequious comic geeks arrived in herds to worship at the feet of Millar and Romita, driving it almost immediately into a second printing.
When yoga goes horribly wrong.
The book’s not bad, actually. The plot follows high schooler Dave Lizewski, a geeky comic nerd who decides one day to become a hero. Dave ends up just multiplying his problems. As his secret identity, he pretends to be gay to get close to the girl he’s in love with; meanwhile his alter ego gives the comic it’s name — but from the receiving end. The beating in question isn’t typical comic fun. Dave, the superhero, lands a hit or two then gets stabbed and stumbles into oncoming traffic. After a short hospital stay, he finds that he’s become addicted to ‘suping’ (hang around comics long enough and their jargon infects you). Dave races back out into crime fighting, now taking the hero name ‘Kick-Ass’ to commemorate his initial foray. As you can imagine, shenanigans ensue. The plot has progressed well, but serious delays between issues have made the pacing feel sluggish.
The movie looks amazing. I was expecting typical superhero fare that would hopefully pick up a bit on Millar’s biting wit. In fact, the film seems to manage a cross between Snatch, Superbad, and the better parts of Wanted. I suppose this makes sense. McLovin (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) is in it, after all, and Matthew Vaughn (producer of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and director of Layer Cake) is directing. The clips we saw had the fast pace of a Guy Ritchie flick with the irreverent banter of a Judd Apatow romp. Add to this some spectacular fight scenes and the pubescent superhero fantasies of every American man-child and you’ve got something pretty promising.
Aaron Johnson embodies Dave Lizewski with a mix of false bravado, falsetto stutterings, and quick wit perfect for the part. Nicolas Cage plays a retired cop training his young daughter (Chloe Moretz) to become a vigilante. But his daughter, known as Hit-Girl, steals the show. (I don’t often say, “Man, I sure can’t wait for that new Nic Cage movie,” but, man, I sure can’t wait for that new Nic Cage movie.)
In one clip, Hit-Girl saves Dave from some drug dealers — and by saves I don’t mean grabs him and runs away. I mean brutally murder the opposition with dual katanas and a butterfly knife as only a twelve-year-old girl could, all to what sounds like the soundtrack to Happy Tree Friends. With an actor of twice her age it would be a thrilling, well-choreographed fight sequence. With Moretz it becomes a sidesplitting journey into madness. I haven’t felt that excited for a fight scene since Uma Thurman faced the Crazy 88s in Kill Bill. Kick-Ass overflows with all the same boisterous carnage.
In another, Moretz shows off her chemistry with Cage as she trains to become Hit-Girl. The two stand in a dry reservoir as Cage, holding a gun, tries to convince his daughter that it will only hurt for a second, that it will feel no worse than a punch in the chest. “But I don’t like being punched in the chest.” Cage apologizes, raises the gun, and fires, propelling Moretz off her feet and onto her back. Cage walks over and opens her coat to reveal a bulletproof vest.
“See, now you won’t be afraid when some junkie pulls a gun on you.”
“I wouldn’t have been afraid anyway,” Moretz counters. “I want some ice cream.”
“Two more rounds?” Cage asks, pulling her to her feet.
“Do I get ice cream?”
“Sure do, sweetie.”
“I’m gonna get fudge on mine,” Moretz dreams as Cage cocks the gun and takes aim again.
“You can have it all, baby doll,” Cage exclaims as he fires again.
Various other scenes show Dave bantering with his friends about becoming a superhero — filled with crude Superbad-style dialogue. Overall, the film feels like a lot of fun. I’m betting we’ll be seeing a good bit more hype before long. It’s set for release first quarter next year, but like the comic, it’s looking like it will be delayed. According to Vaughn, it’s still being shopped around various studios. The film itself is 90 percent done; it just needs some distribution. So write your local congress-person or studio exec and demand a chance to see what could easily be one of next year’s sleeper hits. Hopefully, this time next year I’ll be buying the DVD, but is it too much to hope that Millar and Romita will finish the comic by then?
