MJ5K's Review

Summary - Really Great 4.5

The first time I saw Kick-Ass, I thought it was…well….just good. Not great, but good. However, it got WAY better with a second watch. While I wouldn’t go as far as to say its one of the greatest comic book movies ever, it does live up to its title. It. Kicks. ASS!!!!! Sort of like the Boondock Saints of this decade, I can definitly see Kick-Ass spawning a cult following for years to come. Its 30% style, 25% substance, and 45% ass kicking awesomeness!!!!!!

The film follows Dave Lizewski. Dave’s your typical nerdy teenager. He’s not an athlete, a mathlete, he has no powers, very few friends, and his only power is being invisible to girls. One day, Dave gets the idea to become a superhero. So out of this crazy idea comes Kick-Ass!! A superhero who’s really only good at, well, getting his ass kicked. Soon enough, Dave finds himself mixed up with the mob, led by crime boss Frank D’micco, two other superheros, the Batman wannabe Big Daddy and the foul mouthed heathen known as Hit-Girl. While trying to balance out personal and superhero life, Dave turns out to be just as flawed as everyone else.

Though I do prefer a certain comic book film by the name of Watchmen, I have to say that Kick-ass actually does a better job of portraying superheros as flawed and sad human beings. The untimely amount of brutality in the film might just prove to be too much for some viewers so I should say, if you’re the squeamish type, I’d recomend How to Train Your Dragon, this ain’t your kids’ type of superhero.

What else if there to say except to go see Kick-Ass. Its a film that lives up to its title and is easily one of the best films of the year so far.

Acting - Great 4.0

Aaron Johnson is absolutely fantastic as Dave/Kick-Ass. He brings the nerdy charm and the stupid wits all at the same time. I’m looking forward to see what he can do in the role of John Lennon in this fall’s biopic Nowhere Boy.

Mark Strong plays the typical italian mob boss as Frank D’micco, however, he takes it to a whole other level. His delivery and execution is perfect. He proved to be a great villain in last year’s Sherlocke Holmes and he establishes it here.

Do NOT get me started on Nicholas Cage as Big Daddy. He was FANTASTIC!! Like Brad Pitt in Inglourious Basterds, his voice and manner totally made me gain a whole new amount of respect for him. Bout time he actually tried!

The best actor(or actress, rather) was Chloe Moretz as Hit-Girl. She stole the show as the psycho killer with a dirty mouth.

Film - Really Great 4.5

Edge - Sordid 3.5

Like I said, NOT FOR THE KIDS!! This has the most sex, violence, and foul language of any superhero film I’ve EVER seen!!

Reality - Supernatural 3.6

8 Comments

• MJ5K May 3, 2010 9:37PM

  I don’t know. It would have a LOT of expectations to fulfill. And considering most super sequels are better than their super predecessors and Mark Millar is writing a sequel to the comic, a sequel seems likely. I guess we’ll have to see how strong of a life it has on DVD.

• Wick May 3, 2010 9:16PM

  Regarding MetalJunky5000’s Review
  Welcome aboard Junky. Do you think the sequel can be anywhere near as good?

• MJ5K Apr 24, 2010 6:01PM

  Haha, well, I guess I should take it into consideration then….

• Wick Apr 24, 2010 12:04AM

  Au contraire Junky. We need your scores. WikPik’s works best the more scores a movie gets. Yeah, we probably got enough commentary, notwithstanding that you often say something interesting or funny no matter what.

  Do this. Write six lines, two in any three of the SAFER boxes. That way your scores’ll look reasoned in the ReviewGrid.

  Now if you’re scared of standing out from the crowd, that’s another thing… ;-]

• MJ5K Apr 23, 2010 8:12PM

  Regarding Wick’s Review
  Indeed a great review as always, Wick. I saw the film and I thought it was definitly really good, but I couldn’t help but feel a little letdown. However, I feel it best I shouldn’t review it cuz I don’t want to kill the buzz. Plus, all your guys’ reviews are enough to tell people to see the movie : )

• BrianSez Apr 23, 2010 6:24PM

  Regarding Wick’s Review
  Great review Wick!

• Wick Apr 18, 2010 10:21PM

  Great set of reviews Brian, Snowman and Iz. Consensus seems to be 4 beams even. That’s where my head is at also, meaning I’m in even less of a rush to craft my review.

• Wick Apr 17, 2010 10:53AM

  Regarding izzio’s Review
  Hey Iz,

  Thanks for posting the first review of Kick-Ass. I saw it last too and laughed my ass off. Now that your review is posted, I can take a few days to get mine done.

  Wick

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