Kick Asses

As promised, here is part two of the Red-Ass-Burgundy Trilogy.  These movies are based on graphic novels which I have NOT read, so my reviews solely concern the films themselves. 

Kick Ass.   I’d balked at this film for some time because I thought it was just about some clown dressed up in costume and a little girl dressed up in costume.   Which it is.  But it is so much more than that.  In fact, it kicks ass.

            Dave Lizewski (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) is a nerdy, bullied teen at a high school in New York.  Fed up with being pushed around, he orders a superhero costume off the Internet and ventures off as Kick-Ass – though without any super powers or even the slightest fighting ability.  Sure enough, he’s the one whose ass is kicked.  After being beaten up by street thugs, he’s hit by a car, and the resulting surgery leaves him with so much metal inside he’s a de facto Wolverine, without the adamantium claws or regeneration – or offensive capabilities:  more like an improved ability to absorb the inevitable punishment he endures because he still can’t fight to save his life.

            Meanwhile, big time crime lord Frank D’Amico (Mark Strong) finds his operations and minions being hammered by a mysterious caped crusader his hapless minions describe as “Bat Man”, but who turns out to be Big Daddy, aka Damon MacCready (Nicolas Cage).  Damon went to prison for a few years, framed by D’Amico and now intent on revenge.  Like Batman, he lacks super powers, per se, and is simply well-versed in martial arts, gadgets, and firearms skills.  His home is like a private arsenal, though falls well short of Bruce Wayne’s elaborate Bat Cave.

Instead of “Robin”, Big Daddy has a daughter, Mindy (Chloe Grace Moretz), who is as martially inclined and skilled as he is: Hit Girl, despite being all of …11?  Hit Girl rescues Kick-Ass and a bond is formed. Oh, Dave also has a bunch of nerdy friends, he tries to keep his identity a secret – even from them – and has a GF, Katie (Lyndsy Fonseca) who likes him because she thinks he’s gay.  Wait for the other shoe to drop….

            Meanwhile, D’Amico’s son Chris (Christopher Mintz-Plasse, aka “McLovin” from “Superbad”) wants to impress his father, so he takes the persona of Red Mist, to betray Kick Ass by gaining his trust and forming a team – with the goal to lure Kick-Ass into an ambush.   That’s the plan, at least.  But nothing goes according to anyone’s plan.

            From there, things start getting VERY violent.   There is blood, explosions, deaths, a painful firey death, with a definite body count – most of it caused by Hit Girl herself, after Big Daddy the most dangerous person in the film.  As you can imagine, there is a final confrontation between Frank, Kick-Ass, and Hit Girl.   Although you can sense where the film will eventually go, the route it takes is not obvious and is definitely entertaining, if extremely violent.

Kick Ass 2.  Naturally there is a sequel.   Mindy tries to retire as Hit Girl and be a normal teenager (i.e. fit in with the popular girls at school), leaving Kick Ass to find another companion: amateur crime fighting team Justice Forever, led by Captain Stars & Stripes (Jim Carrey – as unrecognizable as in “The Mask”), a reformed mob hitman turned right wing maniac.  The team also includes Night Bitch (Lindy Booth), Dr Gravity, and Battle Guy (Dave’s friend Marty), more would-be superheroes without super powers or even anything remotely resembling fighting skills, or competence with or possession of firearms.  Katie dumps Dave, believing that he’s cheating on her with Mindy – who is still only about 13.  Although Dave is pretty buff, he’s still barely learning how to defend himself and is well below Hit Girl’s standards, so in addition to the age difference, Mindy probably wouldn’t be interested in a guy she still has to constantly rescue from his own incompetence.

            Meanwhle, Chris D’Amico, determined to avenge his father, renames himself Motherf**ker, and gets his personal assistant Javier (John Leguizamo) to recruit a super villain team, of which the most notable is Mother Russia (Olga Kurkulina) – a supremely bad-ass bitch.  This team dispatches Capt Stars, but also kills several cops (Mother Russia on her own, no less!), enraging the city against all superheroes, which lands Dave’s father in jail when he comes forward claiming to be Kick-Ass to cover for Dave.  

Naturally there is yet another showdown between Kick-Ass & Hit Girl vs. Motherf**ker and his host of baddies.  Hell, there’s even a shark in here.   Did I mention Ser Jorah Mormont (Iain Glen) is here as Chris’ Uncle Ralph?  While the ultimate outcome is fairly easy to predict, HOW that outcome is reached is still far from obvious and well worth watching.   In other words, this film also kicks ass.  Still not safe for children, though.