Plot
Dave Lizewski is an unnoticed high school student and comic book fan who one day decides to become a super-hero, even though he has no powers, training or meaningful reason to do so.

Release Year: 2010

Rating: 7.9/10 (185,807 voted)

Critic's Score: 66/100

Director: Matthew Vaughn

Stars: Aaron Johnson, Nicolas Cage, Chloë Grace Moretz

Storyline
Dave Lizewski is an unnoticed high school student and comic book fan with a few friends and who lives alone with his father. His life is not very difficult and his personal trials not that overwhelming. However, one day he makes the simple decision to become a super-hero even though he has no powers or training.

Writers: Jane Goldman, Matthew Vaughn

Cast:
Aaron Johnson - Dave Lizewski / Kick-Ass
Garrett M. Brown - Mr. Lizewski
Evan Peters - Todd
Deborah Twiss - Mrs. Zane
Lyndsy Fonseca - Katie Deauxma
Sophie Wu - Erika Cho
Elizabeth McGovern - Mrs. Lizewski
Christopher Mintz-Plasse - Chris D'Amico / Red Mist
Stu 'Large' Riley - Huge Goon (as Stu Riley)
Johnny Hopkins - 1st Gang Kid
Ohene Cornelius - 2nd Gang Kid
Mark Strong - Frank D'Amico
Michael Rispoli - Big Joe
Corey Johnson - Sporty Goon
Kenneth Simmons - Scary Goon

Taglines: I can't see through walls. But I can kick your ass.

Official Website: Lionsgate [United States] | Official site [Spain] |

Release Date: 16 April 2010

Filming Locations: All Star Lanes, Whiteleys Shopping Centre, Bayswater, London, England, UK

Box Office Details

Budget: $30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend: £3,881,704 (UK) (4 April 2010) (402 Screens)

Gross: $48,043,505 (USA) (27 June 2010)

Runtime: 117 min

Trivia:
After Kick-Ass first meets Hit-Girl, we see Big Daddy standing in front of a billboard featuring Claudia Schiffer, wife of director Matthew Vaughn.

Goofs:
Boom mic visible: When Kick-Ass and Red Mist meet Big Daddy and Hit-Girl at the safe house, the boom mic is visible when they're standing in the door, at the top of the screen.

Quotes:
[first lines]
Dave Lizewski: I always wondered why no-one did it before me. I mean, all those comic books, movies, TV shows... you think that one eccentric loner would've made himself a costume. I mean, is everyday life really so exciting? Are schools and offices so thrilling that I'm the only one who fantasized about this? Come on, be honest with yourself, at some point in our lives we all wanna be a superhero.

Gget ready for the new classic superhero movie!

Rating: 10/10

In a movie industry cluttered with own-grown hype, gimmicks and lack of idea, "Kick Ass" bursts onto the screen and shatters all expectations in it's wake. You're on this page because you think it's gonna be good? Wrong. Or you're here because you think it looks a decent or a good superhero movie to join the ranks of the ones you already love? DEAD wrong. Reason being, is "Kick Ass"doesn't want to be good or above average, "Kick Ass" wants to be great and it has the balls to want to be original too. Seemingly impossible in a done to death genre where we've already glimpsed Mark Millar's signature style in "Wanted", but "Kick Ass" is all about the unexpected.

Make no mistake, nothing you believe of this movie compares to what Vaughn and co. serve up for you. Mainly because everyone involved seems determined to honour the comic and redefine a genre. Most movies entertain, but this one? It wants to BLOW YOU AWAY! Less smarter movies have done that but "Kick Ass" ain't giving that up either. It's script is razor-sharp, dumping the pretension of "the burden of heroism" crippling even the better superhero films, showing this in actions rather than long drawn out emoting. Matthew Vaughn has finally solved the hurdle that all superhero movies suffer, namely how to get to know and love your characters without long drawn out scenes. He does it by keeping them moving. The more they do, the more they try, the more you know and love them. And make the narrative interesting and most of all relatable so we're with Dave 100% of the way, it doesn't just have to functional.

The real visual joy of "Kick Ass" is it's desire to keep it simple but not at the expense of wowing us. Make characters do cool things, instead of Michael Bay-esquire things happening to them. That's why they exude coolness, despite Dave's almost humdrum existence. This is the everyman doing the things we could do if wanted to; not a guy from another reality or possessed with great drive and ambition. Dave wants to get laid. He wants to be hip. Even your bad guy in this is believable. Watching the whirlwind that is Hit Girl perform a routine almost straight out of Jackie Chan's Hong Kong days stuns us in a way no big screen chase ever could. Visually the film takes all the thing we DID love from the movies that ultimately didn't zing and churns them into a finely balanced flawless brew.

Did I mention it's feel good? From it's inspired use of music (again utterly relatable) right down to it's outstanding score, like "Get Carter" for superheroes; I could say more but there's surprises in store.

In a movie this stunning, acting is usually secondary (as any James Cameron film shows). Not a bit of it. In a cast as eclectic as the styles the film embraces you have performances that set a benchmark for all concerned. Can Mark Strong already better his stellar work? See his menacing and humorous turn as D'Amico, a career best. Christopher Mintz Plasse follows "Role Models" by breaking out of McLovin mode. His guy has layers and he can show them. Nicolas Cage as expected returns to his past glories playing larger than life eccentric characters but not without a little sadness too. Joining him is Chloe Moretz forever destined to be remembered for her first major role. She idolised Angelina Jolie apparently. Guess what, you trounced any action movie she has ever made! Moretz dominates any scenes she's in, no easy task considering her fellow cast! Aaron Johnson has the most difficult job of all. Being an original uber-geek after Michael Cera set the standard (anyone who's seen "Zombieland" knows it's hard to write an original geek even in a great movie). He shakes it, redefines it and OWNS it. He leads the movie like he wrote it, joined by a cast where even the smallest roles are fully fleshed out. It's quite an ensemble. A renegade band of acting styles forming a perfect one and complementing the film's fun style.

Watching "Kick Ass" is ultimately like being on a thrill-ride, it doesn't just want to dazzle you, it's wants to draw you in, ride the wave and leave the cinema on a high. And it doesn't do that with gimmicks or tried and tested formula's, it breaks the mold, shakes conventions and wants you to be surprised while complementing all the movies you already love. It's not just a movie, it's a standard, one that promises to prove movies like this can be written with great heart and brain.

And ultimately you'll be leaving the screen thinking "Wow, let's do that again" no matter how many agains come before it.

Download All The Movies You Want, Cheap!

Comments: