Kick-Ass | DVD Review

In this day and age of Spider-Man, Iron Man, and X-Men films that come along every summer, how refreshing it is to have a superhero movie that doesn’t shy away from the raw violence and bloodshed that would most necessarily be a part of life as a superhero. Instead of being cartoony, even though there are plenty of crazy costumes, Kick-Ass comes across as gritty and realistic all while staying true to the comic book on which it’s based, making for a surprisingly touching edge-of-your-seat action film.

For the un-initiated, Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson, Nowhere Boy) is your typical low-key teenager, flying under the radar of the cool kids at school, hanging out at the local comics shop with a couple of pals. One day, after a discussion of why nobody has ever decided to become a superhero, he decides to do just that, ordering a costume (more of a wet-suit) online and setting about righting what is wrong with the world. One problem: he’s got no special powers. When his first attempt at stopping crime goes horribly wrong, he thinks twice about his decision. But Kick-Ass perseveres and during one accidental heroic moment is caught on video and becomes an instant internet celebrity and a hero to millions. He quickly gets in over his head and is saved by the vigilante father-daughter duo of Hit Girl (Chloe Grace Moretz, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, the upcoming Let Me In) and Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage, The Sorceror’s Apprentice and just about every film made over the past ten years), but he also draws the attention of local crime-lord Frank D’Amico (Mark Strong, Sherlock Holmes, RocknRolla, who wants Kick-Ass dead after a bunch of his men turn up dead, seemingly at the hands of Kick-Ass. D’Amico enlists his son to infiltrate the band of heroes as Red Mist (Christopher Mintz-Plasse, McLovin from Superbad), and things get very messy and bloody from here, culminating in one of the most absurdly entertaining finales in years.

Director Matthew Vaughn, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Jane Goldman (Stardust) based on the hit Marvel comic book by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr., uses his experience directing Layer Cake and producing such British actioners as Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch to good effect. He has a knack for infusing the action sequences with a good bit of humor while still maintaining the seriousness of the scenes in the overall scheme of the film. Early on, he even riffs on a very well-known scene in Spider-Man as Dave attempts a rooftop-to-rooftop jump. That humor is also well-used in the non-action scenes, as all characters come off as realistic (yes, realistic in a comic book movie!) even when little nuances in the most serious of scenes make the audience chuckle. It’s a charming type of humor, perhaps made all the more charming on the strength of its cast. Johnson and Strong, in particular, seem perfect in their respective roles as, respectively, your everyday tortured teen and your everyday crime-lord whose empire seems to be crumbling around him. But it’s Moretz, as Hit Girl, who steals the show here. Playing a pint-sized crime-fighting vigilante with a potty mouth who doesn’t think twice about killing criminals is no easy task on any day, but playing that character opposite Nicolas Cage – who’s been known to steal a scene or two himself over the years – and more than holding your own is very impressive indeed. As Vaughn mentions during one of Moretz’ scenes in his commentary track, “you’re witnessing the birth of a star here.”

As is the norm with comics-to-film adaptations, the color scheme in Kick-Ass is very vivid, and it comes across extremely well on DVD. The wide-screen presentation is pristine, and the music and audio are powerful enough in 5.1 Dolby Digital EX Audio without taking focus away from the story itself. In regards to special features included on the DVD, it’s pretty bare-bones, although the Blu-ray disc includes a feature-length making-of documentary that hopefully includes much of what’s missing from the commentary track by director Matthew Vaughn.

Matthew Vaughn Audio Commentary
Unfortunately, this rather hum-drum commentary doesn’t offer much beyond Vaughn explaining and describing certain scenes while praising everobody in the cast and crew. A couple of amusing and strategically-placed anecdotes would have been appreciated, if only to give the commentary a bit more life. To his credit, the director does say right at the start that he’s doing this commentary after a long night of drinking at the film’s premiere.

It’s On! The Comic Book Origin of Kick-Ass
This 20-minute documentary features interviews with the creative team behind the Kick-Ass comic book, creator/writer Mark Millar, legendary comics artist John Romita Jr., and inker Tom Palmer about the origins and process behind making the comic book. A tad too long for non-fans of the comic book, it is quite interesting to hear Millar discuss how Kick-Ass is autobiographical.

The Art of Kick-Ass
A series of navigable stills separated by theme: Storyboards, costumes design, on-set photography, production design, and John Romita Jr. art for the film. Worth a look, but nothing too spectacular here.

Marketing Archive
This section features the theatrical trailer, North American and International poster-ad campaigns, and a fantastic red-band trailer featuring Hit Girl, the pint-sized, ruthless vigilante heroine.

Featuring a strong cast and some very capable action direction from Matthew Vaughn, Kick-Ass is an endearing comic book adaptation that’s probably the most realistic superhero flick of recent years, especially in terms of its handling of everyday teenage life and emotions. But when it comes down to it, watching a pre-adolescent girl shoot and stab her way through a series of bad guys while spewing some of the dirtiest language this side of a Tarantino film is the reason why Kick-Ass kicks ass. Her use of the C-word alone, the most vile word in the English language, makes this one worth seeing!

Movie rating – 3.5

Disc Rating – 3