Kick now, ass questions later

Based on the fiercely original graphic novel by Mark Millar and illustrated by John Romita Jr, Kick-Ass follows the story of a teenage fanboy Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) who decides to become a super-hero, even though he has no powers, training or meaningful reason to do so. After being caught on camera saving someone from a beating, Kick-Ass becomes a YouTube phenomenon and a media frenzy descends on the story of a masked vigilante. It is not long before he meets real superheroes in the form of a Hit Girl (Chloe Grace Moretz) and her father Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage), plus newbie Red Mist (Christopher Mintz-Plasse). Together they work to bring down gangster Frank D'Amico (Mark Strong) and his many cronies.

This is one film that does exactly what the title suggests; it kicks ass.
Fans of the graphic novel will be pleased to see it keeps the pacing and many of the quirks of the original story. The actors are all perfectly cast, none more so than Brit Aaron Johnson as the title character. After playing a young John Lennon in Nowhere Boy and now a geek-turned-hero, he is really proving himself to be a remarkable talent. Nicolas Cage always tends to balance on the line between cool and neurotic, but he delivers what is undoubtedly one of his coolest performances to date as the Adam West-esque Big Daddy. The young Chloe Grace Moretz is also a stand out, backing up her dramatic turns in The Poker House and (500) Days of Summer with meaty role few child actors would have been comfortable tackling.

Director Matthew Vaughn's experience working with Guy Ritchie on several films shows here, with the smutty dialogue and expertly choreographed action sequences. He integrates music from The Prodigy to The New York Dolls seamlessly, giving the film more attitude than it seems humanly possible. No doubt parenting groups will be up in arms about the character of Hit Girl, an 11-year-old mass murdering dynamo whose potty mouth makes Gordon Ramsay look like a nun.
But the film as just as ultra violent, ultra awesome and, in some cases, ultra offensive as its source material. Produced by Brad Pitt (among others) and his production company Plan B Entertainment, it has not lost any of its bite in the transition to the silver screen and as a film, it delivers a one two punch to the traditional comic book movie. Like the bastard child of Tarantino and Spiderman, Kick-Ass proves you can make adult entertainment from a juvenile concept, with a sprinkling of social commentary. The ending leaves opportunity for a sequel, so you can only pray enough people see and support this ballsy film that makes no apologies for what it is.

Kick-Ass opens in cinemas next Thursday, April 8.

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Well, since you assed

Good news, the Kick-Ass teaser trailer went online today . . .hooray!

It's painstakingly short, even for a teaser trailer and I'm hungry to see the full length version soon. Looks great though.

For more info on Kick-Ass (aka the comic-book movie you have to see next year) check out previous posts here and here.

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I see you baby, shakin that ass

Here I am coming to you with the latest comic book to movie adaptation that has attracted my interest. It’s called Kick-Ass and frankly, the film sounds like it will do just that. After seeing the very interesting still (below) in UK Empire magazine I sought out a bit more info on this project and when it will be hitting our screens.

Kick-Ass was released as a comic early last year and is the brainchild of Mark Millar (with artwork done by John Romita Jr). I know what you’re thinking, that’s a super quick transition to film! And it is, but you can understand the appeal to audiences who are desperate for a different take on the whole super-hero thing.

The story centres on ordinary New York high school student Dave Lizewski, who transfers his love of comic books to real-life and decides to become a masked vigilante. After basic training, he sets off to fight crime and ends up getting beaten, stabbed and eventually hit by a car. Telling his father he was mugged and hiding his costume before paramedics arrive, Dave undergoes four operations. Upon hospital release he’s back fighting crime.

This time, he doesn’t get completely owned and becomes an overnight sensation when an onlooker catches him saving a man and posts the video on YouTube. He’s dubbed with the name Kick-Ass and sets up a MySpace account so people can contact him for help. Anyway, without spoiling the remainder of the plot, a bunch of other stuff happens and he runs into a range of unusual characters during his crime fighting efforts. In particular, an 11-year-old assassin named Hit Girl who is trained and guided by a man named Big Daddy. Creepily enough, they’re a father and daughter team and no doubt the creep factor will be taken up a notch (or seven) in the film with Nicholas Cage playing the father character. Christopher Mintz-Plasse aka McLovin also has a role as Kick-Ass’s crime fighting pal Red Mist and the lead is being handled by Aaron Johnson aka the teen eye candy in Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging.

The film is being directed by Scottish fella Mark Vaughn and his company Marv Films and Plan B Entertainment privately financed the production when Hollywood studios found the material too risky. In a ballsy move, Vaughn took footage of the film to Comic-Con recently to try and interest buyers. After an enthusiastic response from fans, Universal, Paramount and Fox Searchlight are among the companies chasing the international rights for the movie but Lionsgate have secured Canadian and American distribution rights.

Kick-Ass is likely to have a mid-2010 release.

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