Donning a wetsuit he purchased off the ‘net, high school kid Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) transforms himself into Kick-Ass, a comics-inspired superhero who makes it his mission to clean up the streets of New York City. While his first day on the job ends in failure, he quickly hones his skills and begins building an adoring fanbase. Along the way he encounters the father-daughter team of Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage) and Hit-Girl (Chloë Moretz), vigilantes who are systematically dismantling the criminal empire of Frank D’Amico (Mark Strong), a mob boss who doesn’t take kindly to the actions of all of these costumed kooks.

CRITIQUE

It’s understandable when subtle satire flies over peoples’ heads, but it’s puzzling when satire that isn’t the least bit subtle is unrecognizable. Kick-Ass is unsubtle satire, but as opposed to something like Natural Born Killers, that’s not a criticism. The Mark Millar-John Romita, Jr. comic on which this movie is based (of which I’m a fan) is both a superhero tale and a black satire of superhero tales, offering a look at the possible consequences of bringing Spider-Man or Batman into the real world. Anyone who takes the events of the comic and/or movie at face value is missing the point by a wide margin, so wide the point and the person missing it are in different time zones.

The last movie inspired by a comic penned by Millar (a writer who’s just as interested in employing funnybook conventions as he is deconstructing and sending them up) was Wanted, which took most of what made the source material so enjoyable and either softened it into pointlessness or chucked it altogether. Kick-Ass, thankfully, doesn’t try to make itself more palatable for a mainstream audience. Writer/director Matthew Vaughn and co-writer Jane Goldman, the same team responsible for the painful Stardust, offer an experience that is incredibly profane and graphically violent.

These characters don’t exist in a world where punches cause no physical damage whatsoever and gunshots don’t result in spilled blood and tissue; when someone here is hit, shot or sliced, you see the immediate effect and the after effects. And while the violence is out there (although not quite as out there as it is in the comic), it has to be in order to make its point.

The relationship between Big Daddy and Hit-Girl is obviously meant to represent a realistic spin on that of Batman and Robin, illustrating what would really happen were some nut in a suit to drag some little kid along on his crime-fighting missions. That little kid would bear emotional, psychological, and physical scars for the rest of his/her life, and you’re willing to look you can see that this is where Hit-Girl is ultimately headed. Some people have been made uncomfortable by the sight of an eleven-year-old girl slaughtering bad guys, and I think that’s sort of the point.

There’s a momentary exhilaration brought on by how Vaughn handles the Hit-Girl scenes (especially her introductory scene, which makes terrific use of The Dickies’ cover of the theme from The Banana Splits), but this is followed by an extremely unpleasant feeling that accompanies the realization of exactly what’s being portrayed (it’s a little like watching a good action sequence in a non-jingoistic war movie in this way). The movie’s not being transgressive or wallowing in depravity (two things Millar has been guilty of on more than one occasion); there’s a salient point amidst all that blood and viscera.

But as was the case with the comic, or movies like Starship Troopers and Robocop, you could say toss it to all of that and enjoy the movie as just an action piece. Goldman and Vaughn have given the movie the structure, arc, and beats of standard superhero flick (including the obligatory overlong, overblown action finale), so if you do take the movie at face value and don’t get offended at the site of a cute little girl eviscerating people and making extensive use of the United Kingdom’s favorite slang term for female genitalia, you’ll probably still a great deal of fun with it. (I know people who’ve done exactly that, just as I know people who think the movie didn’t go far enough with its satirical elements. Sometimes you jus can’t win.)              

The movie is more faithful to the comic than not, but there are some rather large differences, most of them the result of the comic’s still being written while the movie was in production. Some of the changes work (such as removing the surprise reveal of one character’s real identity, which wouldn’t have been much of a surprise after seeing and hearing the actor playing the part), but a couple raise serious problems.

Kick-Ass’s early justice-for-hire jobs get streamlined in the movie, and this results in a nonsensical change in characterization for one supporting character. Big Daddy and Hit-Girl’s backstory (which is presented here in a manner than is simultaneously awkward and awesome) gets a radical makeover, which results in some illogical ripples in the story. (It also throws off Cage’s performance somewhat. When playing Big Daddy’s secret identity, he’s more the character from the comic than the movie.)

Were I unfamiliar with the comic, these elements would still bother me, as it’s not the changes themselves that are problematic, it’s the resulting story problems they create. (Ultimately the story works better and its points are better made in the comic, but given what’s being lampooned, I think that’s to be expected.)

Kick-Ass is a good movie, but the erratic pacing and overlength that crippled Layer Cake and further added to the pain of Stardust cripple it, too, although not to the same degree. The action flies by, and the scenes with Cage (whose Adam West impersonation is perfect for Big Daddy) and Moretz (who’s going to be huge and deserves to be; she owns this movie) are electric; other scenes, though, can be deceptively energetic--you think the movie’s moving but it’s actually extremely pokey.

The movie’s also fifteen minutes too long, and this isn’t a case of not being able to discern where the cuts should have occurred. Vaughn has said an extended version could see the light of day if this version sells well and fans clamor for more, but I’d rather see him take a cue from Michael Mann and tighten it; I think it would make for a better movie.

THE VIDEO

The 2.40:1/1080p transfer--encoded with AVC onto a 50GB disc--offers an excellent representation of the movie’s intended look; any flaws--and there are  a couple--are a result of the stylistics Vaughn and cinematography Ben Davis brought to the proceedings.

The comic is full of dark, rich colors, while the opposite is true here; the movie’s palette is bold, bright, and hot, full of primaries that burn thanks to a contrast that has been dialed up. There are times when this cranked contrast rubs out fine detail and messes with the image’s grain structure, but it also heightens the movie’s exaggerated feel; and there are times when the trickery doesn’t interfere with the clarity, depth, or level of detail at all, resulting in an image that is just about perfect.

So you take the good--which can be very, very good--with the bad--which isn’t really all that bad--and you end up with a damned good transfer.

THE AUDIO

As they do with most of their showcase titles, Lionsgate goes with a DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track here. In keeping with the theme, it’s a very good experience that’s nevertheless hampered ever so slightly by the source. The movie’s front-heavy sound design makes very little use of the surrounds during the non-action sequences, then goes suitably, pleasingly wall-to-wall whenever the action starts.

It’s a very noticeable dichotomy, and it’s impossible not to experience the mayhem and wish the entire track were as impressive and immersive. Dialogue sounds great throughout, the music is well represented (Vaughn makes excellent use of prerecorded music), and the low end is relentless.

A French Dolby Digital 5.1 track is also included; English, English SDH, and Spanish subtitles are available.

THE EXTRAS

All of this release’s video-based extras are presented in high-definition.

Director Matthew Vaughan offers up a pretty good commentary, but you may want to skip it and head straight for the even better Ass-Kicking BonusView track, which mashes up excerpts from the commentary with picture-in-picture material, including cast/crew interviews, behind-the-scenes footage, etc.

A New Kind of Superhero: The Making of Kick-Ass (113 minutes) is a four-part documentary (viewable as a whole or individually) that traces the entire production of the movie, from Millar and Vaughn’s first conversation regarding the material straight on through filming and release. There is some overlap between what’s covered here and what’s covered in the BonusView track, but it’s worth it to sit through both.

It’s On!: The Comic Book Origin of Kick-Ass! (20 minutes) looks at the genesis of the comic and the work that went into producing it. Millar (whose Scottish accent’s a hoot), Romita, inker Tom Palmer, and colorist Dean White provide a lot of info, especially the three artists, who walk through many of the steps and decisions involved in giving the book its distinctive look (a discussion some may find tedious but I enjoyed immensely).

The Art of Kick-Ass Gallery contains a wealth of storyboards, production illustrations, and costume designs, as well as the penciled artwork Romita created for Big Daddy’s origin sequence. 

A Marketing Archive contains the movie’s theatrical trailer, the red-band Hit-Girl-centric trailer, and galleries of domestic and international posters.

Lionsgate’s signature Blu-ray bells and whistles are also packed in, including BD Touch and Metamenu, a D-Box Metadata track for connectivity with D-Box Motion-Based systems, access to the Lionsgate Live BD-Live menu system, and a bookmarking feature. 

Disc Two of this three-disc package is a DVD copy of the movie, while Disc Three is a digital copy.

FINAL THOUGHTS

A tighter running time and a swifter pace would have made for a far better, far more effective movie, but Kick-Ass still kicks more than its fair share of ass.