'Kick-Ass'

'Kick-Ass' (R) ***

Writers: Jane Goldman and Matthew Vaughn based on the comic book
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Starring: Chloe Grace Moretz, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Aaron Johnson, Nicolas Cage, Mark Strong, Clark Duke, Lyndsy Fonseca

There has been a lot of controversy the past week about the movie "Kick-Ass". The controversy stems from a 11 year old girl using bad language, slicing and dicing bad guys and being punched and shot. Some critics have complained that it is sick, stupid and just plain wrong. Roger Ebert called this movie morally reprehensible and I can see why he felt this way. I am not the moral police though and I don't care to ever be politically correct. I just want a movie to entertain me and make me think a little and I want to feel that a movie is saying something to me. Based on that, I really enjoyed "Kick-Ass" for it is entertaining and has given us a future star in the making. The movie is sort of a satire on the superhero genre but I see it as more of a junior "Kill Bill". The satire is not always strong for this is basically a violent, fast and gory action film. The movie revolves around a teenage boy who wonders why more people don't become superheroes. He knows people think about it so he buys a superhero suit and goes out to fight crime or so he thinks. The first time he goes out and tries to stop a mugging and beating he gets stabbed and beat up. Hey, it's the real world and of course a boy can't just dress up as a superhero and get the job done. He gets captured on You Tube though and becomes popular inspiring copycats like an ex cop and his daughter. The ex cop is played by Nicolas Cage, who in a scene that has caused a stir, he shoots his eleven year old daughter while she wears a bullet proof vest so she can know what it feels like. The scene sounds cruel but it is also funny and this is were the controversy becomes a little dumb.

This movie is rated R and it is not meant for kids but is for adults so what this little girl has to do in this movie takes place in a fantasy World. The girl kills with ease and quickness a slew of bad guys, she stabs and dismembers them also. She also uses a lot of swear words and not the little, funny ones either. So now people are outraged that the movie shows a little girl swearing like a sailor and killing people and also being hit and beaten. First of all I think this is a fantasy so you have to suspend belief and realize this is not a real life depiction of a girl. This movie is so over the top that you just have to go with the flow and see it for what it is, a funny and bloody good time. Now I think some parents are more upset that this girl uses some nasty words than they are with the violence which makes the controversy even more stupid. I thought it was funny except for one word I don't think she would be able to say and it is the C word and I am not talking the male version. It doesn't sound good rolling off her tongue. I remember when I was small and "The Bad News Bears" got slammed for kids saying bad words and they were words like s**t and such. It was a stupid concern then and I think it is ridiculous now when more kids know worse swear words than I do. I have seen worse things that kids did in movies before and I don't think "Kick-Ass" is that shocking. It would only bother me if the words were said in a crappy movie like say "Hardball" with Keanu Reeves. If you expect to go in with your kids to this movie and see a little girl bake cookies and have a tea party then you should do your research before seeing this before you get angry and shocked.

Now I am angry that I am ignoring why I liked this movie. I thought it was clever even though I don't think the satire is strong. The action scenes are crisp, cartoonish (which also dismisses the controversy on the violence) and the acting is good. The movie really stays afloat through the rough patches with a star making performance by a young girl who steals the movie. The 11 year old character is named "Hit Girl" and she is the daughter of the Cage character. She is played by Chloe Grace Moretz and she is amazing and has a wonderful screen presence. She was also in "500 Days of Summer" and she was amazing in a small role there. She has a confident and mature presence on screen. The movie drags a little in the middle and I was about to lose interest and then I found out why. Chloe wasn't in the movie for a while and when she came back to a bravura killing, rescue scene I realized that this movie doesn't work without her. Mark Strong is a good bad guy and is building a nice bad guy career and any movie which has Nicolas Cage in it and is good is a miracle these days. Aaron Johnson and Christopher Mintz-Plasse are okay here but the movie belongs to Moretz and she makes quite an impression. I thought this movie was well constructed and written and I had a good time. I think this false outrage over the moral content of the movie is quite silly. This is a fantasy movie folks and sometimes you have to realize that. This is not for everybody but people who like this sort of movie won't be disappointed.