KICK-ASS MPAA Rating: R Entertainment: +2 Content: -4

Aaron Johnson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Chloë Grace Moretz, Mark Strong, and Nicolas Cage. Comic adventure. Written by Jane Goldman & Matthew Vaughn. Based on the Comic Book Written by: Mark Millar and John S. Romita, Jr. Directed by Matthew Vaughn.


FILM SYNOPSIS: Average teenager Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson), a comic-book fanboy, decides to go from obsessive fan to real-life superhero.  As any good superhero would, he chooses a new name - Kick-Ass - assembles a suit and mask to wear, and gets to work fighting crime.  There’s only one problem standing in his way:  Kick-Ass has absolutely no superpowers. Still he manages to go up against the local super villain.

PREVIEW REVIEW: I feel guilty, but there’s a lot I liked about this Kill Bill-styled action comedy. First, the premise is creative, the humor truly witty and little Chloë Grace Moretz is the Hollywood find of the year. This 12-year-old, who is already a veteran with over a dozen film performances to date, has what every grownup actress wants – timing. I also got a kick out of the offbeat Nicolas Cage. In the supporting role of a demented but likable framed ex-con/now vigilante, Mr. Cage dons a Batman disguise, complete with Adam West’s staccato speech pattern. What’s more, there’s a great deal of clever humor in the film. And it is relatable. What kid hasn’t donned a beach towel and pretended to best the baddies after leaping tall buildings in a single bound? Alas, the content is troublesome.

Like with Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill, much of the violence is stylized and blended with bizarre comic book outlandishness. But although there is an exuberant panache to the action sequences, they also serve to further desensitize us. Some eyes will roll at that statement, as the amount of violence in films has been talked to death. But it can’t be argued that we moviegoers are bombarded by graphic violence. And it can be argued that it is hurting us.

In 1972 The Cowboys, starring John Wayne, came under fire by critics and fans because young boys were seen killing outlaws, often in a brutal fashion, as they sought vengeance against their trail boss’s murderers. It was one of the first times when children were seen taking the law into their own hands and killing adults. Nowadays, such activity in films is more accepted. And it is now more prevalent in real life.

Here two teenagers and one little girl are doing much of the kicking and killing. Though comic strip in presentation, the visual abundance of sliced and diced bodies may be having more of a counter social effect on our psyches than we suspect.

In one scene, the villain finally gets the upper hand on the caped crusading kiddy. After she’s nearly unconscious from their battle, he then punches her in the face. It’s cut so we don’t actually see the fist hitting her, but we hear the hit and then see blood forming at her nose. Seeing a little girl hit in the head bothered me, even though I knew she wasn’t really getting hurt. The imagery was disturbing. I pity the people it didn’t disturb.

One of the truths we gain from Bible study is the need for moderation. That’s a word that goes out the window when Tarantino wannabes script an action adventure. If you feel your psyche has been pounded by the recent caretakers of this cartoon noir genre, you might want to take a stand. You don’t have to put on a superhero suit. Just don’t give the boxoffice your loot.

Please read the adjoining content before deciding to see this film.

Preview Reviewer: Phil Boatwright
Distributor: Lionsgate