| Directed by | Matthew Vaughn |
| Produced by | Matthew Vaughn, Brad Pitt, Kris Thykier, Adam Bohling, Tarquin Pack, David Reid |
| Written by | Matthew Vaughn, Jane Goldman, Mark Millar (Comic book), John Romita, Jr. (Comic book illustrator) |
| Narrated by | Aaron Johnson |
| Starring | Aaron Johnson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Chloë Grace Moretz, Nicolas Cage, Mark Strong |
| Music by | John Murphy, Henry Jackman, Marius de Vries, Ilan Eshkeri |
| Cinematography | Ben Davis |
| Editing by | Pietro Scalia, Jon Harris, Eddie Hamilton |
| Studio | Marv Films, Plan B Entertainment |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures, Lionsgate |
| Release date(s) | 26 March 2010 (United Kingdom), 16 April 2010 (United States) |
| Running time | 117 minutes |
| Country | United States, United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Kick-Ass is a 2010 superhero film based on the comic book of the same name by Mark Millar and John Romita, Jr. The film was directed by Matthew Vaughn, who co-produced the film with actor Brad Pitt, and co-wrote the screenplay with Jane Goldman. The film's general released was on 26 March 2010 in the United Kingdom and on 16 April 2010 in the United States.
The film tells the story of an ordinary teenager, Dave Lizewski, who sets out to become a real-life superhero calling himself Kick-Ass. Dave gets caught up in a bigger fight when he meets Big Daddy, a former cop who, in his quest to bring down the evil drug lord Frank D'Amico, has trained his eleven-year-old daughter to be the ruthless vigilante Hit-Girl.
Kick-Ass has generated some controversy for its profanity and violence, particularly for the character Hit-Girl. The film received mostly positive reviews.
Plot
Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) is a geeky teenager who wonders why nobody has ever decided to become a superhero like the ones in the comic books, so he decides to become a real-life superhero himself, despite having no superpowers or training of any kind. During his first attempt to fight crime by attempting to stop two local thugs from breaking into a car, Dave is beaten, stabbed, and hit by a car. He convinces paramedics to say nothing of his costume, making them say he was brought in naked, and spends several weeks in the hospital. Some of Dave's nerve endings become damaged, giving him a slightly enhanced capacity to take pain and metal plates are placed in his skeleton to sustain his bones. After a painful recovery, Dave returns to school only to find out that his longtime crush, Katie Deauxma (Lyndsy Fonseca), is surprisingly interested in him, but only because she thinks he is gay, after hearing a rumour caused by the belief that he was found naked: since everyone believes he was naked, they believe that his muggers must have raped him. Dave goes along with this in an effort to spend time with her.
Undeterred by his earlier setback, Dave continues to patrol the streets following his recovery. One night, he comes upon a gang fight and defends the single fugitive from his three attackers. A bystander records the event, as well as Dave calling himself "Kick-Ass". The video becomes a YouTube phenomenon, and Dave sets up a MySpace account so people can contact Kick-Ass.
Katie tells Dave that she is being harassed by a drug dealer, so he convinces her to ask Kick-Ass for help. Kick-Ass tracks down the drug dealer at his abode to deliver a warning, but is subdued by the dealer's henchmen, who appear intent on killing him. He is then rescued by child costumed vigilante Hit-Girl (Chloë Moretz), who kills his attackers and then leaves with her father, Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage). They later track down Kick-Ass, informing him that they can work together, and they will keep in contact.
Big Daddy is then revealed to be Damon Macready, a former cop who was framed by local crime syndicate leader Frank D'Amico (Mark Strong). While Damon was in prison, his wife overdoses on sleeping pills and dies shortly after giving birth to their daughter, Mindy. After his release, Damon trained Mindy to fight crime as Hit-Girl and himself to become Big Daddy.
Believing Kick-Ass to be responsible for several deaths and theft of drug money within his organization, D'Amico orders his men to find and eliminate him. After D'Amico kills an imposter dressed as Kick-Ass, his son, Chris (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), suggests a different approach. Chris will pose as a superhero named Red Mist to trick Kick-Ass into trusting him, and lead him into a trap. Red Mist meets Kick-Ass, bringing him to D'Amico's warehouse to "ambush" his men. Instead, they find the building on fire with everyone inside dead. Red Mist retrieves surveillance footage which shows that Big Daddy is responsible.
Realizing the seriousness of his situation, Dave wants to quit being Kick-Ass. He tells Katie the truth, and she forgives him and becomes his girlfriend. Sometime later, Dave finds urgent messages from Red Mist, requesting they meet, and to find Hit Girl and Big Daddy. Kick-Ass leads Red Mist to one of the Macready's safe houses, with D'Amico's men following. Red Mist shoots Hit-Girl, knocking her out a window. Big Daddy and Kick-Ass are captured and taken to a warehouse to be tortured in a live Internet broadcast. Kick-Ass and Big Daddy are severely beaten, and Big Daddy is set on fire, when Hit Girl, who survived the gunshot by wearing a bulletproof vest, arrives and kills the gangsters. Big Daddy is badly burned and dies from his injuries after having a tender moment with his daughter. Kick-Ass tries to convince Hit-Girl to quit, but she plans to finish what her father had started, and Kick-Ass reluctantly agrees to help.
Posing as a schoolgirl, Mindy enters D'Amico's headquarters and nearly kills all the henchmen in the penthouse, but runs out of ammunition and is cornered. Just as one of D'Amico's thugs is about to shoot her with a bazooka stolen from Macready's safe house, Kick-Ass, armed with a jet pack fitted with Gatling guns that Big Daddy had purchased prior to his death, kills the remaining men. He then takes on Red Mist and they knock each other out. Hit-Girl fights D'Amico, but she is eventually overwhelmed. As D'Amico is about to shoot Hit-Girl, a revived Kick-Ass fires the bazooka, blasting D'Amico out of the window where he explodes in mid-air. Red Mist comes around just to find Kick-Ass and Hit-Girl escaping with the jet pack.
Hit-Girl and Kick-Ass retire from crime fighting to live a more normal life. Mindy, now in the custody of Damon's ex-partner Sergeant Marcus Williams, enrolls at Dave's school. Dave explains a new wave of superheroes have been inspired by his endeavor. In the final shot we see Red Mist donning a new mask and declaring war on the new hero population with the words, "A world full of superheroes, huh? As a great man once said, 'Wait'll they get a load of me'."
Ratings
In an interview with Total Film, Aaron Johnson confirmed that the film stays true to the adult nature of the comic series by featuring a large amount of profanity and graphic violence and it received an R rating by the MPAA and a 15 rating from the BBFC. Director Matthew Vaughn felt the 15 certificate was about right and expressed some surprise at the film having received a PG rating in France.
However, the original comic book contained considerably more gore graphic and realistic violence; in the movie, most scenes are toned down by the adding of lighthearted background music and are less graphic in the gunshots and amputations scenes. Also, the torturing scene for Kick-ass and Big Daddy's death are considerably longer, more detailed, violent and cruel in the comic book than in their film counterparts. The characters in the comic book are also younger than in the film.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kick-Ass_(film)
English-language films | Works by Mark Millar | American films | 2010 films | 2010s action films | American comedy films | American action films | Satirical films | Focus Features films | Films based on Marvel comics | Lions Gate films | Superhero films | Universal Pictures films | Pinewood films | British comedy films | Films set in New York City | Films shot in Toronto | Films shot anamorphically | 2010s comedy films | Spoof films | Teen films | Superhero comedy films
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