Monday 27 February 2012

Not Your Ordinary Superhero.


Kickass
Released: 
16 April, 2010

Directed by: 
Matthew Vaughn

Produced by:
Matthew Vaughn
Brad Pitt
Kris Thykier
Adam Bohling
Tarquin Pack
David Reid

Written by: 
Matthew Vaughn
Jane Goldman

Starring: 
Aaron Johnson
Chloe Moretz
Lyndsy Fonseca
Christopher Mintz-Plasse
Mark Strong
Nicolas Cage

Summary: Dave Lizewski is a slightly geeky student, with few friends and a crush on his English teacher. Dave does not understand why, with all the ‘evil’ in the world, no-one has attempted to be a super-hero. As he sees it, there is nothing too difficult about putting on a costume and fighting crime. So he decides to become ‘Kickass’. Dave then meets fellow super-heroes, ‘Hit Girl’ and ‘Big Daddy’ – a former police officer with a grudge (after he was framed as a drug dealer) and his 11-year-old daughter, who he is training using rather extreme methods. Things start to spiral out of control, when crime boss Frank D’Amico sees Kickass as a real threat. Before he knows it, Dave is out of his depth in the crime world…

My Favourite Scene: Near to the beginning of the film a scene takes place, which for the first minute or so seems to be a father about to shoot his daughter, Mindy. As it develops, it is revealed that the girl is wearing a bullet-proof jacket and in fact they are simply practicing so Mindy will not be afraid when ‘some junkie asshole pulls a glock’. Mindy begins to get bored, so they make a compromise, two more rounds and they will go bowling and get some ice cream afterwards.

I thought this scene was hilarious because of how casually the event of a father shooting his daughter was taking place. What made it so brilliant was the fact that it appeared to just be a normal everyday occurrence for Mindy! They were discussing a treat for her afterwards, like it was similar to a chore. This scene represents what makes ‘Kickass’ such a good film: it takes a situation which would normally horrify people and turns it on its head. The idea of a father shooting his 11-year-old daughter seems appalling, but somehow this scene makes it incredibly entertaining.

My Favourite Quotes: 
Mindy Macready: (after telling her horrified dad she would like a puppy for her birthday) I’m just f***ing with you Daddy! Look, I’d love a Benchmade model 42 butterfly knife.

Hit Girl: Okay you c***s… now let’s see what you can do now!

Dave Lizewski: In the world I lived in, heroes only existed in comic books. And I guess that’d be okay, if bad guys were make-believe, but they’re not.

My Thoughts:  For me, the main reason this film is so good is that it turns the idea of a superhero on its head. It shows realistically (to a certain extent!) what would actually happen if a normal teenager decided they wanted to be one. And while Dave attempts to adjust to being Kickass, he is also battling with teenage problems – such as the girl he worships believing he is gay. This adds to the realistic feel of the film.

The character of Mindy Macready, who plays Hit Girl, was another aspect of the film I loved. Finally a young girl is doing something in an action film, other than needing to be rescued. Mindy was just so ridiculously and outrageously over the top – every scene with her was brilliant. I thought the script generally was great, but her dialogue was particularly good. Such a large amount of swearing is just not expected from a young girl (with the exception of ‘The Exorcist’)!

Another interesting element of the film was that it conveyed the power of the internet. Kickass’ fame is built around him becoming a YouTube phenomenon and popular on MySpace. Instead of appearing in traditional forms of media, like newspapers, Kickass becomes well-known through the internet – again adding to the realism of the film because that is actually how a modern, teenage superhero would rise to fame.

Of course there are many, many unrealistic scenes in Kickass - from an 11-year-old girl being able to defeat a mob of criminals using mainly karate, to Kickass using a jetpack. However the ridiculousness of some parts, is what makes the film so hilarious. So if you’ve read the Daily Mail review*, just ignore the idea that the film is ‘evil’ and watch it. Kickass is a combination of a realistic situation and absolute absurdity – making it a great watch.

A

*and if you haven’t, please do - just to make yourself laugh.