"Kick-Ass" lives up to title

"Kick-Ass," based on the Marvel comic book limited series by Mark Millar, dispels the idea of superheroes as fantasy by showing viewers what may actually happen if an ordinary person tries to be a superhero in a world that barely yields proper rewards for good Samaritans. They will get hurt a lot before achieving any form of success. Fortunately, their pain becomes our entertainment, as "Kick-Ass" is easily the most fun that I've had in a movie theater this year.

This cold, harsh reality is a lesson that teenage comic book geek Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) has to learn the hard way, as sheer boredom-induced curiosity leads him to try his hand at super heroics, on the basis that it is odd that nobody has tried to do it before. Despite the warnings of his friends, Dave takes off on his first patrol after weeks of training, only to get beaten, stabbed and hit by a car; this doesn't deter him though. He returns to the streets after months of recovery, and finally succeeds in stopping a crime in progress while being videotaped, which quickly turns him into an online phenomenon.

Meanwhile, local crime boss Frank D'Amico (Mark Strong) has his hands full, as a masked vigilante pair, known as Big Daddy and Hit Girl (played by Nicholas Cage and Chloë Moretz, respectively), interfere in his major business deals. After mistaking the duo for Kick-Ass, because of his celebrity status, Dave must now find a way to cope with the lifestyle he so stupidly put himself into, without getting killed on the job.

"Kick-Ass" makes no apologies about what it is. It is an exaggerated, over-the-top action movie with realistically brutal violence despite its cartoony aesthetics. As violent as the film is, it makes no attempt to glorify violence flat out, as the action makes every blow cringe-worthy. Blows have impact, bullets deal damage and the blades, as used by the balisong-wielding Hit Girl, are enough to cause a phobia of sharp objects.

The performances are probably more endearing than the action. Nearly every character in the film has chemistry with the people around them. As stupid as Dave's decision to don the costume is, the audience can still sympathize with his desire to be unique and transcend his nerd status.

On the opposite end of things, as great as Kick-Ass' story is, it ultimately becomes overshadowed by the revelation of the Batman and Robin modeled duo, Big Daddy and Hit Girl. For the first time in nearly eight years, Nicholas Cage uses good material to give an excellent performance as an obsessed superhero with the cunning and determination of Christopher Nolan's Batman and the personality of the cheesy ‘60s version of the aforementioned character.

What ultimately sells the performance, however, is the father-daughter relationship that he has with Hit Girl. Chloë Moretz's balance between a precocious preteen and a desensitized foulmouthed teenager makes the relationship all the more believable and her action sequences as equally disturbing as they are awesome.

However, the fun action and brilliant acting from the stars and supporting cast aside, what truly took me by surprise, was that, despite the rising levels of ridiculousness throughout the movie, it never became stupid. As exaggerated as the world may be, its characters truly developed. Furthermore, several human moments throughout the film criticized society's apathy, and made it more than just a fun action romp. What began as a satire on superheroes in pop culture, turned into a believable, albeit somewhat farfetched, superhero fantasy of its own.

Despite the level of insanity, the action rises toward in the last third of the movie, "Kick-Ass" fully lives up to its name. Smart, funny and brutal all at once, this movie is not only excellent, it even manages to top its source material.