KICK-ASS

Dave Lizewski, a typical high school nerd in love with comic books and out of luck with girls, is tired of getting harassed and robbed all the time. He decides to become a superhero. Dave makes a costume out of an old green wet suit and some work boots, calls himself Kick-Ass and starts hitting the streets… literally. But Dave is not the only self-styled vigilante in town. Big Daddy and Hit Girl, a father and daughter team, are already getting tough on crime. Compared to this paramilitary version of Batman and Robin, Dave is an amateur, even though Big Daddy’s caped crusader adheres more to old-school Adam West antics than to the tough and dark Christian Bale style. Hit Girl is a spunky little assassin with a foul mouth who dispenses justice without mercy. There are no heroes without villains of course. And the nemesis of our three avengers is Frank D’Amico, a ruthless gangster kingpin who wants to monopolize crime in the city. Kick-Ass is an ultra-violent superhero homage from Stardust director Matthew Vaugn that really lives up to its name. The movie has an energy that just keeps building and building, exploding on the screen in an avalanche of action and mayhem. Vaughn layers the film with numerous references to superhero movies, action flics and even spaghetti westerns and provides it with a soundtrack of driving rock, pumping beats and some classic tunes. Chloe Moretz ( The Amityville Horror ) is sensational as the miniature killing machine Hit Girl. Nicolas Cage ( The rock, Adaptation ) provides comic relief as Big Daddy. Sherlock Holmes villain Mark Strong sticks to the bad side as Frank D’Amico and young Aaron Johnson ( The Illusionist ) steals the show as Kick-Ass.