Blu-Ray Review: KICK-ASS; Wonderful, grotesque conglomerate of f'n' bat-shit bonkers
Okay you cunts; let's see what you can do.
With that immortal line, Kick-Ass announced itself to the world well before it ever reached its cinematic release. And it also welcomed in a world of lunatic criticism, reserved usually for the worst kind of criminals, because - Holy Shit- a little girl did a swear. And not just a bad swear, the holiest of holies of the profanity world! She must have been exploited, abused even. Someone, please think of the children. Here's something that might be of interest to everyone who felt the need to get all antsy at that particular line: Kick-Ass is about so much more than a school-girl using a naughty word, and for everyone who has so far chosen out of obstinacy not to see the film, you need to reassess.
That's not to say that Kick-Ass is the easiest of viewing pleasures: there is definitely something jarring about its violent manifesto, but its all done in such an enticing tone and will have sparked a lot of interest in the community of film-lovers and comic book fans who were growing weary of the modern crop of comic book movies. Grit and origin movies are all right, but sometimes you just want some of that silliness that we all buy the comics for. And Kick-Ass is definitely a movie that ticks that box.
The Mark Millar fans probably knew what to expect and were buoyed even more by the knowledge that director Matthew Vaughn had been forced to find finance himself, and thus would not have to answer to the often over-zealous censoring hand of a studio. But don't get Kick-Ass wrong, it isn't obsessed with pushing the shock-factor to the extreme: the violence is often restrained compared with the original comic.
And, don't forget it: Kick-Ass is an exceptional film experience, and you're not likely to have as much fun with a film again for a long time. Follow the leap to find out exactly what I thought of it, now that it's coming home to Blu Ray and DVD.
If you've been living on a different planet for the past year, and don't know the story of one of the most hotly anticipated films of 2010 so far, here's a refresher: Dave Lizewski (fun fact: named after a competition winner) a regular geek who wonders why noone has ever attempted to be a superhero before and then duly sets about living his dream. Things get mixed up when he becomes involved in a real-life superhero world thanks to his involvement with father/daughter team of Big Daddy and Hit Girl- the real deal of the supe world, prone to the kind of exquisite ironic violence that would make Tarantino blush- and they are all hunted down by a local kingpin Frank D'Amico who is fed up of his hoodlums being killed and his crimes vanquished. Add to the mix D'Amico's son, who seeks his father's approval, and thinks the best way is to become a supe himself and trick his father's enemies into a situation where they can be dispensed with by daddy.
Our original review, offered by Mike Edwards, was pretty much nailed on with his take on the film, so I thought I'd just try and concentrate more on some areas he didn't tread as much.
Say what you want about Millar, he knows how to spin a good yarn - albeit usually colourful ones- but he is easily the best post-superhero comic book writer currently working, who also clearly doesn't care what the people who obsess about him being "troubled" or "grotesque" in his work. Because, let's face it, Grotesques are exactly what he deals with, and what comic books should really all be about: Hit Girl and Big Daddy - ironically the most traditionally recognisable comic book heroes, thanks to Big Daddy in particular clearly being a composite of other supes (with the most obvious being Batman)- are cartoonish in a very knowing post-modern way. And the use of the dreaded C-word, coming from the mouth of an adolescent, wearing a school uniform no less, is nothing more than a continuation of that spirit, rather than the obligatory shock-tactic that it has been called out as in some quarters.
We aren't for one minute supposed to understand Big Daddy and Hit Girl, because they aren't drawn as empathetical characters: they are the personified hyperbole that is necessary to go out and be a two-body mercenary justice force. They are also the embodiment of the dichotomy of existence that is pretty much the biggest trending theme in comic books and comic book movies: Hit Girl is a professional assassin, with no value for human life (if it has been judged dispensible or morally corrupt that is), and yet outside of "work" she's just a school girl, Big Daddy is a seemingly emotionless murderous psychopath in costume, but a loving, caring father out of it.
The characters exist in a world that requires them to be schizophrenic- hence the ludicrous, brilliant sequence where Big Daddy shoots his daughter in order for her not to feel fear when guns are pointing at her. That's also the reason behind the use of "cunt"- it isn't as I've seen suggested, because Millar is sick, and infatuated with the relationship of children and sex, it's that he knows the power of the visual contradiction, and how important it is in the comic world.
Also, Millar knows his comic book heritage, and presenting a school girl assassin is a brilliantly cartoony reference to what preceded his work, as well as heralding the new wave of post-superhero works (like The Boys and Millar's own Nemesis)- just as with Big Daddy's Adam West accent, Dave Lizewski's nerdy school-life and the object of his affection falling in love with the masked man rather than the face behind it, Hit Girl is a characteristic we've all seen before in other comics, but with a slightly odd slant added. And the references are all nailed-on, so there is enough to make even the most fervently anal comic fans smile, while the film retains a wonderful balance that makes it still one of the funnest films I've seen this year.
The original OWF review offered the following insight into the comic book parody on show, and I couldnt really say it any better myself:
The biggest success of the film is that is succeeds where so many have failed: it creates a loving parody of the comic book. All of the conventions are at once lampooned and lovingly revelled in: the twists and turns of the vengeance narrative, the orgiastic violence (however much it is tempered by nervous producers) and the playful jabs at the idiosyncracies of the people mad enough to take on the scum of the world. All of these things are played on with wit and with love, with superb results.
In terms of the acting, you can't really look much further than Kick-Ass himself first: Aaron Johnson is excellent, continuing the good work he put in on Nowhere Boy (but thankfully not as cartoony as he is be in Hideo Nakata's upcoming Chatroom), and Chloe Moretz is very good at adding an innocent human level to Hit Girl, while remaining a whirling dervish of a hell-hound when she needs to be (incredible casting behind her appearing here and in Let Me In by the way).
Elsewhere, Mark Strong continues to show why he keeps getting chosen to play baddies, with an accent that isn't horrifically off-putting and enough acting chops in his locker to make his character more than a pantomime villain. And finally, Christopher Mintz-Plasse shows that he is more than McLovin' with another excellent comic turn as the nerdy son of a Godfather who is far more interested in comic books than a worthy heir, and his turmoil is a great touch.
A lot of praise has to go to Nicolas Cage for his work on the film- thanks to the C-word Chloe Moretz was always going to share a little more of the limelight with lead Aaron Johnson than a supporting role would usually get, but it is Cage whose performance is by far the technically more impressive of the two. His Adam West impersonation is ridiculous, but mesmorising as well: it's like Big Daddy has grown up fed only on old comics and the original Batman TV show, so that his idea of poise and superhero poise is just an amalgamation of those dated ideals, while his ultra-violence and technological bent are extremely modern.
And Cage plays the two sides of his character, masked and unmasked with brilliant contrast- I've often wondered about his ability to play leading men in actioners, because aside from Con Air, he has always been so wooden, without self-awareness, but I have never doubted his ability to play likeable slightly loser-ish everyman style figures (as in The Family Man, Leaving Las Vegas and City of Angels), but here he is excellent as both. Both his and Moretz's performances are key to the balance of the film, adding an authenticity to the comic book tone that Kick-Ass alone couldn't hope to achieve, and adding the fun heart to proceedings.
Overall, Kick-Ass is pure brilliance. The film manages to offer some seriously exaggerated violence that would threaten to sit uneasily if it wasn't all done with the kind of childlike joy that would play the Banana Splits theme over an ultra-violent sequence in which a school-girl delimbs a gang of drug dealers. It is a wonderful, grotesque conglomerate of fucking bat-shit bonkers Looney Tunes cartoon, and ultra-violence with a lovingly recreated homage/parody of the comic book universe, and it's incredibly difficult not to smile and love it.
Oh, and again, it's so much fucking more than a little girl saying "cunt".
Quality
Not the best transfer, I'm very sad to report. While it is definitely better than the DVD version (I checked on two screens side by side like an utterly hopeless dork), the levels of over-saturation that are key to the film's style don't translate as well on the high-def format. The look of the film sadly adds a similar level of the evil of Smoothness that excessive DNR does, though it is infinitely more forgiveable as it is a stylistic choice (and is in fact acknowledged in the Behind the Scenes featurettes), though it is an enormous shame that something couldnt have been done to counteract the level to which details are affected- clothing and faces suffer most notably. Perhaps also symptomatic of the over-saturation, the transfer is plagued by inconsistent black levels that are all too noticeable, though really, I may be nit-picking because of my enjoyment of the film itself.
It is a pretty good transfer otherwise, but the flaws do let it down, which is a huge shame, because the benefits of the HD transfer to the sound are incredible (even if they can't quite make up for the clarity loss in Nicolas Cage's affected growl).
Extras
Bloody loads of extra goodies, which is always what I like to see, even if a lot of the gizmos and gadgets usually go unnoticed when I play around with the Extras, and I always discount the Digital Version of the feature as it seems somewhat superfluous to my mind. Other than that there are some good features- the Blu Ray exclusive Making Of featurette, which can be broken down into its four sections ("Pushing Boundaries, Let's Shoot This Fucker, Tempting Fate, and All Fired Up!") is particularly good, and outshines the majority of Making Of featurettes I've come across so far. You can always tell when a company has paid attention, and not just included Extras because it is now expected.
Matthew Vaughn's commentary is pretty insightful in that he talks about how the film changed and offers some anecdotes, but I much prefer when directors have someone to riff alongside on the tracks, otherwise they tend to be prone to simply commentating on what we can already see, which Vaughn occasionally lapses into. Might have been nice to get Mark Millar in there, to see how he felt about the adaptation, and maybe to answer some of the more persistent questions relating to the film.
For those who don't see the point in including the trailer to the film you've already bought and are watching, the Blu Ray compiles all of the promotional material under one banner, so you can skip it if you really want to, but I found it interesting to revisit the early promo material, including the excellent character posters.
The list in full: Audio-commentary with Matthew Vaughn It's On: The Comic Book Origins of Kick-Ass (2o mins) The Art of Kick-Ass Marketing Archive DVD Version Digital Version Ass-Kicking Bonus View Mode (HD Exclusive) A New Kind of Superhero: The Making of Kick-Ass (HD Exclusive) (113 mins) Plus, there are the usual Gizmos that I traditionally just avoid, as they are more bells and whistles on the film, rather than things that actually enhance the viewing experience. LG Live Gadgets D-Box Motion Code Bookmarks BD Touch Metamenus Ticker Kick-Ass is out now on Blu Ray and DVD, and it comes highly fucking recommended.