Kick-Ass (4½ Stars)

I'm going to see "Kick Ass 2" with my friends from the Birmingham Film Club on Wednesday, so I thought I would watch the first film again in preparation. I've written posts about the film twice before, but in both posts I managed to say almost nothing about the film. That's the way I am. I get so easily distracted. Maybe I can make up for it now.

The film is based on a comic book series with the same name, but it's also heavily influenced by Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man". Dave Lizewski is a normal everyday teenager, just like Peter Parker. They are both outsiders in school. Both are pining for a girl who is out of their league. The difference is that Peter Parker is bitten by a radioactive spider, but there is no supernatural intervention in Dave Lizewski's life. The only thing on his side is a desire to do good. He doesn't have superpowers, so he buys himself a costume online to at least pretend he's a superhero. He trains for a few weeks, then goes out into the city to be a hero called Kick Ass.

As you can imagine, this doesn't work out well. A geeky, unathletic teenager has no chance against thugs with knives and guns, however good his costume looks. Luckily for him there are real superheroes in the city, a father-daughter team who are heavily armed and have been training for years. Big Daddy and Hit Girl come to his rescue.

If there is one lesson to be learnt from this film it's "Don't try this at home"! Sure, it's admirable to want to make a difference. But doing it Dave's way is suicide. Become a policeman instead.