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== Plot ==
== Plot ==
Dave Lizewski ([[Aaron Johnson (actor)|Aaron Johnson]]), an ordinary teenager, wonders why nobody has ever decided to become a [[superhero]] like the ones in the [[comic books]], so he decides to become a [[real-life superhero]], despite having no [[Superpower (ability)|superpower]]s.
Dave Lizewski ([[Aaron Johnson (actor)|Aaron Johnson]]), an ordinary [[New York City]]<!--Reliable sources have used his city of origin to describe him - "[http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/moviereviews/headlines/90888024.html MOVIE REVIEW: Super vulgar: ‘Kick-Ass’ offers plenty of blood, torture ]." ''[[Gwinnett Daily Post]]''. April 14, 2010.</ref>--> teenager, wonders why nobody has ever decided to become a [[superhero]] like the ones in the [[comic books]], so he decides to become a [[real-life superhero]], despite having no [[Superpower (ability)|superpower]]s.


During his first attempt to fight crime, Dave is severely beaten, stabbed, and hit by a car, leaving him with permanent nerve damage and an enhanced capacity to endure pain. Surgical implants required to repair multiple skeletal fractures give him resistance to further bone-crushing injuries. He conceals the truth about the incident, claiming to have been mugged, which leads to rumors that he is [[homosexuality|gay]]. His longtime crush, Katie Deauxma ([[Lyndsy Fonseca]]) – who previously ignored him – is suddenly interested in befriending him because of the rumors, and he chooses to play along in an effort to spend time with her.
During his first attempt to fight crime, Dave is severely beaten, stabbed, and hit by a car, leaving him with permanent nerve damage and an enhanced capacity to endure pain. Surgical implants required to repair multiple skeletal fractures give him resistance to further bone-crushing injuries. He conceals the truth about the incident, claiming to have been mugged, which leads to rumors that he is [[homosexuality|gay]]. His longtime crush, Katie Deauxma ([[Lyndsy Fonseca]]) – who previously ignored him – is suddenly interested in befriending him because of the rumors, and he chooses to play along in an effort to spend time with her.

Revision as of 02:07, 27 January 2011

Kick-Ass
The foreground features the superhero Kick-Ass in his green and yellow costume. Against a black background the words KICK-ASS are written in yellow block capitals.
Theatrical release poster
Directed byMatthew Vaughn
Screenplay by
Produced by
  • Matthew Vaughn
  • Brad Pitt
  • Kris Thykier
  • Adam Bohling
  • Tarquin Pack
  • David Reid
Starring
Narrated byAaron Johnson
CinematographyBen Davis
Edited by
Music by
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • 26 March 2010 (2010-03-26) (United Kingdom)
  • 16 April 2010 (2010-04-16) (United States)
Running time
117 minutes[1]
Countries
LanguageEnglish
Budget$28 million[2][3][4]
Box office$96,130,462[5]

Kick-Ass is a 2010 superhero/action-comedy film based on the comic book of the same name by Mark Millar and John Romita, Jr. The film was directed by Matthew Vaughn, who co-produced the film with actor Brad Pitt, and co-wrote the screenplay with Jane Goldman. The film's general release was on 26 March 2010 in the United Kingdom and on 16 April 2010 in the United States.

The film tells the story of an ordinary teenager, Dave, who sets out to become a real-life superhero, calling himself "Kick-Ass". Dave gets caught up in a bigger fight when he meets Big Daddy, a former cop who, in his quest to bring down the drug lord Frank D'Amico, has trained his 11-year-old daughter to be the ruthless vigilante Hit-Girl.

Despite having generated some controversy for its profanity and violence performed by a child actor, Kick-Ass has received mostly positive reviews.

Plot

Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson), an ordinary New York City teenager, wonders why nobody has ever decided to become a superhero like the ones in the comic books, so he decides to become a real-life superhero, despite having no superpowers.

During his first attempt to fight crime, Dave is severely beaten, stabbed, and hit by a car, leaving him with permanent nerve damage and an enhanced capacity to endure pain. Surgical implants required to repair multiple skeletal fractures give him resistance to further bone-crushing injuries. He conceals the truth about the incident, claiming to have been mugged, which leads to rumors that he is gay. His longtime crush, Katie Deauxma (Lyndsy Fonseca) – who previously ignored him – is suddenly interested in befriending him because of the rumors, and he chooses to play along in an effort to spend time with her.

On a subsequent crime-fighting escapade a bystander records the event, during which Dave is heard calling himself "Kick-Ass". The video becomes an Internet phenomenon, and Dave sets up a MySpace account so people can contact Kick-Ass for help. Katie tells Dave that she is being harassed by a drug dealer named Rasul. Kick-Ass tracks down the drug dealer to warn him off, but is subdued by the dealer's henchmen, who appear intent on killing him. He is rescued by 11-year old vigilante Hit-Girl (Chloë Grace Moretz), who kills his attackers then leaves with her father, Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage). They inform him that they believe he has potential, but that he needs to be more careful. They give him a method to contact them when needed.

Big Daddy is Damon Macready, a good cop who was framed as a drug dealer by local crime boss Frank D'Amico (Mark Strong). While Damon was in prison, his wife died giving birth to their daughter, Mindy. On his release, Damon reclaimed Mindy from her legal guardian (Damon's former partner, New York Police Department Sergeant Marcus Williams) and trained her to fight crime as "Hit-Girl", while he assumed the costumed identity "Big Daddy". Williams disagrees with Macready's methods, but chooses not to intervene.

Believing Kick-Ass to be responsible for damage done to his organization, D'Amico orders his men to find and eliminate him. His son, Chris (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), suggests a different approach. Chris assumes the costumed identity "Red Mist" to befriend Kick-Ass and lure him into a trap. The trap is undone by Big Daddy, who independently kills D'Amico's men and sets the building on fire before Red Mist and Kick-Ass arrive. Following his escape from the warehouse fire, Dave determines to quit being Kick-Ass. He confesses the truth to Katie, and she forgives him and becomes his girlfriend.

A week later, Dave finds a series of urgent messages from Red Mist, requesting they meet. Telling Katie that he has to make one last appearance as Kick-Ass before retiring the identity, Dave agrees to meet Red Mist. The meeting is a ruse designed to get Kick-Ass to identify Big Daddy as the perpetrator of the warehouse massacre. Kick-Ass inadvertently leads D'Amico's men to one of the Macreadys' safe houses, where Kick-Ass and Big Daddy are captured and Hit-Girl is apparently killed. D'Amico intends to have his thugs torture and execute his captives in a live Internet broadcast viewed by millions, including Katie and Marcus, who are both powerless to intervene. Hit-Girl, who survived the shooting, arrives and kills all the gangsters; during the struggle one thug sets Big Daddy on fire. He and Hit-Girl say a tearful farewell before he succumbs to his injuries. Kick-Ass tries to convince Hit-Girl to quit her dangerous lifestyle, but she plans to finish what her father started, and Kick-Ass reluctantly agrees to help.

In the assault on D'Amico's headquarters, Hit-Girl kills most of the henchmen but runs out of ammunition and is pinned in the penthouse kitchen under fire. Kick-Ass arrives in the nick of time on a jet pack fitted with gatling guns, and kills the remaining thugs. Kick-Ass and Hit-Girl then take on D'Amico and his son. Kick-Ass fights Red Mist but they manage to knock each other out. Hit-Girl fights D'Amico, but she is eventually overpowered. As D'Amico is about to finish off Hit-Girl, Kick-Ass comes to the rescue armed with the rocket launcher, blasting D'Amico out of the window where he explodes in mid-air. Red Mist revives in time to see Kick-Ass and Hit-Girl leaving on the jet pack, and is powerless to stop them.

Mindy and Dave retire from crime fighting to live a more normal life. Mindy returns to live with Marcus, and enrolls at Dave's school. Dave explains that although he is done with crime fighting, a new "generation" of superheroes have been inspired by his endeavor, and the city is safer as a result. Red Mist is shown donning a new mask as he quotes Jack Nicholson as the Joker, "As a great man once said, 'Wait till they get a load of me'."[6]

Cast

  • Aaron Johnson as Dave Lizewski/Kick-Ass. Johnson said that Kick-Ass is a "sensitive guy" who lost his mother and is a "nobody" at school, so he creates his superhero identity "as this whole different persona." Johnson said that Dave is "a kid who’s got balls to go out there and fucking do something different."[7] Christopher Mintz-Plasse originally auditioned for the role of Kick-Ass, but during the audition the producers believed that his acting was too loud and obnoxious for the lead, but the producers immediately gave Mintz-Plasse the role of Red Mist instead.[8]
  • Nicolas Cage as Damon Macready/Big Daddy. Vaughn described Cage's performance as a little bit Elvis and a little bit Adam West. A character in the film even says his costume looks like that of Batman.[2] Cage was inspired by his costume to try delivering his lines in same style Adam West used for Batman. The police officer father of an ex-girlfriend also influenced his performance; the habit of Big Daddy referring to Hit-Girl as "child" stems from the police officer.[6]
  • Chloë Grace Moretz as Mindy Macready/Hit-Girl. Vaughn commented on the maturity of Moretz, who said that because she has four older brothers, she was no stranger to much of the language in the script.[2][9] Her mother read the script and permitted her to use the profanity in the movie.[10] Jane Goldman, one of the two co-writers of the script, said "We just really wanted Hit-Girl to be a character who, in a sense, simply happens to be an 11-year-old girl, in the same way that Ripley in Alien could have been a guy but the part happened to be played by Sigourney Weaver." Goldman said that Mindy "is genuinely dangerous, she's genuinely mad. It's not her fault: she's been raised in this environment where she doesn't know anything different. She's unwittingly part of a folie a deux."[11] When asked if Hit-Girl could be considered a feminist heroine, Goldman said "Yeah... she's a feminist hero by token of the fact that she pays no attention to gender stereotypes. I think she also doesn't want special treatment because she's a girl."[11] Moretz said that it was entertaining to illustrate the differences between Mindy and her superheroine identity "for me, ’cause it’s almost like an alternate personality." Lewis Wallace of Wired said that Mindy "gets all the good lines, capping every Tarantino-scale bloodletting with a foul-mouthed joke." Christopher Mintz-Plasse, the actor who portrays Red Mist, said that "[Kick-Ass and Red Mist] don’t have any of the action in the movie. It’s all Hit Girl." To prepare for her role, Moretz took months of training in learning how to handle guns and to use butterfly knives and swords. Moretz stated that the shooting of the action scenes was arduous.[7]
  • Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Chris D'Amico/Red Mist, Frank D'Amico's son. Millar said "the idea was that he was going to be a more minor character in the first film. Then we saw what Christopher Mintz-Plasse was capable of! [...] So the idea of McLovin' and the fun Red Mist doing something horrible is genuinely quite disturbing when you see it happen. We couldn't have got away with that with another actor. The minute we saw his performance, we were looking at each other and realised how good he was and what we could do with him in the future...."[12][page needed]
  • Mark Strong as Frank D'Amico, head of a criminal organization. Strong says he is drawn to playing the antagonist. He tries to "understand the purpose of the character", and then work on building a believable individual.[13]
  • Lyndsy Fonseca as Katie Deauxma
  • Michael Rispoli as Big Joe
  • Kofi Natei as Rasul[citation needed]
  • Yancy Butler as Angie D'Amico
  • Jason Flemyng as Lobby Goon, the building doorman
  • Elizabeth McGovern as Alice Lizewski
  • Garrett M. Brown as Mr. Lizewski
  • Sophie Wu as Erika Cho
  • Dexter Fletcher as Cody
  • Clark Duke as Marty
  • Evan Peters as Todd
  • Xander Berkeley as Detective Gigante, police officer working for D'Amico
  • Omari Hardwick as Sergeant Marcus Williams, former partner of Damon Macready
  • Stu "Large" Riley as Huge Goon, a bodyguard to the D'Amico family.[citation needed]
  • Craig Ferguson as Himself
  • John Romita, Jr. as a barista at Atomic Comics[6]

Series-creator Millar, a native of Scotland, asked Scottish television children's-show host Glen Michael to make a cameo appearance[14] although his role was cut from the film.[15] Millar was also set to make a cameo as a Scottish alcoholic but the scene was cut from the film.[6] WCBS-TV news reporters Maurice DuBois, Dana Tyler, and Lou Young make cameo appearances.

An image of Matthew Vaughn's wife and model Claudia Schiffer appears on a billboard poster.[citation needed]

Development

The rights to a film version of the comic book were sold before the first issue was published.[16] Developed in parallel the film writers took a different story direction, to reach many of the same conclusions. Mark Millar acknowledges the differences, explaining that a comic usually has eight acts, while a film usually has a three act structure.[17]

Vaughn notes that, "We wrote the script and the comic at the same time so it was a very sort of collaborative, organic process. I met [Millar] at the premiere of Stardust. We got on really well. I knew who he was and what he had done but I didn't know him. He pitched me the idea. I said, 'That's great!' He then wrote a synopsis. I went, 'That's great, let's go do it now! You write the comic, I'll write the script.'"[18] Jane Goldman one of the screenwriters, said that when she works with Vaughn she does the "construction work" and the "interior designing" while Vaughn acts as the "architect."[19]

With Kick-Ass, the book's just out and now the movie's out six weeks later. And I think that's the way things are going to go now, because to go to Marvel's B and C-list characters and try to get movies out [of] them – what's the point of that?

— Mark Millar[20]

Millar commented that screenwriters Goldman and Vaughn had made a "chick flick", having placed more emphasis on the character emotions, and particularly in having softened the character of Katie Deauxma.[2] Millar stated that a film audience would have difficulty accepting Dave and Katie not being together, while a comic audience would more easily accept that idea.[17] Frank Lovece of Film Journal International says that Katie is "much less Mean Girls" in the film than in the comic, and that the romance between Dave and Katie "proves a needed counterbalance to the otherwise pervasive sense of optimism being stripped away layer by layer, down below angry cynicism and headed straight down the hole to nihilism."[21] Other changes included having Red Mist be known to be a secret antagonist from the start, as well as making him less outright villainous, and D'Amico's mob initially thinking Kick-Ass is the one slaughtering their men.

In the original comic-book, Big Daddy was revealed to be not an ex-cop, but a former accountant who had been motivated to fight crime by a desire to escape from his life and by his love of comic books. In the film, his purported origin and motivations are genuine: writer Mark Millar considers that the revelation about Big Daddy's background would not have worked in the film adaptation, and would have "messed up the structure of the movie"[22]

The comic's artist John Romita, Jr stated that Big Daddy's story in the film "works better stopping short (...) You love him better in the film".[23]

The climax to the film differs significantly from the comics, with the use of the jetpack and rocket launcher: Millar called this "necessary" as "we're building up so much stuff that we needed some Luke Skywalker blowing up the Death Star moment".[22] Comic writer Stephen Grant noted that the film "cheated" on its premise of a 'real life' superhero by having these increasingly fantastic events and that this was "why it works. That's where much of the humor comes from... when the film finally makes the notion [the fantasy] explicit we're already so deep into the magician's act that our instinct is to play along".[24]

The film was independently financed. Vaughn initially went to Sony, which distributed Layer Cake, but he rejected calls to tone down the violence.[citation needed] Other studios expressed interest but wanted to make the characters older.[citation needed] Vaughn believed enough in the project to raise the money himself.[4]

Ratings

In an interview with Total Film, Aaron Johnson confirmed that the film stays true to the adult nature of the comic series by featuring a large amount of profanity and graphic violence. The film received an R rating by the MPAA for strong brutal violence throughout, pervasive language, sexual content, nudity and some drug use—some involving children, and it received a 15 rating from the BBFC.[1][25] Director Matthew Vaughn felt the 15 certificate was about right and expressed some surprise at the film having received a "PG rating"[sic] in France.[2]

Filming

Filming locations include Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, at Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School,[citation needed] Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and various locations in the UK, including Elstree Studios.[26] The opening sequence with Nicolas Cage was filmed in a sewage plant in East London.[22] The Atomic Comics store in the film is based on the real-life chain whose owner, Millar said, is a friend of artist John Romita Jr.'s.[22]

Music

Soundtrack

Untitled

The film's soundtrack album was released in the United Kingdom on 29 March 2010,[27] and in the United States on iTunes on 30 March 2010.[citation needed] The title song is sung by Mika, co-written by Jodi Marr[citation needed] and produced by RedOne.[28]

The video for the single shows Mika as a helpless individual left in an alleyway after being mugged. He begins to sing and as he does, the words of empowerment in the lyrics and his finding of an issue of the Kick-Ass comic inspire him to run for the rooftops and wail the chorus to the sky. The video also features intercut scenes from the film.[29]

The song "Stand Up" by The Prodigy is featured in both the teaser trailer[30] and the red band trailer.[31]

A song featured in the film, but not on the soundtrack is "Crazy", by Gnarls Barkley. This song is played in the Mistmobile while Kick-Ass and Red Mist cruise around town together.[32] Also, the version of "Bad Reputation" used in the film was by Joan Jett but the version on the soundtrack was by a band called "The Hit Girls".

The song "Hey Little World" by The Hives, which played in the theatrical trailers was also not included.[33]

Track listing
No.TitlePerformed byLength
1."Stand Up"The Prodigy5:08
2."Kick Ass (Radio Edit)"Mika vs. RedOne3:11
3."Can't Go Back"Primal Scream3:46
4."There's a Pot a Brewin'"The Little Ones3:13
5."Omen"The Prodigy3:54
6."Make Me Wanna Die"The Pretty Reckless3:55
7."Banana Splits (Kick-Ass Film Version)"The Dickies2:04
8."Starry Eyed"Ellie Goulding2:57
9."This Town Ain't Big Enough For The Both Of Us"Sparks3:03
10."We're All In Love"The New York Dolls4:50
11."Bongo Song"Zongamin5:00
12."Per Qualche Dollaro in Più (For a Few Dollars More)"Ennio Morricone2:53
13."Bad Reputation"The Hit Girls2:56
14."An American Trilogy"Elvis Presley4:31

Score

Untitled

The film's score was released on 17 May 2010 in the UK.[34] Two of the instrumentals in the film are altered versions of songs from other John Murphy composed soundtracks. These are "In The House – In A Heartbeat" from 28 Days Later: The Soundtrack Album and "Adagio in D-minor" track from the Sunshine soundtrack. The former was used in the scene where Big Daddy guns down D'Amico's men in the warehouse and the latter was used when Hit-Girl is trying to rescue Kick-Ass and Big Daddy. They are called "Big Daddy Kills" and "Strobe (Adagio in D Minor)" respectively on the Kick-Ass score. One track, "Walk To Rasul's" was composed by Danny Elfman, who was referenced in the original comic.

Track listing
No.TitleComposerLength
1."The Armenian Superhero"Henry Jackman, Marius De Vries1:59
2."Stand Up"The Prodigy3:32
3."Forcefield"Marius De Vries1:05
4."Watching"Henry Jackman1:01
5."Man in the Mirror"Henry Jackman1:08
6."A Punch in the Chest"Marius De Vries0:45
7."Roof Jump"Marius De Vries, Ilan Eshkeri1:31
8."Time to Engage"Henry Jackman0:26
9."Stabbing-Morphine"Marius De Vries, The Prodigy1:56
10."I'm Kick-Ass"Henry Jackman1:16
11."Famous"Henry Jackman, John Murphy, Marius De Vries, Ilan Eshkeri2:22
12."A Friend Like You"Marius De Vries0:43
13."Walk to Rasul's"Danny Elfman0:58
14."Trick or Treat?"Marius De Vries, Ilan Eshkeri2:43
15."Leaving Rasul's"John Murphy1:18
16."Hit-Girl & Big Daddy"John Murphy2:39
17."Damon & Marcus Comic Book"Henry Jackman, John Murphy3:24
18."I Miss You Both"John Murphy, Ilan Eshkeri1:40
19."Hunting Kick-Ass"Henry Jackman1:04
20."MistMobile"Henry Jackman1:40
21."Big Daddy Kills"John Murphy2:50
22."One Last Time"Marius De Vries0:57
23."Sleepover"Marius De Vries1:57
24."To Brooklyn Bridge"Marius De Vries1:42
25."Safehouse / Ambush"John Murphy2:34
26."Showtime Pt. 2 (It's Only the End of the World)"John Murphy2:25
27."Nightvision"John Murphy1:57
28."Strobe (Adagio in D Minor)"John Murphy2:02
29."Big Daddy Dies"Henry Jackman, John Murphy1:33
30."Hit-Girl Drives Home"John Murphy1:42
31."Marshmallows"John Murphy1:12
32."Choose Your Weapon"Ilan Eshkeri1:26
33."You Got Five Minutes"Marius De Vries0:35
34."No Power, No Responsibility"Henry Jackman1:16
35."The Corridor"John Murphy1:16
36."Kitchen Stand Off"John Murphy, Ilan Eshkeri1:19
37."The Fight"Henry Jackman, John Murphy, Marius De Vries, Ilan Eshkeri3:12
38."Flying Home"Henry Jackman, John Murphy1:49
39."True Identity"Henry Jackman1:39

Although not included on the score album, the film also made use of John Williams score from Superman for the first scene of the film, with the metal winged superhero.[6]

Release

Kick-Ass was released in the United Kingdom on 26 March 2010.[35] The film opened in Australia on 8 April.[36] The North American release was on 16 April by Lionsgate.[37][38] France's opening was scheduled for 21 April.[39]

Controversy

In January 2010, an uncensored preview clip of the film was attacked by family advocacy groups for its display of violence and use of the line "Okay you cunts, let's see what you can do now," delivered by Chloë Moretz, who was 11 at the time of filming. Australian Family Association spokesman John Morrissey claimed that "the language [was] offensive and the values inappropriate – without the saving grace of the bloodless victory of traditional superheroes".[40] Several critics like Roger Ebert and the Daily Mail's Christopher Tookey accused the film of glorifying violence, particularly violence by young children,[41] while Tookey also claimed Hit Girl was "made to look as seductive as possible".[42] Tookey's view on Hit Girl was strongly criticised, with many commentators—including the film editor of Radio Times—wondering why he'd found the character sexualised, causing him to claim he was a victim of cyber-bullying.[43]

In response to the controversy, Moretz stated in an interview, "If I ever uttered one word that I said in Kick-Ass, I would be grounded for years! I'd be stuck in my room until I was 20! I would never in a million years say that. I'm an average, everyday girl."[9] Moretz has said that while filming, she could not bring herself to say the film's title out loud in interviews, instead calling it "the film" in public and "Kick-Butt" at home.[44] Christopher Mintz-Plasse expressed surprise that people were angry about the language, but did not seem to be offended that Hit-Girl kills many people.[45]

Reception

Critical response

The film was met with generally positive reviews. Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a rating of 76% based on 229 reviews, with an average score of 7.0/10.[46] Rotten Tomatoes' selected top critics gave the film a rating of 85% based on 13 reviews.[47] Metacritic assigned the film a score of 66%, based on a weighted average of 38 reviews from mainstream critics.[48]

In the United Kingdom The Guardian gave the film extensive coverage by several of its critics and journalists.[49] Peter Bradshaw gives the film 5/5 calling it an "explosion in a bad taste factory" and a "thoroughly outrageous, jaw-droppingly violent and very funny riff on the quasi-porn world of comic books – except that there is absolutely no 'quasi-' about it."[50] Philip French, writing for The Guardian's Sunday associate paper The Observer, called the film "relentlessly violent" with "the foulest mouthed child ever to appear on screen, [who makes] Louis Malle's Zazie sound like Colette" and one "extremely knowing in its appeal to connoisseurs of comic strips and video games."[51] David Cox noted that the film "kicks the c-word into the mainstream...inadvertently dispatch[ing] our last big expletive."[52]
Tim Robey of The Daily Telegraph did not like the film giving it just 1/5 and stated, "Matthew Vaughn's Kick Ass is hollow, glazed, and not quite there".[53] Christopher Tookey of the Daily Mail warned, "Don't be fooled by the hype: This crime against cinema is twisted, cynical, and revels in the abuse of childhood".[54] Chris Hewitt of Empire magazine gave the film 5/5 and declared it, "A ridiculously entertaining, perfectly paced, ultra-violent cinematic rush that kicks the places other movies struggle to reach. ... [T]he film's violence is clearly fantastical and cartoonish and not to be taken seriously."[55]

International critics who enjoyed the film generally singled out its audacity, humour, and performance from Chloë Moretz. Peter Howell of the Toronto Star gave Kick-Ass a top rating, noting that the production "succeeds as a violent fantasy about our perilous and fretful times, where regular citizens feel compelled to take action against a social order rotting from within."[56] USA Today critic Claudia Puig praised Moretz as "terrific...Even as she wields outlandish weaponry, she comes off as adorable."[57] Manohla Dargis from The New York Times wrote, "Fast, periodically spit-funny and often grotesquely violent, the film at once embraces and satirizes contemporary action-film clichés with Tarantino-esque self-regard."[58] Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a B+, but noted that "personally, I just wish that the film had ended up a bit less of an over-the-top action ride." [59] In Film Journal International, former Marvel Comics writer Frank Lovece said the "delightfully dynamic" movie "actually improves on the comic by not metaphorically kicking in our hero's teeth ... and making him a sad-sack schmuck who was wrong about nearly everything." He found that, "Comedy-of-manners dry humor ... plays seamlessly amid scenes of stylized, off-camera mayhem."[21]

Roger Ebert gave the film one out of four stars. He called the film "morally reprehensible", appalled by the violent scenes in which an 11-year-old girl murders dozens of gang members and is then almost beaten to death by an adult man. "When kids in the age range of this movie's home video audience are shooting one another every day in America, that kind of stops being funny." The movie made that week's "Your Movie Sucks" list of one-star movies.[41] CinemaBlend accused the film of simply rehashing ideas from older superhero films, saying, "It's a subject which has already been covered endlessly by other movies, but Matthew Vaughn's film seems completely unaware of this fact, and bulls its way onward as if it's discovered something new."[60] Karina Longworth was also not impressed with the film's intended satire and themes: "Never as shocking as it thinks it is, as funny as it should be, or as engaged in cultural critique as it could be, Kick-Ass is half-assed."[61]

Millar stated that he expected the character Hit Girl to receive mostly negative reception. Instead Hit Girl gained a favorable reception. Millar said "But the movie was so well made, I think, that people were quietly charmed by her for the most part. The only really negative thing we saw came from Roger Ebert and others from his generation who were upset, but there were those especially here in the [United Kingdom] where went crazy for her." Millar added that he and Vaughn were "were quite surprised about that. We were expecting the worst, that people were going to say she was amoral and we [in turn] were going to get killed for her. But it was much more of a case where people were positive about Hit-Girl even saying she was empowering female character. Some where[sic] even saying it was the greatest superhero movie ever made and she was the best character. So we were expecting much worse and people were actually incredibly generous about [her]. That was the biggest surprise."[17]

Jane Goldman, one of the two co-writers, said that she felt nervous about how the film would be received. Elizabeth Day of The Observer said "Partly, one imagines, this is because she happens to be married to the television presenter Jonathan Ross, he of the floppy hair and the inflated salary and the lewd answerphone messages, and she is wary of saying anything that could add to the public circus that surrounds him."[11]

When asked whether why Red Mist not wanting Kick-Ass to be kidnapped by the D'Amico mobsters was important, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, the actor who portrayed Red Mist, answered that Kick-Ass and Red Mist build a more substantial relationship than in the comic book version. Mintz-Plasse added that the change in Red Mist's attitude towards Kick-Ass was "very smartly written."[62]

Box office

The film earned over $12 million internationally in advance of opening in the United States.[3][5] On its debut weekend in the United States, it took in $19.8 million in 3,065 theaters, averaging $6,469 per theater.[5] Kick-Ass was reported #1, ahead of How to Train Your Dragon by $200,000, which was in its third week of release. These numbers for Kick-Ass's debut weekend gross included non-weekend earnings, as the film was previewed during the Thursday night prior to its release. This has led to the speculation that How to Train Your Dragon would have been #1 for the weekend of April 16 had these earnings not been counted.[63] The opening week numbers were considered by some analysts and the media to be a disappointment,[64][65] though by others to be "fairly solid."[66]

The film's final gross in the U.S. was $48,071,303 and $47,960,570 outside of the U.S.[5]

Home media

In an interview, Matthew Vaughn said, "There is about 18 minutes of [deleted] footage, which is really good stuff. If the film is a hit, I'll do an extended cut."[67] The film was released on DVD and Blu-Ray on 3 August 2010 in North America.[68] This version does not contain the aforementioned deleted content.[citation needed] Selling 1.4 million units within its first week, one-third of these in Blu-Ray format, Kick-Ass debuted at number one on the DVD sales chart.[69][70] The discs were released in the United Kingdom on 6 September 2010.[71]

Video games

Main article: Kick-Ass (video game)

The video game based on the movie was produced by WHA Entertainment and Frozen Codebase. It was released through the App Store on 15 April 2010 for iPhone and iPod Touch.[72] The initial Apple platform releases were reportedly unfinished beta versions and were withdrawn from circulation pending a relaunch of a finished version.[73] The game was released on PlayStation Network on 29 April 2010.[72] Kick-Ass, Hit-Girl and Big Daddy are playable characters. The game features Facebook missions and integration.[74] Both versions of the game received poor reviews.[75]

Sequels

Director Matthew Vaughn has expressed interest in a sequel.[2] Vaughn also said, "No, we're not [planning a sequel]. If it continues doing well, then we might but I just don't like counting my chickens before the eggs hatched."[76] Moretz is enthusiastic about the idea of a sequel and said she would love to reprise the role of Hit-Girl.[9] On 16 March 2010, Mark Millar said he would begin writing a sequel comic book in April.[77]

On 9 April 2010, Millar revealed details for the second series, which he said would involve criminals taking on supervillain personae to counter the superheroes, and Hit-Girl trying to lead a normal life.[78]

In a 31 August 2010 interview with Richard Bacon on BBC Radio 5 Live, Millar suggested that a sequel might have been given a go-ahead, speculating, "The estimate is [Kick-Ass] will do 100 to 150 million on DVD based on the American sales, you know, so it'll end up making a quarter of a billion on a 28 million investment. So it should be okay. So the sequel's green-lit, we can go ahead and do the follow up now, you know. The first made so much compared to what it cost it would be crazy not to."[79]

Awards and Nominations

In 2010, Kick-Ass, was nominated for 6 Teen Choice Awards, including Choice Movie: Action Adventure and Breakout Female for Chloe Moretz's performance as Hit-Girl.[80] In 2011, Kick-Ass, was nominated for a People's Choice Award in the Favorite Action Movie category.[81]

References

  1. ^ a b "Kick-Ass". British Board of Film Classification. 26 February 2010. Retrieved 10 April 2010. Contains strong language, once very strong, & strong bloody comic violence
  2. ^ a b c d e f Jonathan Ross, Matthew Vaughn. Jonathan Ross interviews Matthew Vaughn. (Video)[dead link]
  3. ^ a b "Movie Kick-Ass". The Numbers. Nash Information Services. Retrieved 12 April 2010.
  4. ^ a b Kit, Borys (15 August 2008). "Matthew Vaughn ready to 'Kick-Ass'". The Hollywood Reporter. Vaughn, however, is such a believer in the project that he raised the money for the $30 million indie project himself.[dead link]
  5. ^ a b c d "Kick Ass (2010)". Box Office Mojo. Amazon.com. Retrieved 12 April 2010.
  6. ^ a b c d e Ditzian, Eric (16 April 2010). "'Kick-Ass': Five Things You Need To Know". MTV. Viacom. Archived from the original on 23 January 2011.
  7. ^ a b Wallace, Lewis. "Hit Girl’s Revenge: The Kick-Ass Kids Are All Right." Wired. 16 April 2010. 1. Retrieved on 25 January 2011.
  8. ^ "KICK-ASS interview with Aaron Johnson & Christopher Mintz-Plasse (Red Mist) Balls To The Wall." (0:50 to 1:00) Movies Ireland. Retrieved on 23 January 2011.
  9. ^ a b c Carroll, Larry (20 January 2010). "'Kick-Ass' Star Chloe Moretz Is One Of 10 To Watch In 2010". Archived from the original on 23 January 2011. Moretz: I would love to. I can't say anything about [the ending], but I would love to be Hit-Girl twice, three times, four times in my life.
  10. ^ "My Mother Allowed Me to Use the C-Word in Kick-Ass, Says 13-Year-Old Star Chloe Moretz". Daily Mail. 31 March 2010. Archived from the original on 23 January 2011. Retrieved 14 November 2010.
  11. ^ a b c Day, Elizabeth (21 March 2010.). WebCitation "Jane Goldman: Meet the screenwriter of the controversial new film Kick-Ass]". The Observer. The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2011-01-23. Retrieved 2011-01-23. {{cite news}}: Check |archiveurl= value (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ Millar, Mark. Kick-Ass: Creating the Comic, Making the Movie(Titan Books, 2010), ISBN-10 1-8485-6409-0, ISBN-13 978-1-8485-6409-1, page #?
  13. ^ Truitt, Brian (23 April 2010). "Mark Strong can do a 'Kick-Ass' bad guy". USA TODAY. Gannett Co. Inc.
  14. ^ Lawrence, Edwin (10 October 2008). "From Ayrshire to Hollywood for Cavalcade legend". Ayrshire Post. Retrieved 16 October 2008.
  15. ^ Fulton, Rick (22 March 2010). "Cartoon Cavalcade legend Glen Michael's cameo role is cut from new movie Kick-Ass". The Daily Record.
  16. ^ See notes by Millar in the comic. Issues 3. Quote: "As you read these words in early June, an official announcement should have been made on the movie, too, with the director name and a 2009 release date inked into the cinema schedule."
  17. ^ a b c Sara Michelle Fetters (2 August 2010). "Mark Millar Kicks Ass and Writes Comics". Moviefreak.com. Retrieved 21 January 2011.
  18. ^ Philbrick, Jami (24 August 2009). "Vaughn & Goldman talk "KICK-ASS"". Comicbook Resources. Retrieved 29 March 2010.
  19. ^ Kennedy, Lisa. "The fan-girl behind comic adaptation's Hit Girl." Denver Post. 16 April 2010. Retrieved on 24 January 2011.
  20. ^ Child, Ben (29 March 2010). "Kick-Ass changes comic book films forever in a single blow". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 23 January 2011. Retrieved 10 April 2010.
  21. ^ a b Lovece, Frank (5 April 2010). "Film Review: 'Kick-Ass'". Film Journal International.
  22. ^ a b c d Childress, Ahmad T. (5 April 2010). "Writer Mark Millar on 'Kick Ass'". Crave Online.
  23. ^ Valentin, Mel (13 April 2010). "KICK-ASS Interview: John Romita, Jr. (Part I of V)". eFilmCritic.com.
  24. ^ Grant, Steven (April 15th, 2010). "Permanent Damage review of the film". Comicbook Resources. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  25. ^ "Exclusive: Lauro Londe Talks Kick-Ass".
  26. ^ "Kick-Ass (2010) Filming Locations". UK Onscreen. Retrieved 13 April 2010.
  27. ^ "Kick Ass – OST: Various Artists". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 9 April 2010.
  28. ^ "Mika's New 'Kick-Ass' Single". 1 March 2010.
  29. ^ "Ass to be a screen hit". The Sun. London. 15 March 2010.
  30. ^ "Kick-Ass Teaser Trailer". Flicksandbits.com. 11 November 2009. Retrieved 9 April 2010.
  31. ^ "Kick-Ass Red Band Trailer". Previewfilms.net. Retrieved 9 April 2010.
  32. ^ "Music from Kick-Ass". MusicfromFilm.com. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
  33. ^ Leedham, Robert (16 April 2010). "After The Supergrass Split, Praise Be To The Average Bands!". GigWise. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
  34. ^ "Kick Ass: The Score - Various Artists". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 24 May 2010.
  35. ^ Wilson, Ollie (23 March 2010). "Kick-Ass superheroes 'are real people' and 'can die'". BBC.
  36. ^ 9 News, [Wilkins slams controversial film 'Kick-Ass'], 8 April 2010]
  37. ^ "'Kick-Ass' Gets Distributor". {{cite news}}: Text "date 2009-08-17" ignored (help)
  38. ^ "Lionsgate Sets KICK-ASS For 16 April 2010; Moves THE EXPENDABLES To August!". Ain't It Cool News. 1 September 2009.
  39. ^ "Exclusif : quand Nicolas Cage joue les super héros...". Le Parisien (in French). 15 April 2010. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  40. ^ "Family outrage at film Kick Ass (sic) violence and swearing". The Daily Telegraph (Australia). Australia: News Corporation. 13 January 2010.
  41. ^ a b Ebert, Roger (14 April 2010). "Kick-Ass". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 17 April 2010. "the Your Movie Sucks™ files". Roger Ebert's Journal. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help); Text "http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/your-movie-sucks.html" ignored (help)
  42. ^ Daily Mail review of Kick-Ass
  43. ^ Response by Tookey
  44. ^ Synnot, Siobhan (24 March 2010). "What are little girls made of? Sugar and spice, punches and the odd four-letter word, when they're the surprise star of Kick-Ass". The Scotsman.
  45. ^ White, Lucy. "Christopher Mintz-Passe: 60 Second interview", MetroHerald, 14 April, 2010, p. 17 (Requires registration to view): "People are so angry at Chloe [Grace Moretz] for saying bad language but she murders a ton of people and no one seems to be offended by that."
  46. ^ "Kick-Ass Reviews". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved 24 June 2010. Consensus: Not for the faint of heart, Kick-Ass takes the comic adaptation genre to new levels of visual style, bloody violence, and gleeful profanity.
  47. ^ "Kick-Ass Reviews (Cream of the Crop)". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved 16 April 2010.
  48. ^ "Kick-Ass reviews at Metacritic.com:". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 18 April 2010.
  49. ^ "Kick-Ass: Britain's debt to American action films is underlined by this violent comedy about a superhero with no superpowers". London: The Guardian. 12 March 2010. Retrieved 10 April 2010.
  50. ^ Bradshaw, Peter (31 March 2010). "Kick-Ass: A hilarious, very violent black comedy puts a new twist on superheroics". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 10 April 2010.
  51. ^ French, Philip (4 April 2010). "Kick-Ass". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 10 April 2010.
  52. ^ Cox, David (2 April 2010). "Kick-Ass kicks the c-word into the mainstream". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 10 April 2010.
  53. ^ Robey, Tim (1 April 2010). "Kick-Ass, review". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 10 April 2010.
  54. ^ Tookey, Christopher (2 April 2010). "Don't Be Fooled by the Hype: This Crime Against Cinema is Twisted, Cynical, and Revels in the Abuse of Childhood". Daily Mail. London. Archived from the original on 23 January 2011. Retrieved 10 April 2010.
  55. ^ Hewitt, Chris. "Kick-Ass (review),". Empire. {{cite journal}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  56. ^ Howell, Peter (15 April 2010). "Kick-Ass: A violent, five-alarm, four-star fantasy". The Star. Toronto. Retrieved 19 April 2010.
  57. ^ Puig, Claudia (16 April 2010). "The real hero of 'Kick-Ass' is a little girl: Chloe Moretz". USA Today. Retrieved 16 April 2010.
  58. ^ Dargis, Manohla (16 April 2010). "Movie Review: Kick-Ass (2010)". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 January 2011.
  59. ^ Gleiberman, Owen (15 April 2010). "Movie Review: Kick-Ass (2010)". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. Retrieved 21 January 2011.
  60. ^ Tyler, Josh. "Kick-Ass - Review". Cinema Blend. Retrieved 12 April 2010.
  61. ^ Longworth, Karina (13 April 2010). "Kick-Ass, Faster Than a Speeding Internet". Village Voice. Retrieved 21 January 2011.
  62. ^ "McLovin Tells Us What'll Happen In Kick-Ass 2." io9.com. Retrieved on 24 January 2011.
  63. ^ "Weekend Box Office Results for April 16–18, 2010". Box Office Mojo. Amazon.com. Retrieved 2 August 2010. Kick-Ass distributor Lionsgate included the movie's 10 p.m. Thursday previews in the weekend gross, when, objectively, the weekend is Friday-Sunday.
  64. ^ Hoffman, Jordan (19 April 2010). "Why Did Kick-Ass Fail to Kick As Much Ass As Expected?". UGO Networks. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
  65. ^ "'Kick-Ass' opens somewhat soft but still may have plenty of kick". Los Angeles Times. 18 April 2010. Retrieved 22 April 2010.
  66. ^ Gray, Brandon (19 April 2010). "Weekend Report: 'Kick-Ass' Opens Up a Can of Weak Sauce". Box Office Mojo. Amazon.com.
  67. ^ Wigler, Josh (15 April 2010). 'Kick-Ass' Deleted Scenes... Revealed!. MTV.com. Viacom.
  68. ^ McAnulty, Nick (3 August 2010). "Sometimes being a hero takes more than leaping off of tall buildings". MTV Canada. CTVglobemedia. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
  69. ^ Boorstin, Julia (23 August 2010). "Lionsgate's Blockbuster defense vs. Icahn". CNBC. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
  70. ^ ""Kick-Ass" debuts at number one on the DVD sales chart". HollywoodNews.com. 12 August 2010. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
  71. ^ "Exclusive - Kick-Ass Concept Art". Syfy. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
  72. ^ a b "WHA Entertainment Launches Kick-Ass for Apple iPhone, iTouch, and iPad". IGN. News Corporation. 16 April 2010. Retrieved 19 April 2010.
  73. ^ Hearn, Rob (18 April 2010). "Kick-Ass iPhone game suffers early criticism, gets pulled from the App Store". Pocket Gamer. Retrieved 19 April 2010.
  74. ^ "PlayStation Network, iPhone Getting A Kick-Ass Game". Kick-Ass movie game – iPhone / PlayStation 3 ( PS3 PSN ) – Hit-Girl gameplay official debut trailer on YouTube
  75. ^ "Kick-Ass PlayStation 3". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 15 August 2010.
  76. ^ "Kick-Ass Sequel Delayed". Sky movies. News Corporation. 6 April 2010. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
  77. ^ "Millar talks up Kick-Ass 2". Total Film.
  78. ^ Kick-Ass 2 Movie Interview. IGN. News Corporation. 9 April 2010. (Video)
  79. ^ Connelly, Brendon (31 August 2010). "Millar Says Kick-Ass 2 Has Been Greenlit, Tony Scott Is 'Going After' Johnny Depp and Brad Pitt". BleedingCool.com. includes transcription of portion of radio interview.
  80. ^ "Winners of "Teen Choice 2010" announced" (PDF). TeenChoiceAwards. 15 August 2010. Retrieved 8 January 2010.
  81. ^ "People's Choice Award 2011".

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to Kick-Ass.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kick-Ass (film).

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