Kick-Ass (BD)

“Who am I?”
“I am Kick-Ass.”

In the opening sequence, we hear the main protagonist speak these words in the form of a short introductory narration. Not only does the dialogue refresh our memory of the classic superhero Spider-Man, but it also presents us an ordinary human being who aspires to be a superhero someday. Irrespective of the medium, superheroes have always been active and omnipresent through comics, videogames, and movies. Of course, there is no dearth of superheroes: Spider-Man, Batman, Superman, the X-Men, the Watchmen, the Incredible Hulk, the Fantastic-Four, and many more, have forever ruled the hearts and minds of their fans, but “Kick-Ass” is a different tale altogether. None of the heroes in “Kick-Ass” have been part of accidental experiments, and they possess no superhuman qualities of their own like traditional superheroes. Being ordinary human beings, the heroes have an unwavering drive from within to fulfill their itch of being superheroes. Writer-director Matthew Vaughn’s “Kick-Ass” uses this aspect to distinguish itself in the superhero genre; at least, it tries to with moderate success. Initially released in the U.K., the movie received generally positive reviews and through word-of-mouth, it generated enough cash at the box-office to open in the U.S.

Dave, a.k.a. Kick-Ass (Aaron Johnson), is a nerdy student who wishes there were superheroes like the one from comics. He presents himself as a real-life superhero dressed in a green suit from head-to-toe, and his only weapon includes a pair of sticks. One day while stopping a car robbery, he almost gets beaten to death, which results in damage to his nerves and spine, and he undergoes intensive surgery as a result of this accident. Undeterred by this event, Dave again begins to patrol the streets. Meanwhile, he ends up in another encounter while trying to save a guy from being brutally beaten. This entire sequence is captured live on video camera, and he soon becomes a YouTube phenomenon. Dave’s love interest, Katie (Lyndsy Fonseca), tells him that she is being threaten by a drug dealer. Dave steps in as Kick-Ass to straighten out the drug dealer, but he soon finds himself outnumbered. Mindy, a.k.a. Hit-Girl (Chloë Moretz), rescues Dave and later introduces him to Damon Macready, a.k.a. Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage). Apparently, the dealers killed by Hit-Girl were representing the interests of another rogue dealer, Frank D’Amico (Mark Strong). Frank thinks that his crew was killed by Kick-Ass, and he begins to plot a trap for him. Soon, Hit-Girl, Kick Ass, and Big Daddy are all pulled together in the final battle with Frank.

From the opening sequence, “Kick-Ass” launches us right into the action with its intent that the life of a superhero is not an easy one. It wastes no time in developing its characters. Encounter-by-encounter, “Kick-Ass” convincingly sets up Dave as the superhero, with each encounter providing him more strength and endurance to carry on. Of course, we get all the clichés attached to Dave’s character: He is a geek who loves computers and comics, and his friends think he is gay. Early on, Mindy’s training sessions with her dad, Big Daddy, show her transformation to a female vigilante. Compared to slow-moving Kick-Ass, Hit-Girl is sharp and agile and has an arsenal of brutally powerful moves that could flatten anyone close to her. I have to admit the movie soars with her entry as Hit-Girl. She is introduced in the scene when Kick-Ass’s plan to take out the drug dealer backfires. Hit-Girl’s fluidity with her weapons and her rapid use of knifes and sword-like weapons reminds us of Uma Thurman’s hotel rampage sequence in “Kill Bill: Vol 1.” In fact, the entire sequence is a homage to the Tarantino-style violence that is bloody and violent, but never grotesque or repulsive.

The performances from the leads are average. Mindy’s switching back-and-forth between her alter-ego is convincing and fun to watch. Dave’s character is bogged down due to the stereotypes associated with his character, but, nevertheless, his representation as a superhero strikes a chord with ordinary humans who aspire to be superheroes someday. Mark Strong carries his character in a similar vein to his character in “Sherlock Holmes.” He is menacing, rightly vengeful, and at times seems like a psychotic killer. But his character is extremely one-dimensional; he is a successful businessman who on the side runs the drug business. Maybe his character pays tribute to old comic-book villains; however, it comes across as unoriginal. Nicolas Cage’s performance as Big Daddy is fun and entertaining. His interaction with Mindy during the training sessions is filled with funny dialogue and slick moves. Instead of protecting her daughter, Big Daddy places Mindy dangerously close to deadly action later on.

A flashback comic-book sequence perfectly digs deeper into Big Daddy’s past and his obsession to develop Mindy into an action queen. The sequence plays out in the form of panels, with each panel providing a link to the past. Rather than showing the live action with human figures, the director prefers to depict the past as static panels–something that it is original and different. The panel sequences make sense as they highlight that today’s superheroes are born right out of comic books. More so, it is also director’s way of thanking the original artists, Mark Miller and John Romita, Jr, who are behind the original “Kick-Ass” comics series.

Indeed, the action in the movie is also taken from comic books. The action sequence introducing Hit-Girl and the final lobby shoot-out sequence presents enough technical challenges for the crew. Special cameras were mounted at different angles to capture the action from all sides. Enclosed and small spaces made it difficult to maneuver the camera equipment. In spite of this, the production team overcame these challenges, and the action they created is stylish yet outlandish at times, but very well produced.

“Kick-Ass” stays in top-gear for two-thirds of its running time; it is in the final act that the movie flounders. Big Daddy’s vengeance on Frank and how it plays out is completely predictable in its approach and execution. Instead of laying out a plan coming from superhero’s mind-set, the movie relinquishes its characters too soon in an attempt to pay tribute to the stylized action of “Kill Bill” and “The Matrix.” Frank’s menacing methods do not surprise as much as I had expected. The action in the climax goes on for a bit too long, and it appears as if everyone is busy contributing their fair share to the action only. I would have also liked it if the script would have provided more background on Damon’s partner. In the process, the movie sidesteps its main goal: showing superheroes in ordinary people. In fact, the movie is more about Hit-Girl and Big Daddy than it is about its main character, Kick-Ass. Despite these issues, I felt “Kick-Ass” packs enough wallop to make it an entertaining ride.


Video:
“Kick-Ass” arrives on Blu-ray with a 2.40:1 aspect ratio, encoded in MPEG-4. Right from the start, the 1080p transfer looks absolutely stunning. As the director indicated in the interview, the transfer has a desaturated and grainy look. The colors in the costumes pop out and are vibrant. The black levels are deep, and the contrasts evenly matched. In addition, the transfer holds up during the nighttime and daytime sequences. The detail is vastly improved and is consistent throughout its running time. Similarly, skin tones are lifelike and well-balanced. Overall, this is a terrific-looking transfer from Lionsgate.


Audio:
Lionsgate offers a 7.1 DTS-HD Master track for “Kick-Ass.” There is no doubt that this is one of the best-sounding audio tracks on Blu-ray. As expected, the dialogue gets a boost in this lossless audio; it’s crisp and clear for its entire duration and mainly driven by the front channels. In the action sequences, the rear channels are used substantially, thereby creating an arena-like effect. The bass is deep and is present mostly in the fighting sequences involving guns. Overall, there is nothing to complain about this track.


Extras:
Lionsgate has included a number of informative and interesting extras for this release. The first is “Ass Kicking BonusView,” which takes us behind the scenes while we’re watching the film. We also get an interesting commentary track with the director, Matthew Vaughn, who talks about various shots in the film, the characters, and production challenges.

Following the commentary track, we get an insightful four-part featurette, “A New Kind of Superhero: The Making of Kick-Ass.” The director, producer, and original “Kick-Ass” comic book artists talk about the script, story, and the original “Kick-Ass” series. Matthew Vaughn discusses the challenges involved in procuring the funding for the project. With the British crew and actors, the entire team faced an uphill task in presenting their concept to the American audience. Actors Aaron Johnson and Chloë Moretz converse about the influence of comics in their lives, and the production team discusses intricate production details of the lobby shoot-out scene.

Finally, we get a featurette about the original “Kick-Ass” series, “It’s on! The Comic Book Origin of Kick-Ass.” Artists Mark Miller and John Romita, Jr. talk about the original series and how they worked with the movie crew to satisfy the story-line requirement.

Also included is a “Kick-Ass” art gallery. Finally, Lionsgate has included additional two discs in the set: one for the digital copy and the second the DVD edition of the movie.


Parting Thoughts:
“Kick-Ass” is an interesting take on superheroes that succeeds for the most part. The movie is definitely a wild, entertaining ride worth taking. While the characters resonate at some level, the script does not provide enough background on a few characters. The story falters in the final act with its predictable approach, but breathtaking action sequences and creativity make up for that. Lionsgate has produced a stunning-looking package with fantastic extras that makes this package highly recommended.