I have been looking forward to this since I first heard about it. Not only do I like Matthew Vaughn (Stardust was such an an underrated fantastic film), but the fact that it is based on a comic that was drawn by my favorite artist John Romita Jr. made me even more excited. And I loved the film. It is hysterical and right up my alley, though of course not up to the caliber of the comic. The comic itself is a deconstruction of the super hero genre, showing what would happen to these people who dress up as heroes, and this film starts that way, but then turns into a geeks wet dream, with an amazing action ending. The film is fun and hysterical, but the comic is dark much more realistic, and overall the better story. Still the film is a must see, not only for the hysterical performance by Nicholas Cage, where as the super hero Big Daddy he sounds just like Adam West as Batman, and the very enjoyable performance by Aaron Johnson, but really the main reason is Chloë Grace Moretz, who at 11 years old is the worlds greatest action star! This little girl steals the whole movie and is just amazing. She is a must see, and will go far, but may not ever be funnier or more bad ass than this! WOW! I actually want a t-shirt with her, that says HIT-GIRL IS MY HERO!

Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) is a normal high schooler. Average. Not a jock, or a geek, though he does love comic books, and wonders why there are no real comic book character. Why no one has tried it. And after getting mugged a final time, he decides to do it. He orders a wet suit from online, and dresses up and goes out to fight crime. He goes to stop some guys breaking into a car, and gets beat almost to death, and then stabbed and then hit by a car. He manages to convinces the medics to take off his costume before he gets to the hospital, but then is said to have been found naked. Dave lives, but has half his body filled with metal, and has damaged nerve ends that so he no longer feels pain like he used to. At first he plans to give up his crime fighting, but can’t stop feeling the allure, and goes out again, this time saving a man from three attackers, while many people film with cell phones. One of the bystanders comes up to him and asks who he is, and Dave replies that he is Kick Ass, and the video becomes a YouTube phenomenon, and Dave sets up his own MySpace account. At school he even sees that his longtime love Katie (Lyndsy Fonseca) is now interested him, but is dismayed to learn it is because the rumor is that he is gay (which is why he was found naked) and she wants a gay friend. Dave swallows his pride, and plays gay, just so he can be with his love.

REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS…

Meanwhile we see Damn Macready (Nicholas Cage) shooting his little 11 year old girl Mindy (Chloë Grace Moretz) at close range with a handgun to show her what it will feel like in body armor, and he promises her a trip for ice cream.

Deve learned that Katie is having trouble with a drug dealer from where she volunteers, so he goes to get him to stop, but is quickly way over his head, and about to get killed, when Hit Girl (Mindy) shows up and with the help of her father Big Daddy (Macready) manage to quickly kill all the drug dealers.

They them track him via his MySpace account, showing up in his room, and letting him know how to contact them.

We find out Macready is a former cop who was framed as a drug dealer by Frank C’Amico (Mark Strong) a local crime lord. Macready was sent to prison and his pregnant wife couldn’t take it. She had Mindy, but died, and Frank’s partner Marcus (Omari Hardwick) took care of her until Frank was released from prison and started training his daughter for revenger.

Frank thinks that Kick Ass is responsible for all the deaths of his men, and wants to get him. His loser son Chris (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) has a plan though, which will involve some funding, and giving up an associate and Red Mist is born.

Chris as Red Mist meets up with Kick and gets him to trust him, and brings him to his father’s lumber yard, but it already building. Red Mist rushes in and find only dead bodies, but Red Mist grabs a teddy bear, and the two just manage to get out.

Frank wants Kick Ass, but Chris shows the teddy bear, which is a surveillance bear, and they see Big Daddy in action killing all his men.

Dave realizes he has to quit, because it is too dangerous, but first he goes to Katie and shows that the is Kick Ass, and tells her he is not gay, and they start dating.

Dave gets an urgent message from Red Mist, where he says everything he has, has been taken and they have to find Big Daddy and Hit Girl, so Dave sets it up, and they head to the meeting point, but are ambushed by Frank’s men. Hit Girl is knocked out a window and Kick Ass and Big Daddy are taken.

Frank sets up a huge unveiling of Kick Ass on TV, and everyone is watching, but it turns out to be torture, until Hit Girl shows up. She manages to save Dave, but Big Daddy is lit on fire, and ends up dying. Dave wants her to quit, but she wants revenger, and she gets him to help her.

Mindy goes to Frank’s and gets in posing as herself, and taking out most of the mobsters on her own, until they break out the rocket launcher they stole from Big Daddy. Dave shows up with Big Daddy’s latest toy, a jet pack with gatling guns and saves Mindy. She then fights Frank, while Dave takes on Red Mist, knocking him out. Kick Ass then shoots Frank with the bazooka, and the two fly off as Red Mist wakes up.

Hit Girl and Kick Ass retire from Crime fighting, and Mindy comes to his high School (at age eleven? Huh?) not putting up with bullies. And a slew of new super heroes now are popping up. And the film ends with Red Mist putting on a mask and swearing revenge, copying the Joker, saying “wait till they get a load of me!”

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Really fun and ridiculously over the top, but it does lose some of it’s point by giving up on it’s deconstruction and becoming what it what making fun of. Still it is all worth it to see Chloë Grace Moretz swearing like a sailor and kicking some serious ass! Seriously, she is my hero!