The film Kick-Ass is based on the Icon series of the same name created by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr about Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) becoming the world's first costumed crime fighter (I loathe to use the term superhero because that implies he gets powers) Dave as Kick-Ass becomes an internet phenomenon inspiring copy cats such as Red Mist (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), the homicidal Hit-Girl (Chloë Grace Moretz) and her father Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage) and it isn't too long before they're noticed and targeted by mob boss Frank D'Amico (Mark Strong) who's business is being interrupted by this wave of vigilantism.
The movie is an almost faithful if not toned down version of the comic, Aaron Johnson does a great job as Dave/Kick-Ass, making Dave come off as goofy and awkward without stepping into Peter Parker territory while making Kick-Ass even goofier after all this is a fanboy dressing up as a costumed crime fighter. However when the other costumed characters get involved, Kick-Ass becomes a sidekick to these characters, he becomes goofier when he teams up with Red Mist with Red Mist being the more heroic of the duo.
Likewise when Hit-Girl and Big Daddy hit the scene in a brutally violent way infront of a scared Kick-Ass, he acts as the largely ignored moral compass to the father-daughter team, and is even belittled by both of them, which is funny especially coming from the 11 year old Hit-Girl.
Hit-Girl is definetly the scene stealer in this film, her fight scenes are unbelievably crazy and violent, though her language is certainly colourful. Big Daddy on the other hand is intense until he starts to talk, in. An imitation. Of. William Shatner's. Broken sentence. Speech pattern, though Nic Cage pulls off the part of doting father well, even when he's shooting his bulletproof protected daughter.
There are a few comic motif's used in the film such as the comic book style captions, Kick-Ass also features art from original series artist John Romita Jr who's artwork translate's well on screen even when it is rendered as 3D art when telling Big Daddy and Hit-Girl's origin story. Romita's gritty and line heavy art is a perfect to the film's gritty and mostly realistic examination into what would happen if someone put on a costume and fought crime. The film's final battle between the costume vigilantes and the mob veers into pure comic book fantasy without being to absurd and works well as a Deus Ex Machina.
As I mentioned, Kick-Ass is somewhat faithful to the original source material there are some parts of the film that really work well in the movie compared to the comic, mostly because it has been changed, such as Dave's love life which, while clicéd plays out somewhat more logically. D'Amico's mob crew also get fleshed out a bit in the film compared to the comic no longer feeling as two dimensional as they were drawn. Lizewski's posing in the mirror is also a welcome addition to the film bringing some lighthearted and comedic moments such as Kick-Ass's search for a cat called Mr Bitey.
Kick-Ass brilliantly balances the violence with comedy very well, all the costumed characters have their own unique fighting style. The violence is gritty and very much grounded in the real world though the finale does feel like a 180 degree departure from the overall tone of the film however it is a great ending to the film.
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