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Kick-Ass

Nicolas Cage, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Chloe Moretz, Aaron Johnson, Lyndsy Fonseca

"I'm not normally a praying man, but if you're up there, please save me, Superman!" – Homer Simpson

A decade ago, cinematic CGI with the X-Men caught up with superhero stories and a whole world opened up for filmmakers. Superman could really fly. Spider-man could swing on his silk web through the Manhattan cityscape. Flame on, The Human Torch. The Hulk looks almost realistic smashing things. There is not a superhero that could not be brought onto the local silver screen. As mainstream audiences lined up to see these films, there became a whispering panic among geeks that the fad would ultimately kill itself off. The success of the genre would cook its own goose, that audiences would vanish as studios seeking to cash in on the trend would produce dozens of these films and many of them would be stinkers causing people to become leery of the genre. Constantine did not kill off the genre. Nor did Elektra, The Spirit, Catwoman, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen or My Super Ex-Girlfriend. So far, two things have saved the genre, many of the top directors like Christopher Nolan, Bryan Singer, Jon Favreau and Sam Raimi and actors like Christian Bale, Robert Downey Jr. and Edward Norton have been attracted to these projects. Lawsuits by the families of the creators and normal production delays as the studios have to commit months of resources and millions of dollars to these projects cause frustrations before the first inch of footage is even shot. At one point, over twenty superhero projects had been penciled in for 2010. When it comes to superhero flicks this year, it is as barren as a pediatrician’s office in a nursing home. All I can say is thank God for Kick-Ass and Iron Man 2.

When it comes to superhero movies, I am the fat man at a Chinese buffet at 3 p.m. I know there is a lot of good stuff being made in the back, but it will take forever to make its way to the table. While what is on the platters is good, there does not appear to be very much of it. The last few years I have been a spoiled patron. On the horizon lay sequels to the Dark Knight (Catwoman is one of the baddies), Spider-Man (What else is Toby McGuire going to do?), Superman, Hulk, Hellboy, X-Men, Fantastic Four, and possibly DareDevil putting on the tights again. Other superheroes like Captain America, Wonder Woman, Green Arrow (2 GA movies are in the planning stages), Dr. Strange, Green Lantern, Thor, Conan, The Flash, The Big Red Cheese (Captain Marvel, aka Shazam), Luke Cage, Sgt. Rock and dozens of others are being mapped out as you read this. With Warner Brothers and now Disney owning the world’s two biggest comic book companies, DC and Marvel, good times are ahead. But that is taking place in 2011 and beyond, and I am hungry now.

In 2010, there are only four, maybe five, comic book movies this year. The only character that most people would even know and would be considered a tent pole release is Iron Man 2 in May. Andy Diggle’s war on terror team The Losers gets a chance at the big screen. Robert Rodriquez has cast his girlfriend Rosie McGowan as Red Sonja, whom most people remember from the awful 1985 Brigitte Nielsen film. (Though created from Robert E. Howard’s Conan, but she is purely a Marvel comic book creation by Barry Winsor Smith.) DC has high hopes that bounty hunter cowboy Jonah Hex (Josh Brolin) will find an audience this summer. (Some will point out that I forgot about the Green Hornet, but the great, great nephew of the Lone Ranger is a creation of radio and later television. His star power is primarily to the popular radio show, and later, Bruce Lee.) Maybe one or two others will slip into a November/December slot, but the only remaining film the public will see this year is Kick-Ass based on a comic book series by writer Mark Millar and artist John Romita Jr.

Never heard about it? Fewer people read comic books than ever before. Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) is your typical New York City geeky high school student who loves comic books. (The lead character’s name comes from a contest held by Vertigo Comics in which the winner got to pick the secret identity of the hero. Of course, the winner selected his own name.) He decides to do what many of us only dream of, become a superhero. (Well, not me, unless I could be “I Don’t Give A Crap Man.) Dave begins wearing a costume and mask under his street clothes, exercising, and training to fight crime. Like most high school boy’s he likes a girl, named Katie Deauxma (Lyndsy Fonseca), but is awkward and inept around her.

Dave eventually decides to see if the skills he has been developing are ready and is beaten almost to death by some thugs. After recovering, using the Internet, he is joined in his quest by Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage. Cage is such a huge superhero fan that at one point he had one of the largest comic book collections in the United States and his stage name of “Cage” comes from the Marvel superhero Luke Cage.) and Hit-Girl (Chloe Moretz).

I truly believe that Kick-Ass is this year’s 300 or Sin City. I was worried that in order to attract a larger audience, much of the brutality and graphic violence of the graphic novel would be removed. Instead they have kept the hard edge of this superhero tale. The movie follows beat for beat the Mark Millar graphic novel and sets up things for a Kick-Ass 2. The biggest question is whether audiences will want to see a little known teenage superhero franchise. Superman, Spider-man, Batman, The Hulk, The X-Men and about a dozen other superheroes are apart of the cultural lexicon. Even if a person has never read one of their comics, they are easily identified. Kick-Ass, at best, maybe sold a hundred thousand copies every month and more than likely a lot less. Spending $65 million in production costs for a superhero franchise that is less than two years old is extremely risky. Still, marketed right, the movie should do well. All I can say is bring on Iron Man 2 and 2011.

Verdict: A Good Adaptation