The Bottom Line: Kick-Ass is an unabashed, unrelenting commentary on comic books and violence. It however makes several missteps that keep it from being genius.

For those of you that have been living under a rock for the past couple of months, Kick-Ass is a comic book adaptation about a regular kid who dresses up like a super hero to fight crime. He doesn't have super powers, he doesn't know what the hell he is doing, he just wants to make a difference.

The catch is that this is based in the real world, not a fantasy comic book world. The idyllic and misguided intentions of Dave Lizewski (aka Kick-Ass) end up putting him in the hospital and almost getting him killed on several occasions. He describes the incessant need to put on a costume as an uncontrollable urge similar to what a serial killer must go through. Luckily for him he's not alone....

Whereas Kick-Ass is a wannabe hero and most aptly described as a well-intentioned, but short-sighted MySpace-YouTube gimmick, the father-daughter team of Big Daddy and Hit-Girl is the polar opposite. More aptly described as a pair of costumed militia nut-jobs, the two appear heavily trained and knowledgeable in both martial arts and small arms combat. In staunch comparison to their combat prowess, out of costume Big Daddy looks and acts like a nerd while Hit-Girl hasn't even hit puberty.

There is a lot of controversy over the level of violence and realism in the film, with many taken aghast that Hit-Girl is the biggest perpetrator of both the most violent scenes and foulest jokes. While she's a very sweet pre-pubescent girl that borders on precocious at times, it can be a little unsettling to hear her taunt bad guys with abrasive terms such as cunts and cock-suckers. Which is kinda the point. I lost my shit when Hit-Girl deadpan delivered a line about the mayor having a giant "Bat-Signal" for them in the shape of a giant cock.

Disguised as a teen-rebel super-hero film, Kick-Ass is more or less a brutal commentary on violence. Take Kick-Ass, the idealized "super hero," and put him in the real world. He complains about people just standing by watching, only to realize exactly why they do - he knows that life goes on, but when you have someone or something you love its hard to risk losing it. Altruism versus self-preservation. The character of Kick-Ass is a virtual parody of Spiderman. The biggest difference being Spiderman had super powers. So when Kick-Ass decides to try and step in, he's quickly out-classed and given horrific wake-up calls with extremely real circumstances. It is apparent that he's just an idiot in a scuba suit with some wooden sticks.

Big Daddy on the other hand is a parody of Batman and to some extents the Punisher. The vigilante with no superpowers, but an eternal grudge and all the training in the world. His costume is entirely made of Kevlar and his weapons... well lets just use the word abundant. He stands as a mockery of Batman's violence and refusal to kill. A startling realization that bad guy's don't miss or change. That being a super hero isn't always about taking the paladin's path. If anything, he's Rorschach. Violence is a necessary and powerful tool. Killing isn't a choice if you want to fight crime as a vigilante.

The director, Matthew Vaughn, doesn't withhold anything, nor does he focus on excruciatingly slow shots to exemplify the violence. Don't expect to see the brutal punches and beautiful choreography of Zack Snyder's 300 or Watchmen. Don't count on the piety of Nolan's The Dark Knight or anything you might see in the Marvel Universe. The closest thing we've seen to this is Sin City. This just takes away all the fantasy and camera filters. When a character gets their ass kicked they're hurt - bad. You don't take a knife wound and get up and fight. You don't take a bullet to the shoulder and keep on bruising. Death is quick and cheap. There is nothing beautiful about it.

That's the problem with the controversy over this film. Many are concerned about it being too real and overly violent. If anything, the fantasy has finally been stripped away, revealing the important fact that, yes - violence is violent. Its permanent and awful nature is exposed without gratification or beautification. The choreography like real life is both fast and sloppy.

The acting for the most part is solid. The only actor I didn't fully like was Aaron Johnson in the lead role of Kick-Ass. I'm not entirely sure what turned me off about him, but I kept wishing I was watching Jesse Eisenberg instead. The only thing I could really pinpoint was a squeak his voice that was kinda off-putting. I guess my biggest legitimate complaint was that Johnson never brought the character of Kick-Ass to full life. As a regular kid he was fine, but as a superhero he was pretty lame. Maybe that was the point.

On the other hand, Nicholas Cage really rocked in this movie. I've loathed almost every performance he's ever given, but his emulation of Adam West was superb. Looking back at his films, it has honestly been since The Rock & Con-Air that I enjoyed his acting on any level. Chloe Moretz did an immaculate job as Hit-Girl, even if at times her costume seemed to be a little bit too big for her tiny frame. The inevitable sequel will be interesting, as she's no longer pre-pubescent in real life.

Beyond that Christopher Mintz-Plasse (forever McLovin') did a decent job as the conflicted Red Mist. Mark Strong as well played a fairly vanilla main villain as a strong contrast to the flamboyant heroes, which really helped to ground the film in reality. Clark Duke played one of Kick-Ass's high school friends and had a scene-stealing presence. Duke is quickly setting himself up to follow the footsteps of Michael Cera and Jonah Hill as a go to teen funny-guy.

In the end, I gave the film a 7 out of 10. I appreciated what it tried to do and found it to be a thoroughly enjoyable film. However I felt its message was a little convoluted, and the fact that the media is having trouble picking up on that is proof. If the director could have brought Kick-Ass's character to life as well as he did with Big Daddy and Hit-Girl, it would easily been a righteous hit. The problem was at times the movie felt flat and I was overwhelmed by a little too much cheese. The soundtrack could have used some work as the over laying music was often overwhelming and two songs were way too campy (The Dickies "Banana Splits" & The Hit Girls "Bad Reputation").

The 12-18 and 18-25 year old demographics will probably find this film a little more enjoyable. Even at 30 I didn't relate well to some of the film's generational cliches, but I do eagerly await the sequel that seems inevitable. That being said, I wish this film had been done a little better. I had fun watching it and it was well worth the price of admission. If you liked Zombieland you'll probably like this as well. Its nice to see a good comic book movie that isn't preachy as hell.

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