New on Netflix: Kickass Review

One of the most popular fads now pervading Hollywood is the desire to take every story written in comic book form and turn it into a movie, or, in many cases, a series of movies. This strategy has been met with much success and turned comic book movies into a multi-billion dollar industry. But like anything that becomes wildly popular, these films are now the subject of both parody and subversion.

Kickass is subversion at its very best. Dave Lizewski, played by Aaron Johnson, is a skinny, nerdy nobody who spends his days either at school or haunting the comic book shop with his two best friends. He muses, to his friends' incredulity, that no one actually tries to emulate the antics of the heroes found in the comic books they love so much. Nobody has the will to actually put on the tights and fight crime.

But Dave does. After an online shopping spree, he dons a costume made from what looks like a wet-suit and takes to the streets to fight crime, calling himself "Kickass." Unfortunately for Dave, however, he lives in the real world of muggers and knives, not of super villains and choreographed, bloodless battles. But this is also the world of the Youtube video, and a short clip of Kickass’ heroics goes viral, making him an overnight sensation.

But Kickass isn’t the only one in a costume. He is joined by (or joins) Big Daddy, a sort of Batman-with-guns, played by Nicholas Cage, and his tween daughter, the deadly and foul-mouthed Hit-Girl, played by Chloe Moretz.

As the story unfolds, Kickass becomes involved in fighting much more than thugs with bats in dark alleys. He leaves his humble hero roots behind and begins a campaign to combat the real scourge of the city, epitomized by the mobster Frank D’Amico, played by the ever-villainous Mark Strong. But, to its credit, Kickass never veers too far away from its heart, and the journey of a young man trying to find out his place in the world.

It is also very, very funny. The upending of many origin story conventions provides the filmmakers with ample fodder for their characters, and the Dave’s introduction to the world of crime fighting is done with wit and charm. But best of all, his transformation feels incredibly real.

This is ultimately the strength of Kickass. It never lets the audience forget that beneath the ridiculous costume is a very frightened teenager who just wants to do the right thing. One of the main problems with heroes like Spiderman is that, once the costume is donned and the mask put on, the person underneath is largely forgotten. Kickass has the advantage of not using any hero the audience is very familiar with, so that when he puts on his wet-suit, we still hear his squeaky voice and are reminded that a hero doesn’t need to be larger than life to be super.