Learning From 'Kick-Ass'

“Hey… How come nobody’s ever tried to be a superhero?”

Such is the inquiry which lies at the heart of one of the strangest, most irreverent, and blissfully entertaining comic-book films of the decade.

Directed by British director Matthew Vaughn (‘Layer Cake’), and featuring performances by Nicholas Cage (‘National Treasure’, ‘Con Air’) and Chloe Grace Moretz (of the upcoming ‘Let Me In’), the 2009 superhero action/comedy ‘Kick-Ass’ is full to the brim with profanity, violence, and a fair measure of sexual innuendo, each applying at one point or another to shockingly underage characters. As a result, the film experienced a less-than-spectacular opening weekend, earning about $20 million at the box office. Though it narrowly overtook the Dreamworks animated film ‘How To Train Your Dragon’ for that weekend, ticket sales dropped rapidly in the following two weeks of its release, ultimately earning about $48 million domestically.

That said, the movie is likely on track to achieving well-deserved status as a true cult classic.

Based on Mark Millar’s graphic novel of the same name, ‘Kick-Ass’ tells the story of an average nerd, Dave Lizewski, living in an average New York suburb doing average stuff while hanging out with his average friends, all the while pining after the not-so-average girl of his dreams.

Needless to say, viewers expect this barrage of mediocre high-school drama to give way to something weird or extraordinary sooner or later- an expectation that is satisfied when, one day, after being robbed by a pair of alley-dwelling delinquents for the umpteenth time, Dave decides that enough is enough. Purchasing a perfectly ordinary, if not somewhat gaudy, green diver’s wetsuit, equipping himself with two fighting batons, and slipping on a pair of good old-fashioned Timberland boots for good measure, he assumes the identity of a masked vigilante, taking the titular name, “Kick-Ass.”

His initial exploits, however, are less than heroic. Without spoiling anything, Dave quickly gets in way over his head, and is literally on the verge of being castrated by a group of drug dealers when his salvation comes crashing down in the form of… an eleven-year-old girl.

No, the word “girl” doesn’t quite fit… More like a WMD wearing a skirt.

It is at this point that the film begins its gradual transition from outright slapstick to much darker comedy. Utilizing an array of edged weapons to deadly effect, the masked heroine “Hit Girl” (Moretz) quite literally decimates every foe that comes her way, leaving them broken, bloody, and invariably dead- except for the near-survivor sniped in the cranium by her father, the Batman-like “Big Daddy” (Cage, imitating Adam West’s Batman to hysterical effect). It is in light of this over-the-top, father/daughter version of Batman and Robin that the most morally valuable lessons from the film become clear.

If Big Daddy and Hit Girl have a motto, it’s this: Stand up against evil- as an individual, as a team, as a family- and don’t give an inch.

The city in which the main characters find themselves is one lacking any kind of moral center. As was Dave’s experience early in the film, muggings occur on a daily basis, and the citizens make no serious attempt to put a stop to such injustice. The people have lapsed into a state of complacency, leaving even the most petty crooks to do as they please. On top of this, the police themselves have been bought out by Frank D’Amico, the city’s leading drug kingpin, who also has an important role in Big Daddy and Hit Girl’s history.

So how do Kick-Ass and his fellow masked avengers respond in light of this seemingly insurmountable task? They strike, and strike hard.

Hit Girl, as many have already noted, is the film’s only true home run. While critics like Roger Ebert heavily criticized the use of a child actor in such a violent role, the fact is that Chloe Moretz’s brutal character is far and away a morally superior alternative to the inappropriately sexualized, self-concerned teen idols of Disney Channel fame.

To quote Big Hollywood’s John Nolte, Hit Girl is “heroic, selfless, completely self-reliant, and lives by a simple code that says evil loses. No angst, no handwringing, and no moral equivalency.”

Sounds like the ideal female role model to me!

Sure, this is an absolutely unacceptable film for those not mature enough for the ‘Restricted’ rating. But while nowadays such a rating usually indicates the level of a film’s moral decrepitude, the big bold "R" on the back of the 'Kick-Ass' DVD case is like a badge of honor.

After all, what fun is watching superheroes clobber criminals if the result isn’t the untimely amputation of a prosthetic limb or two? Or three, or four, or fifty…