Kick-Ass (film)

Kick-Ass is a 2010 British-American superhero Action Comedy film based on the Kick-Ass (comics)|comic book of the same name]] by Mark Millar]] and John Romita, Jr.]] The film was directed by Matthew Vaughn]], who co-produced with Brad Pitt]] and co-wrote the screenplay with Jane Goldman]]. Its general release was on 25 March 2010 in the United Kingdom and on 16 April 2010 in the United States. It is the first installment of the Kick-Ass (film series)|Kick-Ass film series]].

It tells the story of an ordinary teenager, Kick-Ass (character)|Dave Lizewski]] (Aaron Taylor-Johnson]]), who sets out to become a real-life superhero]], calling himself "Kick-Ass". Dave gets caught up in a bigger fight when he meets Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage]]), a former cop who, in his quest to bring down the crime boss Frank D'Amico (Mark Strong]]) and his son (Christopher Mintz-Plasse]]), has trained his eleven-year-old daughter (Chloë Grace Moretz]]) to be the ruthless vigilante]] Hit-Girl (character)|Hit-Girl]].

Despite having generated some controversy for its profanity and violence performed by a child, Kick-Ass was well received by both critics and audiences. The film has gained a strong Cult following since its release on DVD and Blu-ray. A sequel titled Kick-Ass 2 (film)|Kick-Ass 2]] written and directed by Jeff Wadlow]] (with Vaughn returning as producer only) was released in August 2013, with Taylor-Johnson, Mintz-Plasse, and Moretz reprising their roles.

Plot
Kick-Ass (character)|Dave Lizewski]] (Aaron Taylor-Johnson]]) is an ordinary teenager who lives in Staten Island, New York City. Dave purchases a bodysuit and makes modifications to it. He then embarks on a campaign to become a real-life superhero]], armed with a couple of Club (weapon)|batons]]. He becomes the victim of a stabbing and a Hit and run (vehicular)|hit and run]] during the first of his crime-fighting encounters. This leaves him with multiple fractures and metal plates, all of which cause him to require extensive Physical therapy|rehabilitation]]. In the process of recovery, he gains a capacity to endure pain and enhanced durability. In his absence from school, a rumor spreads that he is gay. As a result, his longtime crush, Katie Deauxma (Lyndsy Fonseca]]), immediately attempts to become his friend.

Dave returns to crime-fighting and gains notoriety after intervening in a gang attack. Calling himself "Kick-Ass", he sets up a Myspace account where he can be contacted for help. After responding to a request from Katie, he deals with a drug dealer, Rasul (Kofi Natei), who has been harassing her. Kick-Ass uses a taser]] against Rasul, but in the event, his thugs quickly overpower him. To his shock he is rescued by eleven-year-old vigilante]] Hit-Girl (character)|Hit-Girl]] (Chloë Grace Moretz]]), who kills Rasul first, and then kills all of Rasul's thugs and leaves with her father, Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage]]).

Big Daddy is Damon Macready, an honest former cop who was framed as a drug dealer by Mafia boss Frank D'Amico (Mark Strong]]), which led his wife to commit suicide, after giving birth to Mindy. Against the advice of his former partner Marcus (Omari Hardwick]]), Big Daddy trains his daughter Mindy to be a skilled crime-fighter and works to undermine D'Amico's operations. D'Amico believes Kick-Ass is responsible and targets him, impulsively killing a party entertainer dressed like Kick-Ass. D'Amico's son, Chris (Christopher Mintz-Plasse]]), suggests a different approach. He assumes the role of the vigilante "Red Mist" in order to befriend Kick-Ass and lure him into a trap at D'Amico's lumber warehouse. When Kick-Ass and Red Mist arrive at the warehouse, Frank's men are dead and the warehouse is on fire. With the help of Chris's teddy cam, they find out it was Big Daddy who killed Frank's men and set the warehouse on fire.

Following his lucky escape, Dave decides to quit being Kick-Ass. He confesses the truth to Katie, and she forgives him and becomes his girlfriend. After finding a number of messages from Red Mist urgently requesting they meet, Dave decides to don his Kick-Ass costume one last time. At their meeting, Red Mist convinces Kick-Ass to call his allies, unwittingly luring Big Daddy and Hit-Girl into an ambush. Upon arriving at one of Big Daddy's safe houses, Red Mist shoots Hit-Girl out of a window, and D'Amico's men storm the place, capturing Big Daddy and Kick-Ass. One of Frank's bodyguards gleefully steals a bazooka]] that is mounted on the wall. Frank intends to have his thugs torture and execute his captives in a live Internet broadcast viewed by millions. Hit-Girl, having survived the shooting, storms the hideout and kills all of the gangsters. However, during the struggle, one thug sets Big Daddy on fire. Hit-Girl and Big Daddy say a tearful farewell before he dies of his injuries.

Hit-Girl infiltrates Frank D'Amico's headquarters, killing numerous guards and henchman on her way. During the battle in the penthouse she runs out of bullets. Kick-Ass arrives on a jet pack]] fitted with miniguns]] that Big Daddy had previously acquired, and kills the remaining thugs. Kick-Ass and Hit-Girl then take on D'Amico and his son. While Kick-Ass fights Red Mist in the training room, Hit-Girl is overpowered by Frank. As Frank aims his gun and prepares to finish off the defeated Hit-Girl, Kick-Ass comes to the rescue armed with Big Daddy's bazooka. Frank is blasted out of the window where he is exploded in mid-air.

Red Mist regains consciousness and grabs a samurai sword]] in the hope of killing Kick-Ass and Hit-Girl. However, he is too late and arrives in time to see Kick-Ass and Hit-Girl leaving on the jet pack. Mindy and Dave retire from crime fighting to live a more normal life, and Mindy returns to live with Marcus and enrolls at Dave's school. Dave has been told to look after Mindy, "not that she needs it." Dave is done with crime fighting, happy to have inspired a new "generation" of superheroes. Chris, still wearing his Red Mist outfit, is shown donning a new mask as he quotes Batman (1989 film)|Jack Nicholson as the Joker]], "As a great man once said, 'q:Batman (1989 film)|Wait till they get a load of me]]'" and fires his gun.

Cast

 * Aaron Taylor-Johnson]] as Kick-Ass (character)|David "Dave" Lizewski/ Kick-Ass]]: Johnson said that Kick-Ass is a "sensitive guy" who lost his mother and is a "nobody" at school, so he creates his superhero identity "as this whole different persona." Johnson said that Dave is "a kid who’s got the guts to go out there and do something different." Christopher Mintz-Plasse]] originally auditioned for the role of Kick-Ass, but during the audition the producers believed that his acting was too loud and obnoxious for the lead, so they immediately gave Mintz-Plasse the role of Red Mist instead.
 * Mark Strong]] as Frank D'Amico: The head of a criminal organization. Strong says he is drawn to playing the antagonist. He tries to "understand the purpose of the character", and then work on building a believable individual.
 * Chloë Grace Moretz]] as Hit-Girl (character)|Mindy Macready / Hit-Girl]]: Vaughn commented on the maturity of Moretz, who said that because she has four older brothers, she was no stranger to much of the language in the script. Her mother read the script and permitted her to use the profanity in the movie. Jane Goldman]], one of the two co-writers of the script, said, "We just really wanted Hit-Girl to be a character who, in a sense, simply happens to be an eleven-year-old girl, in the same way that Ellen Ripley|Ripley]] in Alien could have been a guy but the part happened to be played by Sigourney Weaver]]." Goldman said that Mindy "is genuinely dangerous, she's genuinely mad. It's not her fault: she's been raised in this environment where she doesn't know anything different. She's unwittingly part of a Folie à deux|folie a deux]]."
 * Christopher Mintz-Plasse]] as Chris D'Amico / Red Mist: Frank D'Amico's son. Millar said that "the idea was that he was going to be a more minor character in the first film. Then we saw what Christopher Mintz-Plasse was capable of! [...] So the idea of Superbad (film)|McLovin']] and the fun Red Mist doing something horrible is genuinely quite disturbing when you see it happen. We couldn't have got away with that with another actor. The minute we saw his performance, we were looking at each other and realised how good he was and what we could do with him in the future...." Mintz-Plasse said that when he first wore the Red Mist costume, he felt that it was entertaining and that he "looked so bad-ass." The actor sent photographs of himself in costume to his friends. Three weeks into the filming, Mintz-Plasse decided that the costume was not very comfortable and "a big pain in the ass." Mintz-Plasse wore the costume for 12 hours per filming day. Mintz-Plasse had to learn how to use a stick-shift in order to drive the Ford Mustang]] that is used in the film. Vaughn told Mintz-Plasse that the actor would have to pay for the car if he crashed it.
 * Nicolas Cage]] as Damon Macready / Big Daddy: Vaughn described Cage's performance as a little bit Elvis Presley|Elvis]] and a little bit Adam West. A character in the film even says his costume looks like that of Batman]]. Cage was inspired by his costume to try delivering his lines in the same style Adam West used for Batman (TV series)|Batman]]. The police officer father of an ex-girlfriend also influenced his performance; the habit of Big Daddy referring to Hit-Girl as "child" stems from the police officer.
 * Stu 'Large' Riley]] (credited as Stu Riley) as the Huge Goon: D'Amico's chief bodyguard. Near the climactic fight between the main characters, Mark Strong accidentally calls out the actor's actual name, "Stu".
 * Lyndsy Fonseca]] as Katie Deauxma, Dave's longtime crush and eventual girlfriend
 * Clark Duke]] and Evan Peters]] as Marty and Todd, Dave's two best friends
 * Omari Hardwick]] as Sgt. Marcus Williams, former partner of Damon Macready
 * Michael Rispoli]] as Big Joe, Frank D'Amico's right-hand man
 * Kofi Natei as Rasul: A gang leader whom Dave (as Kick-Ass) challenges until Hit-Girl arrives to kill the gang members
 * Corey Johnson (actor)|Corey Johnson]] as Sporty Goon
 * Dexter Fletcher]] as Cody
 * Jason Flemyng]] as Lobby Goon: The building doorman
 * Xander Berkeley]] as Detective Victor "Vic" Gigante: A police officer working for D'Amico
 * Garrett M. Brown as James Lizewski, Dave's father
 * Elizabeth McGovern]] as Alice Lizewski, Dave's mother
 * Sophie Wu]] as Erika Cho: Katie's best friend
 * Yancy Butler]] as Angie D'Amico: Frank's wife and Chris' mother
 * Deborah Twiss]] as Mrs. Zane: Dave's English teacher
 * Craig Ferguson]] as Himself
 * Aivis Vlasevičs]] as Himself
 * Katrena Rochell as Female Junkie
 * Omar Soriano as Leroy, Rasul's doorman
 * John Romita, Jr.]] as Atomic Comics barista

Series-creator Millar, a native of Scotland, asked Scottish television children's-show host Glen Michael]] to make a cameo appearance]] although his role was cut from the film. Millar was also set to make a cameo as a Scottish alcoholic but the scene was cut from the film. WCBS-TV]] news reporters Maurice DuBois]], Dana Tyler]], and Lou Young make cameo appearance]]s.

An image of Matthew Vaughn]]'s wife, model Claudia Schiffer]], appears prominently on a billboard poster.

Development
The rights to a film version of the comic book were sold before the first issue was published. Developed in parallel the film writers took a different story direction, to reach many of the same conclusions. Mark Millar]] acknowledges the differences, explaining that a comic usually has eight acts, while a film usually has a three act structure.

Vaughn said that, "We wrote the script and the comic at the same time so it was a very sort of collaborative, organic process. I met [Millar] at the premiere of Stardust (2007 film)|Stardust]]. We got on really well. I knew who he was and what he had done but I didn't know him. He pitched me the idea. I said, 'That's great!' He then wrote a synopsis. I went, 'That's great, let's go do it now! You write the comic, I'll write the script. Jane Goldman]] one of the screenwriters, said that when she works with Vaughn she does the "construction work" and the "interior designing" while Vaughn acts as the "architect."

Millar said that screenwriters Goldman and Vaughn had made a "chick flick]]", having placed more emphasis on the character emotions, and particularly in having softened the character of Katie Deauxma. Millar stated that a film audience would have difficulty accepting Dave and Katie not being together, while a comic audience would more easily accept that idea. Frank Lovece of Film Journal International]] says that Katie is "much less Mean Girls]]" in the film than in the comic, and that the romance between Dave and Katie "proves a needed counterbalance to the otherwise pervasive sense of optimism being stripped away layer by layer, down below angry Cynicism (contemporary)|cynicism]] and headed straight down the hole to nihilism]]." Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times said "the romance provides an appealing backdrop that the more unnerving aspects of the film play out against." Other changes included having Red Mist be known to be a secret antagonist from the start, as well as making him less outright villainous, and D'Amico's mob initially thinking Kick-Ass is the one slaughtering their men.

File:4.25.13MarkMillarByLuigiNovi34.jpg|thumb|Creator Mark Millar]] signing posters for the movie and copies of the comics sequel, Kick-Ass 2, during an appearance at Midtown Comics]] in Manhattan.]]

In the Kick-Ass (comics)|original comic-book]], Big Daddy is revealed to not actually be an ex-cop, but a former accountant who had been motivated to fight crime by a desire to escape from his life and by his love of comic books. In the film, his purported origin and motivations are genuine: writer Mark Millar considers that the revelation about Big Daddy's background would not have worked in the film adaptation, and would have "messed up the structure of the movie".

The comic's artist John Romita, Jr.]] stated that Big Daddy's story in the film "works better stopping short (...) You love him better in the film".

The climax to the film differs significantly from the comics, with the use of the jetpack and rocket launcher: Millar called this "necessary" as "we're building up so much stuff that we needed some Luke Skywalker]] blowing up the Death Star]] moment". Comic writer Stephen Grant argued that the film "cheated" on its premise of a "real life" superhero by having these increasingly fantastic events and that this was "why it works. That's where much of the humor comes from... when the film finally makes the notion [the fantasy] explicit we're already so deep into the magician's act that our instinct is to play along".

Vaughn initially went to Sony Pictures Entertainment|Sony]], which distributed Layer Cake (film)|Layer Cake]], but he rejected calls to tone down the violence. Other studios expressed interest but wanted to make the characters older. In particular studios wanted to change Hit-Girl's character into an adult. Goldman said that while studio executives said that it would be less offensive to portray Hit-Girl as a teenager, Goldman argued that it would have been more offensive since, as a teenager, Hit-Girl would have been sexualized. Goldman said that Hit-Girl was not supposed to be sexualized.

Vaughn had a little trouble adapting to film: the film had no studio. The big studios doubted the success of an adaptation as a violent superhero, which made the film be independently financed, but this gave him the freedom to make the film the way he imagined, without having to worry about high-censorship. Vaughn believed enough in the project to raise the money himself. Christopher Mintz-Plasse]] (Red Mist) said that the creators of the film were wondering whether a distributor would pick up the movie. On the set Vaughn jokingly referred to Kick-Ass as something that was going to be "the most expensive home movie I ever made".

The 2D/3D animated comic book sequence in the film took almost two years to finish. Romita created the pencils, Tom Palmer]] did the inks, and Dean White (comics)|Dean White]] did the colours. Vaughn gave Romita a :wiktionary:carte blanche|carte blanche]] on the art direction of the sequence.

Filming
Filming locations include Hamilton, Ontario]], Canada; Dip 'N' Sip Donuts on Kingston Road (Toronto)|Kingston Road]] in Toronto, Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School (Hamilton, Ontario)|Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School]], and "many Toronto landmarks that play cameos"; and various locations in the UK, including Elstree Studios]]. The opening sequence with Nicolas Cage was filmed in a sewage plant in east London.

The Atomic Comics store in the film is based on the now-defunct real-life Arizona-based chain whose owner, Millar said, is a friend of artist John Romita Jr.]]'s. Millar asked Mike Malve for permission to use Atomic Comics in the film, and a model version of Atomic Comics was created at the London pilot studio for use in the filming.

Controversy
In January 2010, an uncensored preview clip of the film was attacked by family advocacy groups for its display of violence and use of the line "Okay you cunt]]s, let's see what you can do now," delivered by Chloë Grace Moretz]], who was eleven years old at the time of filming. Australian Family Association]] spokesman John Morrissey said that "the language [was] offensive and the values inappropriate; without the saving grace of the bloodless victory of traditional superheroes". Several critics, including Christopher Tookey]] of the Daily Mail, accused the film of glorifying violence, saying that Hit-Girl was "made to look as seductive as possible". Tookey's view on Hit-Girl was strongly criticised, with many commentators — including Andrew Collins (broadcaster)|Andrew Collins]], the film editor of Radio Times]] — wondering why he had found the character sexualised. This caused Tookey to claim that he was a victim of cyber-bullying. In response to the controversy, Moretz stated in an interview, "If I ever uttered one word that I said in Kick-Ass, I would be grounded for years! I'd be stuck in my room until I was 20! I would never in a million years say that. I'm an average, everyday girl." Moretz has said that while filming, she could not bring herself to say the film's title out loud in interviews, instead calling it "the film" in public and "Kick-Butt" at home.

Christopher Mintz-Plasse expressed surprise that people were angry about the language but did not seem to be offended that Hit-Girl kills many people.

Ratings
In an interview with Total Film, Aaron Johnson confirmed that the film stays true to the adult nature of the comic series by featuring a large amount of profanity and graphic violence. The film received an R rating by the Motion Picture Association of America|MPAA]] for "strong brutal violence throughout, pervasive language, sexual content, nudity and some drug use—some involving children", and it received a 15 rating from the British Board of Film Classification|BBFC]]. Director Matthew Vaughn felt the 15 certificate was about right and expressed some surprise at the film having received a "PG rating[sic]" in France.

Box office
The film earned over $12 million internationally in advance of opening in the United States. On its debut weekend in the United States it took in $19.8 million in 3,065 theaters, averaging $6,469 per theater. Kick-Ass was reported number one, ahead of How to Train Your Dragon (film)|How to Train Your Dragon]] by $200,000, which was in its third week of release. On Saturday, 17 April 2010, it fell down to number three behind How To Train Your Dragon and Date Night]]. On Sunday, 2 May 2010, it fell down behind A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010 film)|A Nightmare on Elm Street]], How To Train Your Dragon, Furry Vengeance]], The Back-Up Plan]], Date Night, Clash of the Titans (2010 film)|Clash of the Titans]] and The Losers (film)|The Losers]]. These numbers for Kick-Ass's debut weekend gross included non-weekend earnings, as the film was previewed during the Thursday night prior to its release. The film's final gross in the U.S. was $48,071,303 and $48,117,600 outside of the U.S. with a worldwide gross of $96,188,903.

The film was listed among the most pirated films of 2010; according to statistics on TorrentFreak]], the film was illegally downloaded over 11.4 million times, second only to Avatar (2009 film)|Avatar.]]

Critical response
Kick-Ass received mostly positive reviews from critics. Metacritic assigned the film a score of 66%, based on a weighted average of 38 reviews from mainstream critics.

In the United Kingdom The Guardian]] gave the film extensive coverage by several of its critics and journalists. Peter Bradshaw]] gave the film 5/5 and called it an "explosion in a bad taste factory" that is "thoroughly outrageous, jaw-droppingly violent and very funny riff on the quasi-porn world of comic books; except that there is absolutely no 'quasi' about it." Philip French]], writing for The Guardian]]'s Sunday associate paper The Observer, called the film "relentlessly violent" with "the foulest-mouthed child ever to appear on screen, [who makes] Louis Malle]] 's Zazie dans le Métro|Zazie]] sound like Cosette]]" and one "extremely knowing in its appeal to connoisseurs of comic strips and video games." David Cox, also from The Guardian, noted that the film "kicks the c-word into the mainstream...inadvertently dispatch[ing] our last big expletive."

Christopher Tookey]] of the Daily Mail said, "Don't be fooled by the hype: This crime against cinema is twisted, cynical, and revels in the abuse of childhood". Chris Hewitt of Empire magazine gave the film 5/5 and declared it, "A ridiculously entertaining, perfectly paced, ultra-violent cinematic rush that kicks the places other movies struggle to reach. ... [T]he film's violence is clearly fantastical and cartoonish and not to be taken seriously."

International critics who enjoyed the film generally singled out its audacity, humour, and performance from Chloë Grace Moretz. Peter Howell of the Toronto Star gave Kick-Ass a top rating, noting that the production "succeeds as a violent fantasy about our perilous and fretful times, where regular citizens feel compelled to take action against a social order rotting from within." USA Today critic Claudia Puig praised Moretz as "terrific...Even as she wields outlandish weaponry, she comes off as adorable." Manohla Dargis]] from The New York Times wrote, "Fast, periodically spit-funny and often grotesquely violent, the film at once embraces and satirizes contemporary action-film clichés with Tarantino-esque self-regard." Owen Gleiberman]] of Entertainment Weekly]] gave the film a B+, but noted that "personally, I just wish that the film had ended up a bit less of an over-the-top action ride."

PopMatters]] and WorldsGreatestCritic.com journalist J.C. Maçek III wrote, "It's hard to believe that this movie as quite as good as it was, but it truly managed to balance comedy with gritty realism, believability and fantasy along with ultraviolence and a moralistic bend."

In Film Journal International]], former Marvel Comics]] writer Frank Lovece]] said the "delightfully dynamic" film "actually improves on the comic by not metaphorically kicking in our hero's teeth ... and making him a sad-sack schmuck who was wrong about nearly everything." He found that, "Comedy-of-manners dry humor ... plays seamlessly amid scenes of stylized, off-camera mayhem."

Other reviews were more negative. Roger Ebert found the film highly offensive and "morally reprehensible," giving it one out of four stars. He cited the coarse language and violence, particularly the scene in which Hit-Girl is nearly killed by D'Amico. "When kids in the age range of this movie's home video audience are shooting one another every day in America, that kind of stops being funny." Ebert's only notes of praise were for the performances of Cage, Johnson and Moretz. The movie made that week's "Your Movie Sucks" list of one-star movies.

Tim Robey of The Daily Telegraph did not like the film either, rating it 1/5 and stating, "Matthew Vaughn's Kick Ass is hollow, glazed, and not quite there".

Karina Longworth]] was also not impressed with the film's intended satire and themes: "Never as shocking as it thinks it is, as funny as it should be, or as engaged in cultural critique as it could be, Kick-Ass is half-assed."

Home media
In an interview, Matthew Vaughn said, "There is about 18 minutes of [deleted] footage, which is really good stuff. If the film is a hit, I'll do an extended cut." The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray on 3 August 2010 in North America as well as on PSP two weeks after the DVD and Blu-ray release. This version does not contain the aforementioned deleted content. Selling 1.4 million units within its first week, one-third of these in Blu-ray format, Kick-Ass debuted at number one on the DVD sales chart. The discs were released in the United Kingdom on 6 September 2010.

After it's release on home video, it developed a Cult following.

Video games
The Kick-Ass (video game)|video game based on the movie]] was produced by WHA Entertainment and Frozen Codebase]]. It was released through the App Store (iOS)|App Store]] on 15 April 2010 for iPhone]] and iPod Touch]]. The initial Apple platform releases were reportedly unfinished beta versions and were withdrawn from circulation pending a relaunch of a finished version. The game was released on PlayStation Network on 29 April 2010. Kick-Ass, Hit-Girl and Big Daddy are playable characters. The game features Facebook missions and integration. Both versions of the game received negative reviews.

Sequel
On 8 May 2012, it was reported that a sequel would be distributed by Universal Studios, and that Matthew Vaughn had chosen Jeff Wadlow]], who also wrote the script, to direct the sequel. Aaron Johnson and Chloë Grace Moretz reprise their roles as Kick-Ass and Hit-Girl, respectively, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse returns as the main villain, going by the name of "the Mother Fucker". The film was released on 16 August 2013 in the United States and on 14 August 2013 in the United Kingdom.