Kick-Ass, the Movie (no spoilers)

Saw Kick-Ass today. I definitely liked it. I was somewhat conflicted while watching it, but I'm still thinking about it, so I know there 's something there for me. Surprisingly graphic in parts, and I'm okay with that. So not what I was expecting. I thought it looked like a fun, lighthearted comic book/superhero movie. Awkward teen creates superhero identify, as he searches for a way to fit in at school, to get the girl and to dewussify.

The trailer belies the dark underbelly of this movie because the character with the biggest body count is...the little girl! I'm surprised some kind of parent group hasn't been bitching to the high heavens about a movie where a tween girl is a cold-hearted killer, many times over. I'm glad though. I've seen movies where kids kill, and it's always impactful when you see a kid character smoke someone. Makes ya say, "Damn." But this girl killed multiple people, and sometimes it was up close and personal (blades instead of pistols). I liked that she was a badass, but it was a little jarring that this little girl, who didn't quite look like puberty had fully set in, was icing people like a ninja or Jack Bauer. I have to hand it to them, it's something I had not seen before. Points for originality.

And Chloe Moretz (?), the young actress in question, rocked the role. She worked the precocious kid thing in 500 Days of Summer (one of my fave films last year), and she took it the next (homicidal) level in Kick-Ass. I'm calling it--this girl is one to watch. She's got talent and moxy. She says and does things you don't ever want to hear or see from real prepubescent girls, and she does it with aplomb.

On a more general note, there were some really good action sequences in the movie, especially the big fight scene. I was a little flustered after that one. Wanted to give a big fist pump & yell "Hell, yeah!" (I refrained, so as not to freak out the rest of the theater audience. That is, the one other guy who was there.) And I loved that one character, when faced with the prospect of impending death, wondered about what he'd be missing out on: his family, his girlfriend, his future kids...and how Lost ends. LMAO. It woud be a pisser to hang in there for 6 years and not be around for the big finale, true that! There were some very funny moments (some were in the trailer) mixed in with the kaboom and the carnage.

So what grade would I give Kick-Ass (good grief, more grading?)? I'd say B+/A-. I'm torn. (Ths happens when I grade papers too. Damn my indecision.) But I would definitely watch it again, and that's high praise from me. It kinda lived up to its title.