Kick-Ass

Dave Lizewski, an ordinary high school student and comic book obsessive, asks a simple question: why hasn't anyone tried to be a real superhero? Lacking superpowers, training, or any good reason, he buys a wetsuit, calls himself Kick-Ass, and starts fighting crime in New York City. The results are messy, violent, and surprisingly funny. Matthew Vaughn directs this dark action comedy, adapting Mark Millar and John Romita Jr.'s comic with co-writer Jane Goldman. Aaron Taylor-Johnson stars as Dave, alongside Chloë Grace Moretz as the foul-mouthed 11-year-old assassin Hit Girl and Nicolas Cage as her father, Big Daddy. Mark Strong plays mob boss Frank D'Amico. Shot on a $28 million budget, the film grossed over $96 million worldwide. Its blend of ultraviolence and humor, paired with a killer soundtrack featuring John Murphy and others, earned a 7.1/10 rating from over 12,000 votes. Kick-Ass launched a franchise, with a sequel following in 2013.[edit]

Dave Lizewski is your average New York teenager, invisible to girls, obsessed with comics, and stuck in a mundane high school routine. One day, he wonders aloud to his friends why nobody has ever tried to become a real-life superhero. The idea sticks. Without any special skills or powers, he orders a green wetsuit online, adopts the name Kick-Ass, and hits the streets. His first attempt at heroism ends with him getting stabbed and hit by a car. After months of recovery, he tries again. This time, he stumbles into stopping a mugging, and a bystander's phone video goes viral. Kick-Ass becomes an internet celebrity, inspiring copycats and catching the attention of the city's biggest crime boss, Frank D'Amico.

D'Amico, played by Mark Strong, runs New York's underworld with an iron fist. He mistakes Kick-Ass for a new player in a vigilante war being waged by a more dangerous duo: Big Daddy and Hit Girl. Big Daddy, a former cop driven by a personal vendetta, has trained his 11-year-old daughter Mindy to become the lethal Hit Girl. Together, they have been systematically dismantling D'Amico's operations with brutal efficiency. Meanwhile, Dave tries to balance his double life. He wins the affection of Katie Deauxma, a classmate who mistakes his bruises for signs he's gay, and he starts hanging out with Chris D'Amico, Frank's son, who adopts the alias Red Mist to infiltrate and destroy Kick-Ass.

As Kick-Ass's fame grows, so does the danger. D'Amico's men capture Big Daddy and torture him in a live-streamed execution. Hit Girl arrives too late to save him but escapes with Kick-Ass. The two unite for a final assault on D'Amico's skyscraper headquarters. Hit Girl fights through waves of henchmen with stunning skill, while Kick-Ass, battered but determined, confronts Frank D'Amico directly. The film builds to a violent, cathartic showdown that forces Dave to confront what it really means to be a hero.[edit]