I can’t speak for the comic book, but I love the movie Kick-Ass. It came out in 2010 where it got positive “geek buzz,” but to the mainstream audience, it was pretty much an unknown. While you can call Kick-Ass a superhero movie, it’s really more of a parody of the genre. What makes Kick-Ass so ironic is that even though it’s meant to be more of a comedic take on superheroes, the genre itself should take notes from Kick-Ass on how to do it right. Kick-Ass is a concoction of several genres – it’s a superhero movie, it’s a comedy, there’s some good drama, and it’s even a high school rom com at times. Normally the mixing of so many genres is a recipe for disaster, but director Matthew Vaughn does a masterful job of melding this all together. Whatever the tone is, it works.
With Kick-Ass 2 on the way, I wanted to revisit some of my favorite moments from the original. Let’s kick this list in the ass with my Top 10 Favorite Scenes From Kick-Ass!!
*Kick-Ass Spoilers Abound…duh*
10. The Mist Mobile:
The creation of Red Mist (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) comes into the movie kind of late, but I love this little moment between him and Kick-Ass (Aaron Johnson) riding around in the “Mist Mobile.” The fact that it emits mist is just funny to me. I also love the demeanor of Mintz-Plasse in this scene. I would imagine this is what a high school kid who becomes a superhero would actually act like. Kick-Ass and Red Mist cruising down the street and head bopping is pretty goofy, but it’s also effective as a real bond between these guys, which makes what happens later in the film kind of suck. This is the brilliance of Kick-Ass overall – it has a lot of fun, but plants the seeds for good drama later on.
9. “…I Feel Like I’m Gonna Start Crying.”:
This is a tough one to describe without watching it, but really I just wanted to use this as an excuse to talk about Clark Duke in the film as Dave Lizewski’s best friend Marty. Duke is the classic smarmy asshole best friend, but he’s great at it…just perfect delivery. Almost every line from Duke got me chuckling, but this small moment in particular stands out. Dave and his two pals are just sitting around talking. Chris D’Amico walks in with a huge bodyguard, and Dave feels bad that no one can really talk to Chris. Duke responds in classic fashion:
“Yeah, it must be terrible to have a rich dad and everything you want. I wish you wouldn’t have said anything ’cause I feel like I’m gonna start crying.”
Duke also starred in another great movie that same year, Hot Tub Time Machine. I haven’t seen this guy in too many roles, but I hope he sticks around.
8. “As A Great Man Once Said…”:
This is the last line of the film after Red Mist becomes a full-blown super villain. I like this moment because it just shows the reverence these filmmakers have for the genre. It’s a great call back.
7. Hit-Girl Fight #1:
Around the time this movie was coming out, Chloe Grace Moretz as Hit-Girl was all the talk. An 11 year-old girl who fights and kills…oh my. But both the actress and the way she was handled made it fun. She’s so devious, yet likable at the same time. This scene in particular is great because it happens a little later in the film, but we all know it’s coming. That suspense of waiting for Hit-Girl to just unleash hell makes her first appearance that much more grand. The dialogue and music elevates this scene even more.
6. “Look At All Them Buttons.”:
-One of the many elements I love about this movie is that they take the cliché stereotype mafia guys, but actually make them funny. It’s so easy for these characters to become boring run of the mill mafia guys, but that is not the case here. Mark Strong (Frank D’Amico) and Michael Rispoli as his right hand man Big Joe especially bring a ton of charisma to the villains. One subtle scene in particular had me in stitches. It’s kind of hard to explain, but Joe gives one of his cronies the assignment of doorman, and he’s not to happy about it. Joe tries to get his confidence going with the following line:
“You look sharp. Look at all them buttons.”
I don’t know…that just cracks me up for some reason.
5. Hit-Girl Fight #2: The Hallway:
I really don’t have much to say about this one. Hit-Girl just annihilates this entire hallway, and it’s glorious.
4. Kick-Ass First Save:
With so many funny and bad ass characters in this film, you forget it’s Kick-Ass who’s really the heart of the movie. Aaron Johnson does a great job of playing the titular hero Dave Lizewski/Kick-Ass, and this is probably his best scene. When you first watch him as Kick-Ass you think he’s just this good intentioned, but stupid kid who’s going to get killed. But in this scene, despite no training, you see a kid who goes all in with this notion of being a superhero. He achieves victory through sheer will and guts, and even though this is primarily a comedy, this scene actually achieves the one thing that separates great superhero movies from the okay ones – the hero is truly inspiring. Also, I think the music is pretty cool.
3. Meet Damon and Mindy:
Before they officially become Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage) and Hit-Girl, we meet Damon and Mindy Macready. For me, this scene actually validates the entire movie, and just shows how great a director Matthew Vaughn is. Think about it – it’s a scene where a dad shoots his little girl through a bullet proof vest just so she can get used to what it feels like. How the hell are you going to sell that scene!? Not only does Matthew Vaughn sell it, he actually makes this moment charming and endearing. You really buy this great father/daughter bond, which makes the scene we’re going to talk about next that much more heartbreaking.
2. The Unmasking of Kick-Ass:
It boggles my mind that in this comedic superhero movie, they are willing to go darker than in most other films of the same genre. I always want superhero movies to have more guts like the Dark Knight Trilogy or this summer’s Man Of Steel. They go places that other superhero movies don’t want to go to. I guess I’m alone on this these days, because people seem to want the more fun and light-hearted fare of Avengers and Iron Man 3. But Kick-Ass falls more into the daring category. And while the tone of Kick-Ass is mostly goofy, it amazes me how it’s able to seamlessly transition into something dark when Kick-Ass and Big Daddy are captured and just beaten senseless. It even ends with Big Daddy dying in front of his daughter! The drama is legitimately compelling. Vaughn proves his master stroke once again however, because even in a scene like this, he still manages to incorporate well-timed jokes like Clark Duke’s character using this as an opportunity to get close to a girl, or Dave’s inner monologue about not getting to see what happens at the end of Lost.
1. Big Daddy:
Between Aaron Johnson, Chloe Grace Moretz, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, and all the other actors I’ve mentioned, Nicolas Cage really is the true stand out here. I can safely say this is his best performance since 2002’s Adaptation. While you get some of the Nicolas Cage-isms in Kick-Ass, he’s actually doing some legit acting here. I love the over friendly demeanor mixed in with just how much of an untouchable bad ass he is. While you get to see many scenes of Kick-Ass, Hit-Girl, and Red Mist doing their thing, the warehouse scene is the one time we get to see Nicolas Cage in full Big Daddy mode kicking ass…and it’s amazing. The look of intensity on Cage, and just way this scene is filmed is what I always remember most about this film.
