Comic book turned movie hits theaters

In the past decade, Hollywood has been awash with superhero movies, giving both comic fan boys and the mainstream audience a never-ending parade of comic adaptations. Well-known characters like Batman and Spider-Man, have decades of source material for screenwriters to dig into and mine for bits of story, character and inspiration.

These costumed heroes are gifted with extreme wealth, intelligence or otherworldly powers that make them the perfect candidates to save the world. The new movie “Kick-Ass” takes a more populous view on heroism, asking the question, “Why hasn’t anyone ever tried to be a superhero?”

The film tells the story of Dave Lizewski, a forgettable high school student who one day decides that there isn’t any reason why he can’t be a costumed hero. Dave’s alter-ego, Kick-Ass, becomes a YouTube sensation and is soon joined by fellow crime fighters Hit-Girl, Big Daddy and Red Mist. Their vigilantism eventually brings them onto the radar of mob boss Frank D’Amico.

“Kick-Ass,” the comic book, was first published in February 2008, with the front cover boasting, “Sickening violence: Just the way you like it!” These comics were instant top-sellers and the demand for them caused Marvel comics to issue several reprints of the original books. The books feature over-the-top violence, gore and language, much of which is surprising to see in print, especially in comic format.

The movie, directed by Matthew Vaughn, was extremely impressive, managing to maintain the gritty, unpolished feel of the comic while displaying excellent production values. The script,written by Vaughn and Jane Goldman, also held onto the flavor of the comic book, which was penned by Mark Millar and John Romita, Jr.

Directing a comic book movie is a tough job for anyone and requires an incredible balancing act on the director’s part. A property such as “Kick-Ass” is certain to carry with it passionate fans who look to the source material as gospel. A film planning for a nationwide release also has to cater to the casual audience member, who probably hadn’t heard about “Kick-Ass” prior to viewing the trailer for it.

In this respect, Vaughn managed an amazing juggling act. Inside jokes for comic book readers abounded, but never intruded Vaughn’s storytelling or took away from the casual viewer’s experience.

The film displayed many of the conventions of comic book movies past, but did so without ever feeling stale and contrived. Over-the-top action sequences are a necessity of the superhero genre, and the action scenes in “Kick-Ass” were as good as any you could find anywhere else.

Though lackluster performances from Nicholas Cage and Lyndsy Fonseca prevent “Kick-Ass” from being a flawless movie, the cast is anchored by Aaron Johnson as Dave Lizewski and Chloe Moretz as Hit-Girl, who generated publicity for the film by uttering the “c” word in the film’s red-band trailer.

As comic book movies go, “Kick-Ass” is one of the best around. As movies in general go, this film isn’t going to win any Oscars. But it has enough stylish visuals, pithy dialogue and mindless gore to entertain the comic book movie crowd.