Kick-Ass is not what you’d expect.  If you’re burnt out on the almost-assuredly mediocre superhero genre, and the state of today’s comedy scene (die Michael Cera, die!), Kick-Ass will reboot your faith in dying film types.  We’ve seen the story in all sorts of superhero movies, but it’s generally secondary to a larger storyline: kids want to become superheros but are overshadowed by the real deal.  Never taken seriously, they either channel their rejection into super villainy (Jason Lee [die!] in The Incredibles) or they convince the superhero through an egregious display of character (read: tears) that they, indeed, are ready to tackle the world’s baddies.  Kick-Ass doesn’t bother with any of this nonsense.  It’s a super-violent, super-vulgar, well-casted romp through the underbelly of (glam) crime and the difficulties and pressures of vigilante justice sans superpowers.

The movie follows the path of Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson), who buys into the idealism of superhero morality and decides to don his own alter-ego: Kick-Ass.  Dave’s real identity is comparable to Clark Kent, a high school loser whose friendship with his romantic interest is held together solely by the fact that she, Katie Deauxma (Lyndsy Fonseca), thinks he’s gay.  Kick-Ass gets off to a rough start, but soon enough he’s fighting crime with the best of them, and against the worst of them; somehow, he gets entangled with the mobster Frank D’Amico (Mark Strong), whose thirst for blood is rivaled only by that of some of the movie’s other superheros.

The funniest characters by far are  Damon Macready (Nicholas Cage) and his daughter Mindy (Chloe Moretz), a duo with a bone to pick with D’Amico.  The Macreadys have spent most of their lives preparing to take down D’Amico to avenge the death of their wife/mother, and they don’t pull any punches in doing so.  Despite Mindy’s small stature and unassuming superhero name (Hit-Girl?), she and Daddy really kick some ass.  They team up with Kick-Ass himself to serve D’Amico his fair share of justice.  The result is a bloody and funny mess.

Without giving much more away, I want you to go see Kick-Ass.  You may have seen a preview or TV Spot and said, “meh,” but this movie is not what it seems.  The advertisers want to draw you in by showing you an identifiable cast, and then when you see that the movie isn’t what you thought it would be, they want you to get on to the Kosmo and write a review which praises the shit out of it.  Damn, I’m playing right into their hands.  Kick-Ass has the most profanity I’ve heard in a movie since Magnolia and is the most violent movie I’ve seen since either Kill Bill vol. 1 or Saving Private Ryan.  Don’t worry though, the blood and guts are humorous.  For instance, some guy is microwaved to death; another has his leg severed by a blade.

I’m conflicted about Nicholas Cage.  On the one hand, if he hadn’t run out of money and needed to act in the worst movies ever, such as Knowing, Next, or The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, maybe I wouldn’t have seen Kick-Ass.  He and Christopher Mintz-Plasse are the two big names in this movie, and I’m not sure if the latter is much of a draw.  Both of them did a good job too; they aren’t nearly as aggravating as they have been lately.  Chloe Morentz, whom my friend mistook for Abigail Breslin (an unfortunately common occurrence), was also very funny; she probably deserved an Oscar nod for 500 Days of Summer (jk…kind of).

Kick-Ass was a good time.  It’s a movie that took itself a little more seriously than it should have but pulled through in the end.  The ultra-violence and profanity saved it from tedium, and the over-the-top action sequences made it one of the most exciting movies I’ve seen all year.  Definitely recommended.