A few weeks ago*....
Thursday night kicked ass. Literally. And as much as I wish I was out fighting crime, dressed as my favorite superhero alas, I was just watching some kids dress and act like real superheroes on the big screen. Courtesy of seefilmfirst.com I attended the Manchester premiere of the comic-book action film Kick Ass, at the Odeon. The added experience of meeting McLovin (seriously) and Kick Ass main character Aaron Johnson (seriously hot) made the film experience even more enjoyable.
After an entertaining q and a session with the two actors (ruined slightly by the inclusion of a key 103 presenter I'd never heard of) and discovering that Brad Pitt never visited set, we finally got to see the film. The only minor issue that could have been improved on was how procedures started much later than previously advertised. Lack of information provided by the cinema chain; mood, however, was totally sweetened by free popcorn and a cute pin badge *yes, I'm still a child at heart!).
The film itself is stunning. Mind blowing. And a number of other hyperbolic one liners that usually adorn promo material. The difference with this film is that the praise it has received is totally fitting and I can honestly assume that near to nobody will be disappointed with this film.
The main premise of the film centres on the dream that many of us have experienced at least once in our lifetimes. The ultimate dream of one day being heroic and protecting people against evil. Ok, I know I'm not the only one that wants to dress up as Batgirl and go kick some butt! Anyway, the original comic by Mark Millar and the film, proves that no I'm not alone, being a superhero is cool but damn difficult to maintain. Dave Lizewski is a stereotypical slightly geeky comic book fan who yearns to do something right in the world rather than sink into the background of his classroom. With a massive crush on class cutey, Katie, Dave encourages himself to dress in a scuba suit that leaves little to the imagination and start on his anti-crime crusade. While his efforts are often comedic, and he gets his ass kicked more times than vice versa, his plight highlights that this crime fighting comic world is extremely hard to implement on the rough streets of New York. How did Batman manage this at the same time as running a multi-national company? The mind boggles.
So our comedic hero with flaws is in place. Enter the professional crime fighters with a taste for brutal vengeance. Big Daddy and Hit Girl may be the most perfect father and daughter duo I've seen in a while. Damon Macready raised his daughter Mindy to be one mean killing machine. The focus of their story is that the evil character of the film (Frank D'Amico), the drug dealing and all round bad guy of the city is to blame for ruining Big Daddy's police career and in the process killing Mindy's mother. The story of avenging a loved one is not anything new and yet the character of Hit Girl is so magnetic and admired in this film that every time she is on screen the audience is loving her style and cheering her on regardless of the violence she is using.
Ok, so I don't want to ruin any of the plot (although this film has been released in the UK for over two weeks). The tempo is just perfect quiet in places and then action packed. The background score and soundtrack is probably my favourite thing and is available to listen to on Spotify. Ranging from the Prodigy to Ennio Morricone, from New York Dolls to an unforgettable use of Elvis Presley. The music is the best soundtrack in my opinion since Elizabethtown, and fits comfortably with the action on the screen.
Without going into details, then, this film is something that the cinema-viewing public needed, its witty, dark, violent and super packed with heroes and villains. Rather than over-pack the film with CGI or 3D gimics, Matthew Vaughn has taken a good comic and turned it into a visually entertaining and funny film. It was like eating something so delicious you cannot get your mind of it for days after; this was aesthetically delightful and I can still picture every scene and remember the music that was in the background (again credit to how good the soundtrack actually is). This is a film for anyone that's ever wanted to be a superhero and yet hasn't had the guts to go out and get their ass kicked for it. This is a film that comic book lovers and cinema goers alike will love and want to see multiple times.
I haven't posted what I thought of the event sooner as I've been stupidly ill (see I just don't think I have the immune system to be a hard-ass superhero). I hope people have been to see this film and of course then had recurring dreams of blasting a villain through a window with a bazooka. That would totally kick ass!
Jo xoxo
