History Film / Kickass

* ActorAllusion:
** In the film, Big Daddy [[spoiler: [[Film/TheWickerMan was a cop and burns to death]]]]. Keep in mind, neither of these things happened in the comic when NicolasCage wasn't involved.
** And in his origin story, Big Daddy [[Film/ConAir was set up and sent to jail, missing the birth of his own daughter.]]
** While Big Daddy questioning Hit-Girl on JohnWoo was in the comics, it helps that he starred in one JohnWoo directed film, ''Face/Off''.

* TheDanza: Christopher Mintz-Plasse plays Chris D'Amico.

* DawsonCasting: Christopher Mintz-Plasse (Red Mist) and Lyndsy Fonseca (Katie), as well as several other actors, are in their early 20's yet play teenage characters. Somewhat averted with Kick-Ass himself, Creator/AaronJohnson was 19 when the film was released.

* DevelopmentHell: The sequel. It was initially announced to be made for a 2012/2013 release but is on hold due to Aaron Johnson taking time off acting to be with his daughter and Matthew Vaughn directing other projects. It's now set to a 2013 release and to be directed by Jeff Wadlow (with Vaughn's blessing/supervision).

* DuelingMovies: With ''{{Defendor}}''.

* ExecutiveMeddling: {{Averted}}, or rather 'avoided'. It seems that before ending up in Lionsgate Studios, the producers of the movie tried several other studios who all had the same ultimatum: "We'll take it, if you drop Hit-Girl or make her 19." Thankfully, they didn't.

* FakeAmerican: Creator/AaronJohnson (Dave) and Mark Strong (Frank D'Amico) are both English. Also, Jason Flemyng and Dexter Fletcher, who play two of D'Amico's henchmen.

* NamesTheSame: Mindy [=McCready=] is the name of a country singer

* PlayingAgainstType:
** [[{{Superbad}} Christopher Mintz-Plasse]] normally plays the PluckyComicRelief -- here, he's a LonelyRichKid desperately seeking a WellDoneSonGuy, and when he [[spoiler: doesn't, he becomes the world's first masked supervillain]].
** The Sequel takes it further with JimCarrey playing Colonel Stars and Stripes - a no-nonsense former Mafioso-turned-Superhero with a thick Brooklyn accent.

* StarMakingRole: Hit-Girl, for Creator/ChloeMoretz.

* PragmaticAdaptation: The film version hews close to the book, but is its own beast. For the most part, things are changed to be more idealistic or happier endings. If they'd kept it any closer to the original, it'd lean into a Watchmen-style "so-the-same-it's-almost-pointless-to-have-two-versions" adaptation. Some notable changes included:

* IAlwaysWantedToSayThat: During the final fight, D'Amico's bodyguard finally gets a chance to quip, [[Film/{{Scarface}} "Say hello to my little friend!"]]

** Chris's bodyguard exclaims he's always wanted to yell [[Film/{{Scarface}} "SAY HELLO TO MY LITTLE FRIEND!!"]] as he's [[spoiler: preparing to shoot Hit-Girl with a Mk 153 Mod 0 SMAW ]].

** The music that plays during [[spoiler:Big Daddy's assault on the warehouse]] and [[spoiler:the end of the pitch-black shoot-out]] are the themes from ''Film/TwentyEightDaysLater'' and Film/{{Sunshine}}, both directed by DannyBoyle.

* XMeetsY: ''Film/{{Watchmen}}'' meets {{Superbad}} meets ''Film/TheGreenHornet'' meets QuentinTarantino.

* KarmaHoudini: The two street thugs who steal Dave's money and books in the beginning and who stab him when he first tries out the Kick-Ass identity disappear after that scene and never get their due.

* SaltAndPepper: The guys who constantly mugs Dave and his friends.

** For those of you who watched the 2003 {{anime}} series ''[[DotHack .hack//Dusk]]'', look ''very'' carefully in the background of the comic book store and you'll see a cardboard cutout of Rena in the background, as well as several ComicBook/{{Hellboy}} posters.

** Music from ''The DollarsTrilogy'' as Hit Girl enters the mafia safehouse.

* LittleMissSnarker: Much like in the comic, Hit-Girl is incredibly sarcastic and [[ClusterFBomb foul-mouthed]]. Which doubles in hilarity when you see the interview saying that ChloeMoretz (Hit-girl's actress) initially went for the part because her parents loved the script and showed it to her. ChloeMoretz insisted that on the set, she could only call it "the film" and at home, "Kick Butt". She herself was shocked at her role.

* StarMakingRole: Hit-Girl, for ChloeMoretz.

* TimeSkip: Utilized in [[{{Sequel}} The Sequel]] - Mindy and Dave are now 15 and 18 (nearly 19) respectively - due to [[ChloeMoretz Chloe Moretz']] [[{{Understatement}} obvious aging]] between films.

* LargeHam: NicolasCage is channeling [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot some unholy trinity]] of Creator/AdamWest, WilliamShatner and ChristopherWalken. Mark Strong also gobbles some scenery as [[EvilIsHammy the villain]]. Hell, even ''ChloeMoretz'' delivers a pound or two of delicious pork in several scenes. Let's say it's just a WorldOfHam.

* HotForTeacher: At first, Dave [[ADateWithRosiePalms daydreams]] about boning his English teacher, who is somewhat {{MILF}}-ish. She seems to be at least somewhat aware of him staring at her boobs, but doesn't cover up her cleavage.

* TooDumbTooLive: Becoming Kick-Ass certainly seems like this to begin with. Getting stabbed and hit by a car? pretty much the most realistic outcome of becoming a vigilante with no training, experience or proper equipment.

* AntiHero: Hit-Girl and Big Daddy. Arguably, Kick-Ass qualifies by the end of the film.

** Played straight with [[spoiler:Hit-Girl's mother and Big Daddy's wife (she kills herself with a drug overdose while her husband is in jail and she is pregnant with Hit-Girl)]]. Also, it could be argued that [[spoiler:Frank D'Amico is this to Red Mist the supervillain]].

Along the way, it manages to [[{{Deconstruction}} deconstruct]] pretty much every superhero trope out there in an attempt to answer the question, "What would happen if someone with no special powers tried to be a superhero?" [[DeconReconSwitch And promptly reconstructs it with a vengeance halfway through.]]

** [[DefiedTrope Defied]] with Mindy/Hit-Girl [[spoiler:and her BulletproofVest]].

** The first time Kick-Ass tries it, he's nearly killed. The second time, he barely manages to hold off the thugs. The final BDH moment is played perfectly straight ''and'' is a CrowningMomentOfAwesome.

* {{Bowdlerize}}: In Russian movie theatres, the film comes in two versions of the dub: "censored", with most cusswords replaced by [[GoshDangItToHeck euphemisms]] or less nasty substitutes (but with an occasional PrecisionFStrike here and there) and "hardcore", with the profanity almost intact. The latter, unsurprisingly, is much harder to find. An alternative poster used in some cinemas promotes the film as "Kick A@$". At some theaters the ticket stubs for the film read, "KICK-A** ". This has caused some to dub the movie, [[{{Pun}} "Kick-Ass-Terisks."]]

* [[DisabilitySuperpower Disability]][=/=]CoconutSuperpowers: Kick-Ass' high pain threshold because of nerve damage. Apart from being a nice HandWave explanation for the amount of beating he can take, it's highly budget-saving.

* DoesntLikeGuns: Generally averted. In spite of Big Daddy looking a lot like a [[Franchise/{{Batman}} certain nocturnal vigilante known for his disdain of firearms]], he [[SuperheroPackingHeat freely uses guns and explosives]] to great effect. Hit-Girl seems to prefer knives and swords, but is an excellent shot as well. Kick-Ass doesn't use firearms [[spoiler:until he gets [[GatlingGood gatling guns]] mounted on a {{jetpack}}]], but mostly because he can't acquire any (though he does show notable squeamishness seeing Hit Girl's brutality so he probably fits this trope until the end when he gets [[spoiler: the jetpack.]]).

* FanService: Katie, [[HandOrObjectUnderwear semi-topless]], having Dave help her apply the self-tanner. Place your own "tanning cream" joke here.

* ForeShadowing: Hit-Girl [[spoiler: blows David a kiss before she and Big Daddy leave his room.]] In Kick Ass 2, she [[spoiler: kisses David toward the end of the film, before leaving New York.]]

* HeroicWannabe: Kick-Ass spawns a costumed superhero craze, so no wonder people start dressing up like him. [[spoiler: One of them is mistaken for the real one and murdered by Frank D'Amico]]. The fact that he is a superhero wannabe himself adds to the [[HilarityEnsues hilarity]]. [[spoiler: It also creates a SequelHook when it's mentioned at the end that various other masked crimefighters have started appearing.]]

* IAlwaysWantedToSayThat: During the final fight, D'Amico's bodyguard finally gets a chance to quip, [[{{Scarface}} "Say hello to my little friend!"]]

* LateToTheTragedy: Not sure how useful that [[KatanasAreJustBetter katana]] was going to be if it had been used 3 minutes earlier, but still...

* MookHorrorShow: In the corridor scene during the climactic battle, the camera frequently shifts to an already jittery {{Mook}} lingering behind everyone else. Hit-Girl eventually gets to him, taking his gun and trying to shoot him with it. Since his gun turns out to be empty as well, we get to see just how shaken he is from the experience. He ''knows'' that Hit-Girl is backed into a corner and unarmed, and he '''still''' absolutely ''refuses'' to even go into the same room as her. The other Mooks have to hand him a fairly big gun and then hold him at gunpoint with an even ''bigger'' gun to get him to finally face her again. [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice It doesn't go well.]]

* NeverBringAKnifeToAFistfight: Even Hit-Girl can't manage more than [[OnlyAFleshWound flesh wounds]] against [[spoiler: Frank D'Amico]]

* NoKillLikeOverkill: "Fuck this. I'm getting the bazooka." And shortly after that, [[spoiler: Dave uses miniguns mounted on a jetpack. And then blows up Frank D'amico with the aforementioned bazooka.]]

* PapaWolf: [[InvertedTrope Inverted]] when Hit-Girl goes on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge to save her dad. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, she is too late.]]

* PopGoesTheHuman: The {{Mook}} who gets shoved into an industrial microwave, who is the same mook that claimed that Fingore Mook was selling him D'Amico's coke. Even after Fingore Mook was killed.

** Hit-Girl being 15 in the second film (see AgeLift above). It's been several years, Chloe Moretz has [[{{Understatement}}grown up noticeably.]]

* QuoteSwearUnquote: "Show's over ''motherfuckers''".

* TheReveal: [[spoiler: For half the movie, we know that Big Daddy and Hit-Girl got something important and expensive delivered, and it has gatlings attached to it. We finally get to the big battle scene, and Hit-Girl is cornered behind a desk, and it's the perfect time for a BigDamnHeroes moment, and then Kick-Ass enters... ''rising into'' the scene from the ''bottom'' of the window, and this scene is taking place in a skyscraper, and he's riding a ''jetpack'', and he blows away a room full of {{Mook}}s with ''miniguns'' on the ''shoulders'' to the tune of ''Battle Hymn of the Republic'' as sung by Elvis Presley!]]

* RuleThirtyFour: [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]]. Dave states that Paris Hilton is more inspiring to people than {{Spider-Man}} because she has a porn tape and he doesn't. Of course, he knows nothing about ''One Night In Spidey"...

** The {{Mook}} that [[spoiler: gets thrown under a bus to establish Red Mist as a superhero]] is named Tony Romita. John Romita Sr. was the second penciler on the original {{Spider-Man}} comic book and one of the most influential and best-known. His son, John Romita Jr., is also a comic book artist well-known for his own take on Spider-Man and, of course, the ''ComicBook/KickAss'' comic book itself.

** Chris's bodyguard exclaims he's always wanted to yell [[{{Scarface}} "SAY HELLO TO MY LITTLE FRIEND!!"]] as he's [[spoiler: preparing to shoot Hit-Girl with a Mk 153 Mod 0 SMAW ]].

** When Kick-Ass tries on his costume for the first time: "[[TaxiDriver You talkin' to me?]]"
** Hit-Girl's way of slaughtering her adversaries is similar to [[KillBill The Bride's modus operandi]].

* ThemeNaming: According the end credits, Frank D'amico's main {{Mook}}s are called [[Music/SpiceGirls Sporty, Scary, Posh, Ginger, and Baby]].
* TheRevealPromptsRomance: Between Dave and Katie.

Along the way, it manages to [[{{Deconstruction}} deconstruct]] pretty much every superhero trope out there in an attempt to (somewhat) realistically answer the question, "What would happen if someone with no special powers tried to be a superhero?" [[DeconReconSwitch And promptly reconstructs it with a vengeance halfway through.]]

Dave Lizewski is an OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent and a big fan of ComicBooks, with one burning question: How come nobody's ever tried to be a superhero in RealLife before? After he gets mugged, the question drives him to obsession, and he decides to answer it by becoming one himself. He orders a [[CivvieSpandex wetsuit]] and a diving mask and tries to fight crime. It doesn't go all that well. He gradually learns and gets better, with a little help from a more experienced pair of costumed vigilantes, a father-daughter team bent on hunting down the BigBad.

** Even funnier when Big Daddy himself considers Hit-Girl ''acting like a normal girl'' troubling.[[hottip:*:"I'm just fucking with you, daddy."]]

* FourthWallPsych: When D'Amico tells his chauffeur to get him and his son some snacks for their movie night, the shot is framed to make it look like he's speaking to the audience. Cut to the theater marquee, advertising "TheSpirit 3". PaintingTheMedium? (With a ShoutOut-cum-TakeThat to FrankMiller?)

A 2010 action-comedy co-distributed by {{Lionsgate}} (in North America) and [[{{Universal}} Universal Pictures]] (internationally), based on the comics by MarkMillar and John Romita Jr. Our page on the comic is [[ComicBook/{{Kick-Ass}} here.]]

** The {{Mook}} that [[spoiler: gets thrown under a bus to establish Red Mist as a superhero]] is named Tony Romita. John Romita Sr. was the second penciler on the original {{Spider-Man}} comic book and one of the most influential and best-known. His son, John Romita Jr., is also a comic book artist well-known for his own take on Spider-Man and, of course, the ''ComicBook/{{Kick-Ass}}'' comic book itself.

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