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Avg. Critic Score: 66 out of 100 Generally favorable reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
17 not for kids
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 100
    San Francisco Chronicle | Mick LaSalle

    It brings together several popular strains of contemporary moviemaking and combines them into one big, shameless, audacious, compulsively watchable, irresistibly likable piece of pure entertainment. Read full review

  • 90
    Variety | Joe Leydon

    Equal parts audacious dark comedy, wish-fulfillment fantasy and over-the-top, tongue-in-cheek action-adventure. Read full review

  • 83
    Entertainment Weekly | Owen Gleiberman

    An enjoyably supercharged and ultraviolent teen-rebel comic-book fantasy that might be described -- in spirit, at least -- as reality-based. Read full review

  • 80
    The Hollywood Reporter |

    Its balancing act between innocence and gore perfectly matches the expectations of genre fans, who should embrace the movie. Read full review

  • 80
    Los Angeles Times | Kenneth Turan

    This shrewd mixture of slick comic-book mayhem, unmistakable sweetness and ear-splitting profanity is poised to be a popular culture phenomenon because of its exact sense of the fantasies of the young male fanboy population. Read full review

  • 75
    Rolling Stone | Peter Travers

    The movie belongs to Moretz, whose sensational performance will be talked about for years. Her scenes with Cage, who wears a Batsuit and uses a voice borrowed from Adam West, are a hoot. Read full review

  • 75
    USA Today | Claudia Puig

    It's irreverently entertaining. Read full review

  • 75
    Washington Post | Ann Hornaday

    Kick-Ass should delight fans of the original comics and garden-variety action junkies as well. Suggested subtitle: "Iron Man, You Just Got Served." Read full review

  • 70
    The New York Times | Manohla Dargis

    Ms. Moretz is by far the best thing about the film: she holds the screen as gracefully as she executes a running back flip. Read full review

  • 25
    Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert

    Will I seem hopelessly square if I find Kick-Ass morally reprehensible and will I appear to have missed the point? Let's say you're a big fan of the original comic book, and you think the move does it justice. You know what? You inhabit a world I am so very not interested in. Read full review

View more reviews for Kick-Ass on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says not for kids Superhero comedy is super-crass, super-twisted.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that Kick-Ass is a superhero action/comedy based on a popular comic book that kids will be eager to see. But be prepared: It features teen characters, and -- most notably -- an 11-year-old girl who dole out extreme violence (think slo-mo Matrix-style bloody gunshots to the head) and language (including "f--k" and "c--t" out of the mouth of the 11-year-old). Expect some conspicuous sex scenes between teens and references to drugs. It has some arguably good messages about taking action instead of standing by when bad stuff happens, but it also has a relentless, darkly humorous mean streak. Due to a strong marketing campaign, very positive buzz, and good early reviews, parents are going to have a tough time keeping teens away from this one.
  • Families can talk about the character of Hit Girl. Was the idea of a skilled, confident 11-year-old girl superhero cool, or disturbing? Or both? Why? Is she a role model, or a cautionary tale? What responsibility does the movie studio and filmmakers have to the young actress involved in an adult film like this?
  • Were the violence, language and sex necessary for this movie? How would it have played without them?
  • What do you think about the concept of a regular person becoming a superhero? What are the dangers involved? What are the benefits? Are courage and weapons enough? What are some realistic ways kids and teens can be "superheroes"?
  • Can you think of any real-life examples where someone stepping in when they saw something bad happening would have made a big difference?
The good stuff
  • message true0 Positive messages: Despite the movie's main theme of taking action and doing something, becoming involved, rather than simply standing by and watching horrible things happen, the methods by which the characters "do something" are questionable at best. And the inclusion of the young girl spewing extremely strong language and gunfire sends a confusing and disturbing message. But nestled in among the violence and foul language, there are also issues of trust, and working together, and the question of whether bravery and recklessness alone can make one a superhero.
  • rolemodels true0 Positive role models: "Kick Ass," otherwise known as Dave Lizewski, decides to take a stand against bullies and bad guys by becoming a superhero. The main question is whether this is a good idea -- he both makes a small impact in his attempts to do good and suffers some painful consequences. Each superhero is attempting to make a difference in the name of good, but the violence and near-constant extreme language -- especially from the young girl -- make them far from templates for kids.
What to watch for
  • violence false5 Violence: We're talking extreme comic book-style violence with some blood. The main character is transformed after two thugs beat him up and he stumbles into the path of an oncoming car. The 11-year-old Hit Girl is perhaps more skilled and deadly than any other character, and racks up a large body count. In one highly stylized scene she wraps a bad guy around the neck with a cord to make him shoot himself through the head. Otherwise, the movie is filled with fantasy fighting, with knives and billy clubs, and many of the blows feel more real and painful than in a standard superhero movie. There are also tons of weapons (one character has his own arsenal), including a bazooka and a kind of armed jet pack. One character is burned.
  • sex false4 Sex: Aside from endless sex jokes and sex talk, the hero looks at naked women (National Geographic-style women in native dress) on the Internet and prepares to masturbate. There is kissing and breast-grabbing. A teen fantasizes about having sex with his well-endowed teacher and we see her in her bra (in a daydream). Later in the film, the hero and a teen girl have fast, loudly passionate sex in an alley behind a comic book store though no nudity appears on screen.
  • language false5 Language: The movie features almost constant swearing, including some from the mouth of an 11-year-old girl. Words include all the variations on "f--k" and "s--t," as well as "c--k," "c--ksucker," "dick," "balls," "t-ts," "p---y," "c--t," "ass," "asshole," "Jesus," "Christ," "retard," and "douche." (Not to mention the title itself.)
  • consumerism false1 Consumerism: Several brands are mentioned or shown, but not in an overt or meaningful way. They include Pepsi, MySpace, the GMC logo, Welch's jelly, and Slurpee. A Hellboy logo can be seen in the comic book shop.
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false3 Drinking, drugs and smoking: An adult gangster is a drug dealer, and his teenage son -- who becomes "Red Mist" -- wants to become involved in the family business. Drugs are seen and discussed.
An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

Looking for more reviews? Movies.com Critics Say:

Dave White

3.5

Dave White Profile See Dave White's Profile

Splatter's what matters. Read full review See Dave White's on MOVIENAME on Movies.com

Jen Yamato

3.5

Jen Yamato Profile See Jen Yamato's Profile

Little girl killing spree FTW! Read full review See Dave Jen Yamato's on MOVIENAME on Movies.com

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Exclusive Features

Exclusive Interview! Exclusive Interview: Nic Cage on Big, Bad Daddy Cage talks about doing his own stunts in "Kick-Ass" and what he had to do to prepare to play a drugged-out cop in "Bad Lieutenant - Port of Call: New Orleans." Exclusive Clip: To Be a Superhero Dave (Aaron Johnson) asks his two buddies why there aren't any real superheroes out there.