Promo, "Kick-Ass" (2010)

Two films have peaked my interest in the past month or so, and they both have the same story concept. What these films approach is an age-old question held by many comic book fans: what does it take for an average person to become a superhero?

Matthew Vaughn’s Kick-Ass, based on the Icon/Marvel comic series by John Romita, Jr. and Mark Millar, follows the life of Dave Lizewski, a.k.a. Kick-Ass (played by Aaron Johnson), and his sole dream of becoming a masked superhero. From what it looks like, there’s going to be quite a bit of cool and stylish action, as well as some big-name actors in the movie such as Nic Cage and Christopher Mintz-Plasse (Superbad, Role Models). I’ve yet to read the comic, but this movie has definitely got me interested in it. The movie is set for release on April 16, 2010.

Promo poster, "Defendor" (2009)

The other film is Peter Stebbings’ comedy-drama Defendor (TIFF profile link included), starring Woody Harrelson as Arthur Poppington/Defendor. While the approach for this film is more realistic, and Harrelson’s character is the most awkward wannabe superhero I’ve seen to date, I have to give props to Harrelson’s use of the new-age Batman voice that Christian Bale has made so popular. Other big names include Kat Dennings (Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist) and Sandra Oh (Grey’s Anatomy). Defendor is said to be out before the end of the year.

While both films look to be really entertaining, my tip of the hat goes to Kick-Ass because its another fresh exposure of new-era comics. That and it looks like it’ll be really fun to watch.