Reviews: Kick-Ass

Red Mist is cruising the streets of New York City in a souped-up Mustang, with Kick-Ass riding shotgun. The driver resembles some sort of S&M Ziggy Stardust, while his passenger has been scathingly described earlier in the film as 'The Green Condom'. Gnarls Barkley's Crazy comes on the stereo and our not-so-superhero starts nodding his head to the music. Soon Red Mist joins in, and for that moment the costumes and the car don't matter - it's just young guys goofing around, Wayne's World style. The song's lyrics could even have been written by Kick-Ass' awkward alter-ego, Dave Lizewski:

My heroes had the heart
To lose their lives out on a limb
And all I remember
Is thinking, I want to be like them

Ever since I was little
Ever since I was little
It looked like fun
And it's no coincidence I've come
And I can die when I'm done

I often see a parade of costumed students like Lizewski when driving at night through my suburb of Headingley in Leeds. Iron Man, Batman, Superman... usually a few cavemen, nurses and, for some reason, golfers too. Their dressing-up is purely to add some colour to a pub crawl (although the bravest like to play a game of human Frogger in the traffic). Now creator Mark Millar and director Matthew Vaughn have spliced this sort of make-believe with all-guns-blazing action and adult humour to create Kick-Ass - a movie that places the comic-book genre back in our hands and in our daydreams.

Initially, the studios baulked at the British duo's vision of a geek living out his fantasies while around them, the truly dangerous heroes and villains rack up the body count - proof yet again that 'nobody knows anything' in Hollywood. Yet this proved something of a blessing for Vaughn; with no studio interference comes great originality. The characters could hardly be more appealing to the film's target audience - a slightly-below-average-Joe protagonist to identify with (Aaron Johnson); a sadistic mobster boss who looks like a slick City banker (Mark Strong); his eager-to-impress loner son (Chris Mintz-Plasse, aka Superbad's McLovin); and crucially, a hands-down, one-off Hannah-Montana-meets-The Bride assassinette who prefers switchblades to sweet little Barbie dolls.

The Daily Mail took a strong stance on the scene-stealing Hit-Girl (Chloe Moretz) a month before the film opened, pointing its bony wrinkled finger of moral outrage firmly in the direction of screenwriter Jane Goldman. I'm sure you'll make up your own minds on whether a 12-year-old should be heard dropping C-bombs as well as grenades on the big screen, but Goldman's script shows she knows how teenagers really talk - or would do if they had the self-confidence of a masked vigilante. A 15 certificate is the correct rating. It's cartoon violence with attitude, a more stylish Mystery Men with extra blood and beatings.

Vaughn's style is unashamedly fan-boy, but that will now feel familiar to a mass audience having been distilled through the X-Men and Spider-Man trilogies and their ilk. He starts off by using comic-book cuts and box-outs that are dropped when the reality of Lizewski's humdrum life is established, only for an impressive graphic-novel-style sequence to be later introduced for the back-story of Hit-Girl's eccentric avenger father Big Daddy (Nic Cage, channelling Adam West's TV caped crusader when suited up). Even the unfolding relationship between Dave and girlfriend Katie is handled neatly; we see her misconceptions gradually broken down by his goofy charm in above-average rom-com scenes.

All the moneymen who Vaughn originally pitched to "freaked out" at the idea for Kick-Ass and threw the synopsis back in his face. Thanks to close friends and investors, he got the project off the ground and later, those same studio execs were all clamouring to get back on board. Yet being made outside the system was just what this rebellious movie needed; it's had to fight hard for the hype which currently surrounds it. Don't think you've seen it all before with superhero flicks - if you've ever stood in front of a bedroom mirror and struck a kung-fu pose, you'll want to cheer on this ragtag wannabe crimefighter. And with Little Miss Lethal on hand to provide back-up, that should serve as a cinematic call to arms for today's apathetic youth.

Memorable Line: Mindy Macready: Can I get a puppy? A cuddly fluffy one? And a Bratz Movie Stars Makeover Sasha? (dryly) I'm just fucking with you Daddy. I'd love a bench-made model 42 butterfly knife.

Listen Again: Per Qualche Dollaro In Piu - Ennio Morricone.

I Know That Face: Detective Vic Gigante - firmly nestled in crime boss Frank D'Amico's Armani pocket - is played by Xander Berkeley, whose former CTU chief George Mason is much loved by 24 aficionados.