Kick-Ass

Where to begin with Kick-Ass. Well the Daily Mail hate it so take that as a glowing recommendation (or scathing slam depending on your right wing hate rag stance). Of course they were always going to given that it's a violent, murdery, sweary enjoy-a-thon that features an eleven-year-old assassin who likes to call people "cunts". You're either very excited and about to get off your arse and see it or you're grimacing whilst marching to the cupboard to get your well-worn "down with this sort of thing" placard.

For those not looking to harass average cinema goers Kick-Ass is the sort of exhilarating thing Tarantino used to make before he became a sad parody of himself. It's trashy, visually stunning, in fact it's probably the best directed film of the year so far in that respect, and is very knowing about its subject, in this case superhero origin stories. The proposed Spiderman reboot is going to have to go some way to outdo this. It takes all the things the first Raimi Spiderman did and ups it, all the time the movie's tongue placed so far in its cheek it's virtually bursting through it. Dave (Kick-Ass) is really just a dorky teenager playing at being a superhero and suffers as much failure as he enjoys success. He's also not really that clever and so it's mainly his mistakes that drive the plot forward.

He's not the only main character though, there's also Big Daddy and Hit Girl, his pre-teen, highly trained in the art of murder daughter. There's a sly message about how a parent's upbringing can damage a child but it's caked in so much blood from the mayhem these two cause for you to really pay attention. It's not really that kind of film. Nic Cage gives his best performance in years, after The Wicker Man remake and Next it wouldn't be difficult, as a man playing at being Batman, right down to the speech patterns. The main difference is that he's mainly looking to dish out gunishment in a way Bruce Wayne would probably baulk at. When we first meet him he's seen shooting Hit Girl in the chest, she's wearing body armour, to toughen her up. She's daddy's little girl right down to the weapon obsession and bloodlust. You can see why her presence may be troubling for many as we watch her hack off limbs and take out swathes of goons in orgiastic scenes of violence. Do you know what though? They're also cool as fuck. It's troubling that you feel that but there's an undoubted buzz from watching any of Hit Girl's hyperkinetic action scenes. And in Chloe Moretz you've got a performance that is simply unbelievable from someone that young. She genuinely sells the fact that while she's still a young girl who likes hot chocolate and bowling she could also kill you before you have a chance to move.

Kick-Ass is a funny, smart, violent and, above all else, fun piece of cinema. There's no doubting the controversial nature of much of the material, or the fact that it can make you feel a little uneasy, but if you can overlook this there's so much here to love. The performances are excellent, the dialogue knowing and hilarious and it is visually brilliant. Matthew Vaughn has surpassed anything he has made so far and really established himself as a top notch director with this. His greatest achievement though may have been in making the most perfect anti-Daily Mail film ever made. If nothing else, love him for that.