Kick-Ass

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Year:	2010
Country of origin:	USA / UK
Director:	Matthew Vaughn
Genre:	Superhero inversion movie
Starring:	Aaron Johnson, Mark Strong, Nicolas Cage, Chloe Moretz
Rating:	5/5
IMDB link:	http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1250777/
Tagline:	I can't fly. But I can kick your ass.
Favourite line:	"You just contact the mayor's office, he has a special signal he shines in the sky. It's in the shape of a giant cock "

A surprising and effective inversion of the superhero genre, which has moments to genuinely shock.

Dave Lizewski is your average adolescent. He's into comics, thinks his only superpower is being invisible to girls and has two equally dweeby mates.
One day an idea dawns on him.
Why couldn't he be a superhero all of his own?
OK, he's got no superpowers, but he can knock up a nifty costume so he duly sets out to fight crime wherever he sees it. Trouble is, his first encounter with the criminal fraternity ends badly.
Very badly.
A knife wound to the stomach and a hit and run, landing him in hospital. But that doesn't stop him, and it's not long before his alter ego, Kick-Ass, has become a viral Internet phenomena, bringing him to the attention of father and daughter superhero team Big Daddy and Hit Girl.
A run in with a mobster, a father hell bent on vengeance and more brutal violence than you can shake a nailgun at completes the tale.

A friend of mine described me recently as the least shockable person he knows, which I took as a compliment whether it was meant or not, yet this movie contains two or three moments to genuinely drop the jaw. It's 2010, yet hearing a 12 year old girl say 'I'm just fucking with you, Daddy,' still seems 'wrong' somehow, and the movie is all the better for it. In fact, all the standout, Daily Mail baiting, 'moral guardian' outraging moments revolve around the youngster; her foul mouth - she even gets to use the C word - the fetish gear she wears throughout, blatantly sexualising her, her sprees of wanton violence.
And it's all highly entertaining.
Special mention must be made of the script, which plays with you as a viewer, leading you down blind alleys before snapping you back to reality sharply which, in many ways, reminded me of Haneke's original Funny Games from way back when.
Anyone with an interest in comic book movies or cult movies in general should check this one out but I'd hurry if I were you. In the theatre I saw it in there was just me, my good lady and perhaps fifteen other souls so it won't be around for long.
A hidden gem.