I’m not even sure as I write this if I want to go on record and recommend the film Kick-Ass to the general public because frankly I don’t know if this film is right for the general public.

Actually I’m sure the film is not right for the general population’s consumption.  It certainly isn’t right for kids despite the flashy costumes and promise of humour, this is not a kid’s film by any stretch of the imagination.

This is an adult comic book fan’s movie.

But even then, even if you are an adult and a comic book fan you need to fall within more categories.  You need to be able to:

• Accept that these characters are not real.
• Accept that the world in which these characters inhabit is not real.
• Deal with hard violence.
• Accept that the character who is possibly the most violent and uses the worst profanity is a very young girl.

If you are able to do these things then GO SEE KICK-ASS BECAUSE IT IS AWESOME.

If you can’t don’t feel bad, I don’t like torture porn films like Saw and Hostel.  I wouldn’t go see then, however I don’t really mind if you do want to see them, that’s your business and I have very good friends who like those films.  I’m just saying that there are very valid reasons why someone might detest this film but I’m not one of them, you know if you are or not and you should use common sense if you are considering seeing this.

Now the film itself had me reeling from the barrage of comic book references, the comic book series Runaways is prominently waved around, Mike Mignola and Hellboy adorn the walls and there are several scenes that pay excellent homage to various superhero movies such as Superman, Batman and Spider-Man.

Nic Cage who I will nearly always defend despite scary hair and teeth is an absolute delight in this and it’s generally all due to Mr Adam West, the original television Batman whom Cage’s character chooses to emulate rather than go with the gravel voiced Bale incarnation.  His choice of which Batman to impersonate says a lot about his character and I wonder who came up with that idea because it certainly isn’t hinted at in the comic book.

In fact the movie does deviate in storyline and at times tone from the comic book which it is based upon, I don’t mean it is “Wanted” different but there are enough changes in there to key events that the stories are different.  I’m almost willing to say that the movie storyline is better or at least more satisfying than the book.

Whilst Cage’s West impersonation was a treasure for me it is the most controversial of the Kick-Ass characters that truly steals the show.  Hit Girl played by the amazing Chloë Moretz just owns this film, I don’t exaggerate here she OWNS this film.

There is something disturbingly entertaining about watching her kill a bunch of bad guys with a samurai sword to a cover of The Banana Splits theme song.  As an actress she manages to completely sell the role despite the absurdity of the idea of a 10 or 12 year old assassin (I’m not sure her actual age in the film but Moretz was 12 when she filmed it).  Although in fairness people don’t seem too hung up on the 10 year old character of Robin from Batman comics, I hope it’s not because he’s a boy, I hope it’s the lack of homicide.

Moretz is definitely an actress to keep your eye on, she’s already been in 500 Days of Summer and a few horror films like The Amityville Horror (remake obviously), The Eye and Big Momma’s House 2 (I’ve been dying to make that joke) though I wonder if her next role as Abby, a young vampire in the American remake of the Swedish film, Let The Right One In is going to be any less controversial.

Kick-Ass is funny too, more often than not it’s dark humour but for me it is a lot funnier than its comic book source material.  On the other hand too there is a surprising amount of heart to the film that makes you care about the heroes and what happens to them.  I’m almost willing to stretch that there are a couple of quite powerful moments hidden amongst the action.

The end is particularly rousing and cheer inducing though it does lack a key moment from the comic that would have been really powerful.

Overall I really loved Kick-Ass, I’d easily go see it again and it will be an immediate addition to my Blu-rays.  Go see it but don’t say I didn’t warn you.