Kick-Ass

Dave Lizewski is an ordinary high school student who blends into the background, spends his time reading comic books and lives with his father. Inspired by what he reads, he orders a green wetsuit and a mask, calls himself Kick-Ass and goes out at night to fight crime, despite having no powers, no training and no real plan. His first attempts go badly, but a scuffle caught on camera turns him into an internet sensation. His path soon crosses that of other costumed vigilantes: an eleven-year-old girl named Hit Girl, who wields a katana, her father Big Daddy, and a young crime fighter called Red Mist. Their activities draw the attention of local mob boss Frank D'Amico, and the alliances between them are put to the test when they come up against him.

Matthew Vaughn directed and co-wrote the film with Jane Goldman, following his earlier features Layer Cake and Stardust. Aaron Taylor-Johnson plays Dave, with Chloë Grace Moretz as Hit Girl, Nicolas Cage as Big Daddy, Lyndsy Fonseca, Mark Strong and Deborah Twiss in supporting roles. Brad Pitt was among the producers.

Made for around 30 million dollars, the film took roughly 96 million worldwide, a strong return on its budget. It holds a 7.6 rating on IMDb from over 619,000 votes and a 7.1 on TMDB from more than 12,000 votes, while critics gave it 7.5 from 264 reviews. Vaughn went on to direct X-Men: First Class and the Kingsman films.