It’s one of those occasions that reminds you of why you love going to the cinema so much.  It doesn’t happen often – if you’re pretty choosey about what films you go out to see, chances are you generally leave the cinema feeling fairly satisfied with the experience – give or take the occasional disappointment or pleasant surprise – as you’ll often have a good idea what to expect from the experience if you’re a regular reader of film press and reviews – you’ll also know to temper your expectations for movies that attract a flood of hyperbole.

And hyperbole is certainly something that Kick Ass has attracted – ever since the screening of a segment of the movie at last year’s Comic Con, the general consensus has been that this movie is going to be something very special indeed.  Up until that initial screening, it had been noted by comic movie fans as a little movie with a lot of potential.  But since then, the word of mouth – particularly in this Twitter age – has been consistently breathless in its praise of Matthew Vaughn’s adaptation of Scottish comic book icon Mark Millar’s graphic novel (which was optioned before the first issue had even been published).

Adapted by Vaughan and Jane Goldman, the British duo’s script was roundly rejected by major Hollywood studios, who baulked at the violence – mainly that eminating from the 11-year-old girl character Hit Girl.  So Vaughan took to raising the financing for the film himself, making its resultant success a triumph for British independent film-making despite being set across the pond, with it also including a host of British acting talent: Aaron Johnson, Mark Strong, Jason Flemyng, Dexter Fletcher and Tamer Hassan are among a cast that’s clearly having an inordinate amount of fun – a feeling that’s effortlessly transmitted to the audience.

What Millar, Vaughan and Goldman have come up with is one of the all time great comic book movies – one that revels in its origins, and that – coming at a point when we’re all in danger of getting extremely bored of endless graphic novel and comic book adaptations – reminds us of the vitality that the comic world can bring movies when they’re done as well as this.  Whereas most mainstream Hollywood movies – even the very best comic adaptations – will pull their punches at the last, Kick-Ass is thrilling in its willingness to go all the way.  The best part of watching Kick-Ass in a packed cinema was in being part of an audience reacting to lines being crossed that we’re accustomed to others stopping short of – the most talked about example would be that much talked about deployment of the C-word, but there’s also the upshot of Kick-Ass’ first attempt at crime-fighting – one that underlines the tangible sense of danger that you just don’t get in 99% of modern action movies.

What starts out as Superbad-meets-Spider-Man in the movie’s first half, ends up being The Dark Knight-meets-Kill Bill in the second – the violence is pure comic-book (and shot brilliantly by Vaughan, who could teach many other modern directors a thing or two about shooting coherent action scenes), but there’s always a sense of peril, of genuine threat to the protaganists, that gives Kick-Ass the same edge that made The Dark Knight so exhilarating.  That’s of course not to mention how funny the movie is – it’s possibly the funniest teen comedy since Superbad, with Mark Strong as Kick-Ass’ gangster nemesis Frank D’Amico getting probably the most laughs from his permanent bemusement at these masked nut-cases who are constantly disrupting his operation.

It’s not often a movie as hyped as this exceeds expectations – the last time I left the cinema with the sense that I could immediately pay to watch the same movie again is one I haven’t had since The Dark Knight (and there hadn’t been many other movies before that either).  For all the fuss about 3D – and I’m a supporter of it if done correctly – it’s movies like Kick-Ass, the ones that so reward being watched as part of an audience being left breathless by its audacity, that will always keep cinema alive.

In summary then: I liked it.

10/10 : If there’s a better cinema experience out there right now, I haven’t seen it.

Kick-Ass is in cinemas now, rated 15