Why isn't it called Hit-Girl?

There seems to be a lot of fuss about Kick-Ass. Either because of the little girl who murders everyone with sharp objects, or because it's quite good. The premise is that it's a group of 'real' people trying to be super-heroes, dressing up in costumes and generally getting kicked about. When a normal teenager is confronting gangsters with nothing more than a silly costume, it quickly changes from amusing to a little bit distressing - because he'll get stabbed every time and'll probably end up dead. That idea does make things a lot more interesting than the average comic-book film, as the hero's only super-power is damaged nerve endings. But this character gets boring quickly. He's just the guy out of every other teenage comedy, but with nunchuks.

The film is saved by Big Daddy and Hit-Girl, a crime-fighting father and daughter who are actually quite good at their jobs. Watching an eleven-year old girl doing Kill Bill is one of the most entertaining things you'll ever see. She cuts into all the nonsense teenage ditherings with a good amount of bloody violence. She gets the job done. And the father, played by Nicholas Cage, is the other surreal highlight of the film. Oddly folksy and maybe a bit insane, he introduces himself by shooting his daughter in the chest to get her used to the bullet-proof vest. Which is fine. The violence is comic-book stylish in a real-world setting. Though that doesn't stop watching Mark Strong beating up a little girl being just a bit strange.

So it's half annoying teenage drama, and half competely brilliant action film. Shame about the teenagers.