KICK-ASS test screens in London and the review is... erm.... KICK-ASS!!!!!

Two separate reviews have hit AICN from a test screening that took place in London earlier this week for Matthew Vaughn's Kick-Ass, and the word is it's amazing. Here's the reviews, inter-cut with new character one-sheets that Lionsgate have released over at IGN, which I believe to be the first official posters released for the film anywhere. Can we expect a trailer soon? DK Mode's glowing review first...

I just got back from the Arclight Screening of "Kick-Ass." I'll make this pretty quick. I've seen a lot of screenings, but I've never felt compelled to write in with any reviews. Until now. This is by far the best comic book movie I have ever seen. Or maybe it's just the most entertaining comic-book movie I have ever seen. It feels like a mixture of Batman Begins (it's an origin story about a powerless hero in a realistic, super-hero free world), Superbad (a coming-of-age teen angst tale with hilarious nerd banter- and the McLovin guy), and The Professional (there's an off-beat, obsessive master-assassin teaching a foul-mouthed, smart-ass young girl how to "hit"). And maybe a little bit Zombieland (with the dry, irreverent voice-over narrative from the film's socially-awkward hero). And maybe let's throw in a bit of the ol' Snatch or Layer Cake (with all the snappy lines and over-the-top antics from the tough-guys). I know that sounds like a narrative and tonal mess, but it really all comes together in perfect harmony. I couldn't find any flaws in "Kickass." It was nearly a perfect script, filled with at least 8 to maybe 11 "oh shit" moments and lines that made people clap and freak out. Not only was it filled with amazing action sequences reminiscent of the gun play in The Professional or the fight work in the last two Batman films (hold the fast editing), it was simultaneously heartfelt and funny in the manner that JuddApatow tries to make his films (but without the pretentiously long tangents and bland filler that have made his last 3 films half-good, half-lame). I'll just sum it up. The action and stunt-work is cleverly orchestrated and visceral. There's never a dull moment. Stuff blows up real good. An 11 year old girl says bad words and shoots/stabs people (in a non-exploitative way). Nicolas Cage is actually a talented, engaging actor here (or at least his quirky and hyper acting style works perfectly within the context of this film). The dialogue is funny and genuine. And I know it was just temp music, but I pray that the producers decide to keep Morricone's Ecstasy of Gold in the final shoot out.

Terry Tibbs review...

Just got back from the screening of Kick-Ass, and I'm happy to report that it is fucking awesome!!! Just as a side note about the film, I know that the film has been picked up for distribution in the States by Lionsgate, and it says so in the opening credits, but I'm sure that it hasn't got a distributor over here yet... or has it? The screening was hosted at BAFTA, and it was obviously hosted by Universal as it was their name on the screen before the film started, and there was shit loads of Universal staff there, in fact i'd say a quarter of the audience was Universal staff, a quarter european distributors (I guess), the rest were lucky punters off the street. So I'm sure it hasn't been announced, but I'd say it was a safe bet that Universal are the UK distributors. I'm a huge fan of the Mark Millar/John Romita jr comic anyway, so to see the film so early felt like a massive coup, and I'm happy to tell you that this is the Kick-Ass film that Kick-Ass fans will want to see. It opens like the first comic virtually verbatim (I won't spoil it for anyone who hasn't read them), but the film itself varies only slightly from the source comic, but the changes made by director Matthew Vaughan and screenwriter Jane Goldman ring true to the spirit of the comic, and never feel strange, in fact the changes made make the film seem logical and help some bring some of the wilder concepts down to earth. Matthew Vaughan does himself proud and he should find Hollywood banging at his door upon the release of this film. He handles the action superbly (a couple of fight scene's seem to go on a bit, but this was a 'work-in-progress' cut we saw, so there is time to tighten them up), and he manages to inject enough humour alongside the brutal violence effortlessly. Fans of the comic will be glad to know that plenty of blood is still spilled, and the violence has only slightly been curbed from the comic, keeping Mark Millar's ultra-violent tone intact. Although the film was a rough early cut, everything seemed in it's place apart from the music (there are replacement bits and pieces from Dark Knight, Superman, 28 Days Later, and possibly I think heard some from X-Men in one bit), some of the dubbing was still to be done too, but the biggest thing that we didn't get to see what Romita's animated section, which only appeared as a rough idea of how it will look, but it still looked quite cool. Still from what we saw, I'm quite confident in saying this is up there with the best comic films I've ever seen (Spiderman 2, Dark Knight), and probably one of the best films i've seen all year. It's rude, lewd, naughty and knowing. The violence is brutal, the laughs come thick and fast, and the tone is pitch perfect. At just under two hours long, the film seems to drag in the middle, but the spectacular finale more than dispels any qualms I had with that. There are a couple of plot points that feel fumbled, but that will hopefully be sorted in the final cut. What Matthew Vaughan and everyone involved with Kick-Ass is just brilliant. They've created the ultimate super-hero origin film, one that never feels forced, but always organic, natural, and gut-bustingly funny in the process. Full of cultural references, fanboy in-jokes, and a genuinely comic script, this is the deconstruction of the superhero film that the genre needs at the start of the next decade, something that the Watchmen film failed to do, but the Watchmen comic did for comics in the 1980s. I can't wait to see it again, and judging by the audience response at the screening, this should be a huge hit. Oh and it sets up Kick-Ass 2 nicely, but i'll be damned if i'm going to get excited about a sequel before this even comes out...

Vaughn's third feature film after Layer Cake and Stardust was seen by many as risk as it had to be independently financed when every studio in the business turned him down because of the violence (I believe Vaughn and producer Jonathan Ross provided a good chunk of funding on the picture) but after it's HUGE audience buzz at Comic Con, the movie was soon snapped up for the U.S. by Lionsgate. It's now set to be one of the most anticipated blockbusters 0f 2010 when it opens in April. And for director Matthew Vaughn, after Marvel fucked him over with Thor - could be convince Warner Bros/DC Comics that him and Mark Millar could make that last Superman movie with the company if they just let him roam free. With all the complications surrounding the rights to Superman, I can understand why Warner Bros. are reluctant to take off with a new picture which would have to be in production by 2011 but if they got the right people on board, it could be a nice little paycheck to say goodbye to the character who they are set to lose the rights too, possibly forever.