There’s a scene in Annie Hall in which Woody Allen’s character is so annoyed by the pretentious ass standing in front of him in the cinema showing off about his knowledge of philosopher Marshall McLuhan that he gets McLuhan to turn up and discredit the guy’s boastings. It touches something we all think about, and would love to do in real life. All it takes is the realisation of a wish-fulfilment to make us associate and ultimately love a film. Kick-Ass’s entire premise is based on a similar wish-fulfilment, although mostly for those who grew up on comic books and the comic book movies of the last decade: what would happen if an ordinary person decided to become a masked hero and fight crime? But rather than rely on a simple premise Kick-Ass injects it with great jokes, a dense story, and some of the best-directed action scenes in years.

Kick-Ass is Dave Lizewski, a typical teen who leans towards the dorky side of life, reading comics with his buddies while making snarky comments on the cliques of high school, wishing he could get a girl. He decides to don a suit and fight crime, only to be beaten countless times. But a Youtube video becomes an overnight sensation, and it isn’t long before Kick-Ass is encountering the likes of Hit-Girl, Red Mist, and a ruthless gangster.

Director Matthew Vaughn (Layer Cake, Stardust) takes the right approach to the film’s pacing. Starting slow at first, it elaborately attempts to highlight the difference between what we see in traditional superhero stories and real life. There’s a sadistic focus on Kick-Ass getting his ass kicked, as if we’re forced to experience every punch, kick, and stab that’s inflicted on him and brings him closer to death. It makes the action, when it comes, all the more exciting. But it’s the plot that keeps the film interesting, with plenty of sub-lots interweaved with Kick-Ass’s aspirations. There’s hit-girl and her father Big-Daddy, a highly trained and well-armed crime fighting duo, with the former being a 12-year old ninja with a foul mouth. A superbly designed comic-montage explores their history and their connection to the film’s villain, Frank D’Amico. D’Amico is a vicious murderer who lives in luxury with his wife and teenage son, who craves his father’s attention and ends up becoming a masked hero himself. And on top of all that throw in Kick-Ass’s attempt to woo a high-school hottie who befriends him because she assumes he’s gay. It’s hard not to respect a film that packs in all this and doesn’t simplify storylines to pander to the few who may not keep up.

There’s also a much-appreciated satirical touch to the film. While Kick-Ass may be borderline delusional, the film condemns us average people for not doing the just thing when the opportunity arises. In an early scene where Kick-Ass takes on a gang, the nearby bystanders prefer to film the action on their phonecams rather than help someone who is being attacked. In another scene, two friends being mugged are watched by a resident who closes his window in fear of being confronted.

Newcomer Aaron Johnson (who played a young John Lennon in Nowhere Boy) is excellent as Kick-Ass, geeky but also loveable, idealistic but believable. There’s one scene in the film that sees him bopping to a Gnarls Barkley song, and in that moment he is both normalized and also shown to be in way over his head. Mark Strong is particularly menacing as D’Aminco, and there’s great support by Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Clark Duke, Lyndsy Fonseca, and Chloe Moretz whose Hit-Girl will steal the hearts of man adolescent dorks. And even Nicholas Cage manages not to be annoying, but rather amusing as the gently deranged yet doting Big Daddy (who seems to talk like Adam West whenever he dons a cape).

If the film isn’t perfect, it’s only because the necessity to ramp up the action towards the film’s climax quickly becomes at odds with the basic premise of a “real” person becoming a superhero. The action becomes so silly, involving all sorts of mad weaponry, that we can no longer see the distinction between this and, for example, Spiderman, any more. Fortunately, the action is good it doesn’t matter too much, but I would have liked to have seen Kick-Ass react emotionally to his first kill.

Ultimately, Kick-Ass is not just entertaining, but so well constructed and performed that despite relying heavily on the ideas of other comic book movies and stories, it actually usurps them in quality. It’s smart, cool, self-conscious, and full of jokes that work. It’s wish-fulfillment, that’s for sure, but one that’s imbued with a sense of initial caution and self-awareness that ultimately becomes a lot more.