Published 2010-04-22T00:00:00Z”/>

Mark Rojas

Four mobsters are hiding behind a corner, shaking with fear. The adversary who has come to kill their boss is out of ammo. Already she has slain a whole hoard of anonymous henchmen in a bloody firestorm. She is regrouping and planning her next move, just like her daddy taught her. “Hit-Girl,” the 11-year-old assassin, is not your ordinary Hello Kitty-loving schoolgirl &- she’s out for vengeance.

A while back, seeing the words “Kick-Ass” in huge font on the shelves of a comic book store was rather entertaining. It is equally exciting to see it now on Tinseltown’s marquee. Comic book based “Kick-Ass,” starring Nicholas Cage as “Big Daddy” and Christopher Mintz-Plasse &- better known as “McLovin” &- stays true to the source material and successfully does it justice.

The movie focuses on outcast high school student “Dave Lizewski,” played by Aaron Johnson, and his attempts to become a superhero. He adopts the name “Kick-Ass” but quickly finds out he is better at receiving a beating than delivering one. He crosses paths with father-daughter vigilante team Big Daddy and Hit Girl, as they aim to topple a dangerous drug dealer’s dirty empire.

Having seen some terrible comic adapted movies such as “Punisher: War Zone,” “Daredevil” and Ang Lee’s “Hulk,” I was thoroughly surprised at how well this movie turned out.

Though comic book purists cry foul when movie plots stray from the source material, this one is executively produced by its creators Mark Millar and John Romita Jr., comic book industry titans. The changes added by Hollywood were well managed and fit perfectly. The movie even includes a stellar illustrated sequence, supervised by Romita, that perfectly exemplifies the marriage between comic and big screen.

Millar is a critically acclaimed writer and reshaped the Marvel Comics universe in the seven-issue crossover event “Civil War.” He is no stranger to Hollywood as “Kick-Ass” the comic series debuted around the same time his other comic “Wanted” was curving bullets on the big screen.

“Kick-Ass” co-creator and artist Romita has brought dozens of the Marvel characters to life, most notably “Spiderman” and “Wolverine.”

However, “Kick-Ass” proves from the opening scenes that this is no Peter Parker story. The movie stays true to Romita’s art, which is at times bloodier than a Tarantino film, and the action sequences ebb and flow with great orchestration.

Be wary of taking your five-year-old Spiderman-loving nephew to see this R-rated superhero movie. No good can come from attempting to recreate Hit Girl’s murderous moves.

Much like the comic series only eight issues young, the movie left me wanting more. Let the sequel negotiations commence.

Mark Rojas can be reached a

<a href= “javascript:void(location.href=’mailto:’+String.fromCharCode(97,114,116,100,105,114,101,99,116,111,114,64,116,104,101,111,114,105,111,110,46,99,111,109)+’?subject=re%3A%20’Kick-ass’%20lives%20up%20to%20its%20name%20and%20source%20material’)”> [email protected]</a>