Claim: Kick-Ass is a motion picture.

Kick-Ass is a 2010 British-American superhero black comedy film based on the comic book of the same name by Mark Millar and John Romita , Jr. . The film was directed by Matthew Vaughn , who produced with Brad Pitt and co-wrote the screenplay with Jane Goldman . Its general release was on 25 March 2010 in the United Kingdom and on 16 April 2010 in the United States . It is the first installment of the Kick-Ass film series .   It tells the story of an ordinary teenager , Dave Lizewski -LRB- Aaron Johnson -RRB- , who sets out to become a real-life superhero , calling himself `` Kick-Ass '' . Dave gets caught up in a bigger fight when he meets Big Daddy -LRB- Nicolas Cage -RRB- , a former cop who , in his quest to bring down the crime boss Frank D'Amico -LRB- Mark Strong -RRB- and his son -LRB- Christopher Mintz-Plasse -RRB- -LRB- Red Mist -RRB- , has trained his eleven-year-old daughter -LRB- Chloë Grace Moretz -RRB- to be the ruthless vigilante Hit-Girl .   Despite having generated some controversy for its profanity and violence performed by a child , Kick-Ass was well received by both critics and audiences . In 2011 it won the Empire Award for Best British Film . The film has gained a strong cult following since its release on DVD and Blu-ray . A sequel , written and directed by Jeff Wadlow and produced by Vaughn , was released in August 2013 , with Johnson , Mintz-Plasse , and Moretz reprising their roles .