AlloCiné users still rank Kick-Ass at 4 out of 5, based on more than 45,800 ratings and nearly 3,000 reviews, making it Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s highest-rated film. Sixteen years after Matthew Vaughn’s 2010 anti-superhero romp, the actor is back on screens in David Mackenzie’s The Criminals.
Sixteen years on, the scrappy vigilante comedy that launched Aaron Taylor-Johnson into the spotlight still stands as his audience favorite on AlloCiné. Even as he headlines David Mackenzie’s The Criminals, a wartime bomb-defusal caper that flips into a heist, the gravitational pull of Kick-Ass persists. Matthew Vaughn’s film inverted superhero logic by handing the mask to a kid with zero powers, flanked by Nicolas Cage, Chloë Grace Moretz, and Mark Strong. Users back it with a 4 out of 5 score from more than 45,800 ratings and thousands of reviews, sealing its status among the sharpest anti-superhero films.
A bold subversion of the superhero genre
Some performances age into cult status because they feel both reckless and precise. That is the case with Kick-Ass, where Aaron Taylor-Johnson turns awkward bravado into bruised-heart heroism. Directed by Matthew Vaughn and released in the US on April 16, 2010, the film still bites. Its joke is simple: no powers, no plan, just nerve. And somehow, it works. You can rent or buy it on major platforms in the US.
From fearless teen to rising star
Taylor-Johnson’s Dave Lizewski is painfully ordinary, a comics-obsessed kid who orders a wetsuit and walks into trouble. The film adapts Mark Millar and John Romita Jr.’s comic with a gleeful mix of grit and snark, then lets the ensemble rip. Chloë Grace Moretz detonates as Hit-Girl, Nicolas Cage lends Big Daddy a haunted warmth, and Mark Strong’s Frank D’Amico lands every punchline and punch.
Critical acclaim and staying power
Numbers tell a clear story. Kick-Ass grossed about $48 million domestically and roughly $96 million worldwide, a tidy haul for a 117‑minute R-rated gamble. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds around 76% from critics and about 81% from audiences, proof that its swagger and sincerity still connect. Fans praise the stylish action, the needle-drops, and a tone that swerves, but never loses control.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s latest chapter
More than a decade later, Taylor-Johnson is still chasing edge. He leads The Criminals, a new thriller set in London, where a World War II bomb discovery triggers a massive evacuation and, with it, a meticulously timed heist. He’s joined by Theo James, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, and Sam Worthington. US release plans are to be announced, but the premise fits his taste for pressure-cooker roles.
