Fanboys and girls everywhere, today a legendary day will be marked in the great big book of geek. Matthew Vaughn’s anti-superhero comic flick Kick-Ass finally drops in theaters. This post goes up on Friday, but last night there were both midnight and 10 P.M. screenings across the country for all the lucky ones out there able to make it (my review follows ASAP this weekend). Recently, the same technique has been worked over on Clash of the Titans (which sucked) and Hot Tub Time Machine (which failed to generate much hype). Like this movie needs more positive word-of-mouth. Critics have been praising this thing, and for good reason. I hugely hope Kick-Ass delivers on being exactly that. Tired of hearing that pun by now, aren’t you?

Currently at 74% and Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, here are some positive and negative critical reviews for Kick-Ass –

Positive:

• “A particularly timely story about civic-mindedness and the pursuit of fame.” – Jonathan Joe, Chicago Reader
• “Doing for superheroes what Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels did for gangsters, Kick-Ass is colorful, irreverent, Tarantino-ish fun, especially when the brilliantly oddball Cage is on screen.” – Nicholas Barber, Independent on Sunday
• “Kick-Ass starts with a big laugh and they don’t stop coming for two hours. The script is sharp; there are clever comic book graphics, a cool soundtrack and a satisfying ending.” – Roz Laws, Birmingham Post

Negative:

• “Let’s say you’re a big fan of the original comic book, and you think the movie does it justice. You know what? You inhabit a world I am so very not interested in.” – Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
• “I started hating this movie around the midpoint.” – Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune
• “Never as shocking as it thinks it is, as funny as it should be, or as engaged in cultural critique as it could be.” – Karina Longworth, Village Voice

Here’s to Vaughn and the rest of Kick-Ass. I haven’t been this excited for a book-adapted movie since Watchmen.