“Kick-Ass” doesn’t really do anything new, but it does what it does extremely well: creating a well-paced, humorous and intense movie.

The film opens with Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) narrating the story. He’s a fairly average teenager who enjoys comic books, has a crush on a girl who doesn’t notice him and isn’t particularly good at anything.

He eventually questions why no one has tried to be a super hero in the real world and changes that on his own by purchasing a wet suit on the Internet and becoming the masked crime fighter Kick-Ass.

While playing superhero, Lizewski eventually encounters the somewhat goofy Red Mist (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) and the hyper violent father/daughter vigilante duo of Hit-Girl (Chloe Mortez) and Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage), who all provide their own spin on the idea of super heroics in the real world.

Directed by Matthew Vaughn (“Layer Cake,” “Star Dust”) the core story of “Kick-Ass,” super heroes in real life, has been explored before in films such as “Watchmen,” but the subject is tackled differently in this film with more focus on humor.

Everyone involved in the film seems to know how ridiculous the idea of dressing up in a bad costume and fighting crime is, and they all have fun with it. Cage delivers his lines with the staccato patter of Adam West’s Batman while delivering fierce vigilante justice.

Mortez, as Hit-Girl, spouts expletive-filled jokes while chopping up rooms filled with goons while looking like a kid playing dress up. She steals every scene she’s in. Johnson, as the lead, has no problem delivering self-depreciating jokes while in the midst of a conflict, but he often feels less noticeable than his co-stars.

Mintz-Plasse’s Red Mist will remind viewers of “Superbad,” which isn’t a bad thing. Along with humor, “Kick-Ass” also manages to pack in a good amount of tension.

The feel of the acting is matched by the pacing and camera work. The film opens with a dark joke about a mental patient that draws inspiration from the classic Superman films and, after that point, the jokes rarely stop.

Everyone, from the stars to supporting actors, has a great sense of comedic timing, and Vaughn doesn’t waste it and keeps the film from slowing down.

The scenes are all well shot and often integrate things like cell phone video footage or streaming Internet videos into scene transactions, which help make “Kick-Ass” seem grounded in reality.

The action scenes are fantastic. From the uncoordinated but passionate fighting style of Kick-Ass to the brutal and deadly actions of Big Daddy, every fight in this movie is fun to watch and shows something about the personalities of the characters involved and always have a feeling of danger to them.

While most of the movie is great, there are some problems with the lack of emphasis on the talented supporting cast and some rushed plot elements. These problems, however, are overcome by the strengths of “Kick-Ass” mentioned above.

Based on a comic book written by Mark Millar, the movie makes some changes to the source material and they all work out.

The characters become more likable, the order of some events are changed and the violence is turned down just enough to make “Kick-Ass” seem more whimsical and less focused on shock-value.

Although “Kick-Ass” is a good movie, some people may have problems with the amount of profanity and violence in the movie, especially with lots of it delivered by a pre-pubescent girl. “Kick-Ass” is not a children’s or family movie by any means and is more akin to “Kill Bill” than “Spider-Man.”

Overall, “Kick-Ass” is an action-filled black comedy about super heroes. There’s nothing more to it and there really doesn’t need to be.