Matthew Vaughn

Matthew Vaughn on Layer Cake, Bond, Harry Potter, and X3

Layer Cake always pulls itself up by its bootsraps whenever its energy threatens to flag.

It's been quite some time since a fantasy adventure this cheekily entertaining has made its way down the pipeline.

On the page and on the screen, Kick-Ass riffs on the wish-fulfillment afforded by tales of derring-do and the ill-advisedness of taking on the task in real life.

A superb, stylish piece of modern mythology.

Doubles down on glib ultraviolence while pressing buttons of class-consciousness and teasing out pop-culture allusions and self-aware witticisms. But this time, the postmodernism feels played out.