Back in 2010, Matthew Vaughn's Kick-Ass, an adaption of Mark Millar's hyper violent series of the same name, came out of nowhere, turning what we knew about superhero movies on it's head, and delivering one of the most enjoyable comic book movies in recent years. Mixing in a realism we hadn't really seen before in comic book movies, while not afraid to go a bit crazy at times, it hit the perfect tone between the dark and humorous in a tale which saw a normal teenager don a costume to fight crime. Now the sequel has arrived on our doorstep, with Jeff Wadlow taking on writing and directing duties, while it does a good job of keeping the spirit of the original, it falls a bit short of scaling it's heights. But that's not to say there is not a lot to like here. Far from it!
Adapting the Kick-Ass 2 comic, as well as it's Hit-Girl prequel series, the movie picks up three years after the events of the first movie, with Dave Lizewski, in his hero guise of Kick-Ass (Aaron Taylor Johnson) falling in with a team of heroes called Justice Forever. Meanwhile, Mindy McReady (Chloe Grace Moretz) is trying to put Hit-Girl behind her, and live a normal teenage life. But, unbeknownst to them, both their lives are in danger when Chris D'Amico (Christopher Mintz Plasse) swears revenge on them for killing his father, reinventing himself as a super villain, The Motherf***ker, and amassing his own team of bad guys.
While Wadlow has done a good job of capturing the tone of the original, he really doesn't have the invention and style Vaughn had, leading to something of a more straight forward comic book movie. But he has cranked up everything, from the humour to the action, all the way to 11, making this sequel enjoyable in it's own right. The violence may seem over the top, enough so that it got Jim Carrey, who plays Justice Forever leader Colonel Stars and Stripes, to distance himself from the movie, but it isn't much of step up from the first movie in that department. The story moves at a great pace, juggling the three lead's separate strands effortlessly, with Chris's journey from immature kid to detestable villain being the most enjoyable, with some very nice dramatic beats. When these strands come together, the movie slows down a little, getting all the pieces in place for the finale. There is a much darker streak running through this too, stopping short of the comics more deplorable moments (the most noticeable will be the infamous rape scene, subverted with a joke that some will find hilarious and others the height of bad taste), but still delivering its fair share of shocking moments. Wadlow delivers a great script, filled with some hilarious dialogue (Mintz-Plasse declaring himself an "evil Jesus" being the stand-out line of the entire film) and some exciting set pieces. He has a great eye for action, a fight atop a moving van topped only by the climactic hero/villain battle royale, but it again falls victim to comparison, never coming close to anything from the original.
At times, it feels more like a Hit-Girl movie, with Mindy getting a good bulk of the screen time. It's no surprise, really. Moretz was the break out star of Kick-Ass, and she delivers her usual excellent job, spending much of her time out of costume, and battling a different type of villain in the form of a high school clique. She is at her best in costume, chopping limbs off with abandon and spouting some impressive potty talk, but her scenes in high school provide a lot of the films humour, and present a much different side to the character. Johnson is fine here, but his character doesn't seem to have changed much from the original, and gets drowned out by better performances. Mintz-Plasse threatens to steal the entire show, The Motherf***ker being a fantastic character. He's played as an absolute idiot, with a viciousness that knows no bounds, and is pretty much at the centre of the movies best moments. Carrey's screen time is limited, but he does a good job with what he has, making the most out of a character that is just a plot device. The other newcomers do a good job too, with John Leguizamo playing of Mintz-Plasse quite well as Chris's bodyguard, and Olga Kurkilina makes quite the impact as the muscle bound Mother Russia, completely owning two of the better action scenes.
It doesn't quite live up to the original, but Kick-Ass 2 delivers on every other front. A thoroughly entertaining slice of action, helped greatly by some fantastic performances and humour.
Adapting the Kick-Ass 2 comic, as well as it's Hit-Girl prequel series, the movie picks up three years after the events of the first movie, with Dave Lizewski, in his hero guise of Kick-Ass (Aaron Taylor Johnson) falling in with a team of heroes called Justice Forever. Meanwhile, Mindy McReady (Chloe Grace Moretz) is trying to put Hit-Girl behind her, and live a normal teenage life. But, unbeknownst to them, both their lives are in danger when Chris D'Amico (Christopher Mintz Plasse) swears revenge on them for killing his father, reinventing himself as a super villain, The Motherf***ker, and amassing his own team of bad guys.
While Wadlow has done a good job of capturing the tone of the original, he really doesn't have the invention and style Vaughn had, leading to something of a more straight forward comic book movie. But he has cranked up everything, from the humour to the action, all the way to 11, making this sequel enjoyable in it's own right. The violence may seem over the top, enough so that it got Jim Carrey, who plays Justice Forever leader Colonel Stars and Stripes, to distance himself from the movie, but it isn't much of step up from the first movie in that department. The story moves at a great pace, juggling the three lead's separate strands effortlessly, with Chris's journey from immature kid to detestable villain being the most enjoyable, with some very nice dramatic beats. When these strands come together, the movie slows down a little, getting all the pieces in place for the finale. There is a much darker streak running through this too, stopping short of the comics more deplorable moments (the most noticeable will be the infamous rape scene, subverted with a joke that some will find hilarious and others the height of bad taste), but still delivering its fair share of shocking moments. Wadlow delivers a great script, filled with some hilarious dialogue (Mintz-Plasse declaring himself an "evil Jesus" being the stand-out line of the entire film) and some exciting set pieces. He has a great eye for action, a fight atop a moving van topped only by the climactic hero/villain battle royale, but it again falls victim to comparison, never coming close to anything from the original.
At times, it feels more like a Hit-Girl movie, with Mindy getting a good bulk of the screen time. It's no surprise, really. Moretz was the break out star of Kick-Ass, and she delivers her usual excellent job, spending much of her time out of costume, and battling a different type of villain in the form of a high school clique. She is at her best in costume, chopping limbs off with abandon and spouting some impressive potty talk, but her scenes in high school provide a lot of the films humour, and present a much different side to the character. Johnson is fine here, but his character doesn't seem to have changed much from the original, and gets drowned out by better performances. Mintz-Plasse threatens to steal the entire show, The Motherf***ker being a fantastic character. He's played as an absolute idiot, with a viciousness that knows no bounds, and is pretty much at the centre of the movies best moments. Carrey's screen time is limited, but he does a good job with what he has, making the most out of a character that is just a plot device. The other newcomers do a good job too, with John Leguizamo playing of Mintz-Plasse quite well as Chris's bodyguard, and Olga Kurkilina makes quite the impact as the muscle bound Mother Russia, completely owning two of the better action scenes.
It doesn't quite live up to the original, but Kick-Ass 2 delivers on every other front. A thoroughly entertaining slice of action, helped greatly by some fantastic performances and humour.
