Kick-Ass 2 – review

Kick-Ass 2 is the sequel to the dark comedy about a teenage boy who dresses up as a superhero and finds it is much more complicated than he bargained for.  The movie has most of the cast back and they seem to be enjoying themselves in their heroic or villainous roles.  Kick-Ass 2 is very violent and a decent follow up the last film but there are some strange choices when it comes to subplot.

Dave Lizewski/Kick-Ass, played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson, puts back on his mask and returns to the streets as Kick-Ass.  Mindy Macready/Hit Girl, played by Chloe Grace Moretz, begins training him in combat techniques. Kick-Ass is approached by some new superheroes to form a team.  Meanwhile, Chris D’Amico, played by Christopher Mintz-Plasse, vows to get vengeance for Kick-Ass killing his father with a bazooka in the first film and creates a team of super-villains under the guise of “The Mother Fucker.”

The cast does a good job bringing their characters back for a second round.  The problem is that some of the characters from the first film get written off incredibly fast.  Chris D’Amico’s mother, Kick-Ass’ girlfriend, Katie Deauxma and even Chris’ Uncle just sort of die off, break up, or just become forgotten.  The father gets a much bigger role in this film and even gets a chance to interact more with his son. Jim Carrey seems to be having fun with his role as Colonel Stars and Stripes and John Leguizamo gives the movie some gravitas.

The biggest flaw in this movie is that there is a subplot that is not worthy of the story.  Kick-Ass 2 should be irreverent and witty with its mixture of violence.  Instead we get to watch Hit Girl go to High School and her ups and downs with the popular girls there.  If the movie wanted to tell the audience that Mindy was having difficulty fitting in I could have seen it with a short montage of events instead of a subplot that just seem like scenes that were cut out of the new Carrie.

If you enjoyed the first movie you will likely enjoy this movie.  It’s not nearly the caliber of film as the last movie.  The humor is there but it is not really in the same place.  Much like the comic, which is its source material it is very violent. However, the film is tame in comparison to the comics.  Kick-Ass 2 is certainly an interesting attempt but it falls short in some ways.  All in all it is a good movie, but it would probably be a better rental if you were not already a fan.