Back in 2010 Kick-Ass came rip-roaring into cinemas with its frenetic, energetic and tongue-in-cheek approach to the superhero genre. The film was led by a collection of ragtag misfits such as the titular lead himself, an ordinary yet geeky teenage boy turned superhero overnight, and accompanied by a foul-mouthed psychotic yet entirely loveable 12 year old known as Hit-Girl. Director Matthew Vaughn showed us that the word 'fun' could still exist in a genre that had taken a dramatic turn into gritty hard-boiled terrain. Three years removed and under the supervision of a new director, those same ragtag misfits are back for more chaos in Kick-Ass 2.
The misfits may be slightly older but they prove to be none the wiser. Our leading man Dave (Aaron Taylor Johnson) has long since retired his alternate persona Kick-Ass. Kick-Ass may no longer exist but is far from forgotten amongst the civilians of New York. Everyday more and more ordinary people have followed in his footsteps and donned home made costumes of their own and taking it to the streets in the name of vigilance. Feeling left behind, Dave decides he wants back in on the action. He decides to assemble the world’s first Superhero organisation. Under the rigorous daily tutorage of Mindy (Chloe Moretz), he prepares for his return to the streets as Kick Ass.
Meanwhile, Chris D’Amico (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) is etching together his own plan of vengeance in the name of his fallen mob boss father. Long gone is Red Mist and in his place is the world’s first Super-Villain, christened The Motherfucker. As Dave attempts to assemble a collective group of likeminded heroes, D’Amico resorts to Twitter, putting out the call for fellow psychopaths to join his cause to rid the world of Kick-Ass before burning New York down to the ground.
Kick-Ass 2 Review
Posted by Daniel Mann - 21/8/2013
While Dave sets off to find fellow superheroes that share his passion, Mindy sticks true to a promise made to her guardian Marcus (Morris Chestnut). She promises to give up her former life as the vigilante Hit Girl in an effort to re-join society as a normal 15 year old girl. What follows is a scenario that has her trying to fit in with the popular clique of cheerleaders at her high school. Chloe Moretz does her best with the material she is given and in turn, she almost makes it work. Moretz performs as if she were an alien observing a foreign off kilter human race. Increasingly befuddled by what she observes before attempting to mimic the behaviour in her own unique way. But even with Moretz’ strong performance guiding it, it’s a scenario that ultimately feels out of place in a movie that revels in its own penchant for visceral thrills.
Furthermore, Mindy’s ark encompasses just how ordinary Kick-Ass 2 truly is. Mindy attempts to suppress her unwavering thirst for justice in favour of normalcy. Leaving no new ground to be treaded here as this story heads down the path of standard comic book conventions. Both Mindy and Dave fall into line with a lineage of superheroes struggling with crisis of identity as they both attempt to come to terms with who it is they really are. Any hint of subversion that the original film had going for it has been completely thrown aside. These characters have officially made the transition from being ordinary people playing dress up to actually becoming traumatic superheroes in their own right.
Another lapse of judgement is the decision to explore yet another origin story by re-tracing Chris D’Amico’s penultimate turn to the dark side. After being reintroduced to D’Amico, who now resembles a whiny self-entitled emo kid, we are then forced to spend more time than is necessary watching him reinvent himself. It’s a long build up for what is a pretty simple revenge plot. As such, it only serves to eat up precious time in a film that is already struggling to juggle its focus between characters and subplots. Director Jeff Wadlow’s treatment of The Motherfucker is questionable at best. At his worst, he casually delivers the order for a character to be beaten and raped. Mere moments later and D’Amico becomes the punch line of a ‘limp’ joke in the same scene. Are we supposed to see him as a sincere threat or a joke? Despite the solid performance exhibited by Plasse, unfortunately he is at the guidance of what can only be described as misdirection.
Misdirection is the best word to describe everything that is wrong with Kick-Ass 2. Jeff Wadlow displays a steady hand in constructing fun visceral action scenes. However, the same cannot be said for his approach towards narrative. The key problem with the film lies with its imparting message. Wadlow wants us to believe that this is a pure indictment aimed towards the cause and effect of real life violence. Going so far as to have the characters constantly remind us of the reality of the situation and the real world consequences. The problem is that Wadlow wants to have his cake and eat it too. He undermines himself by casually ramping up the shock factor of the visceral thrills for pure entertainment, meanwhile failing to show the consequences. The closest we come to any sort of consequence is the death of one character. A death that is casually forgotten as its central character reverts back to his old ways as if it were all in vain. Somewhere in here is a proportion of tragedy. Wadlow only ever scratches the surface as he sets a tone that plays more like a light-hearted teen romp of pure fantasy.
With this laundry list of issues out of the way, I would be lying if I said that I didn’t enjoy my time with these characters. For better or worse, I do like these characters and as such I enjoyed their further exploits. Aaron Taylor Johnson still has a certain geeky charm as Dave. He’s very good at playing that underdog role and remains as the beacon of optimism that gives the film its heart and soul, even if Hit Girl consistently steals the spotlight from underneath him.
The new additions to the cast are also welcomed. Jim Carrey is almost unrecognizable under a layer of prosthetic make up. He embodies the role of Colonel Stars and Stripes, an Ex Mobster and Born Again Christian, who leads the Superhero group Justice Forever. Carrey slips harmoniously into his character. Never once breaking the illusion with his heavy Bronx accent and unstable demeanour. He flips the switch from nice guy to psychotic lunatic with ease. Despite having limited screen time, Carrey is one of the true standouts of the film and is a character I would have liked to see utilized a little more. On the opposite end of the spectrum, you have the villainous Toxic Mega Cunts being led by The Motherfucker’s right hand woman; the hulking steroid induced Mother Russia, an ex KGB militant who lets her domineering Amazonian-like physique do the bulk of her talking. She may not speak more than ten words but her overpowering presence more than makes up for her silence.
While Matthew Vaughn favoured a John Woo approach to his action, Jeff Wadlow opts for a splashy in-your-face approach. There are hints of early Peter Jackson and a slight touch of Troma inspired gore to be seen here. Helping to give it a nice flavour of its own while remaining true to Mark Millar’s original comic style. A few of the overly gratuitous scenes from the source material have been altered and tamed down but in general, it’s almost as brutal as its source material showing that Wadlow isn’t afraid to up the ante. The same can be said for Wadlow’s comedic chops as he brings a sophomoric preference with him. It’s almost as if he thought to himself that Kick-Ass should have been a gross out teen sex comedy. As weird as that sounds, surprisingly, it works better then it should and provides at least one or two big laughs.
Kick-Ass 2 is by no means a terrible film rather it’s an incredibly rough one. It’s a perfect example of what happens when one person has too many ideas thrown into a pot with no filter to help separate the good from the bad. Even with its rough edges, I am still recommending it as I did have a good time with it. There is enough here to satisfy the rabid cult fan base and I think they will get their moneys worth from it. Just let it be known that it is a lesser product in comparison with its predecessor.
★★★
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