Plot: Three years after Dave Lizewski/Kick-Ass (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Mindy McReady /Hit-Girl (Chloe Grace Moretz) took down a mob boss that orchestrated executing Mindy’s father, Big Daddy, the two decide to team up to take down crime. Mindy trains Dave to be the ultimate fighting machine, but her adoptive father Marcus (Morris Chestnut) will not have her being out on the streets putting her life on the line. Mindy decides to retire from being Hit-Girl due to Marcus’ wishes, even though she struggles with her own identity. With Hit-Girl’s assistance lost to him, Kick-Ass joins a team of superheroes who work together to ultimately revenge seeker from Dave’s past, who just happens to be the son of the mob boss he killed…using a bazooka.
Okay, so let’s be clear: if you didn’t like the first Kick-Ass, you will not appreciate the second. This movie caters to a specific kind of audience; those who aren’t bothered seeing people killed for mindless pleasure, tons of gore, bathroom humor, sexual jokes, and realistic glorified violence. If you didn’t cringe while reading any of these, Kick-Ass 2 is kind of the entertainment where one should leave their brain at the door.
I will say I like this sequel better than the original for two primary reasons. The first is Jim Carrey as Colonel Stars and Stripes. Carrey plays it really straightforward, and to his credit, it’s unlike any role he’s ever done before. Carrey actually has decided to not promote the film due to its hyper stylized violence. His reasons are due to school shootings and his uneasiness with the material. Despite his choice, Carrey does shine here.
In addition, Donald Faison also steals the show as Dr. Gravity. Faison, primarily known for his roles as Murray in Clueless and Turk in Scrubs, really has a ball with the part and it shows.
Moretz probably does the best the co-lead, but her arc is a subtle rip off of Mean Girls. It kind of almost demoralizes her character as we’ve seen her as the anti society female who doesn’t really apply the rules of gender stereotypes to herself. Then again, in order to survive, Mindy has to blend in, which, by the end of the movie, well…you could figure it out.
Aaron Johnson does better at Kick-Ass here than in the first film, as he seems more comfortable in the role. The character is also more important to the material, so therefore the movie has to revolve around him more, where as in the original, he was reduced to side story.
Christopher Mintz-Plasse recruits a team of super villains (Mother Russia being the standout…dear God) to get revenge in his father’s honor. Plasse’s character dubs himself “The Mother—-er” which just fits for all the shenanigans the movie involves. Plasse’s whiny shtick becomes borderline annoying, and to think he’s the offspring of Marc Strong in this series is just absurd.
The cast of superheroes that Kick-Ass interacts with is mostly reduced to a few lines, but there’s a minor story arc involving Dave’s alter ego and Night Bitch (!) which is mostly just romantic filler. Necessary? Eh, not really.
The conclusion of the film runs similar to the end of the first; something severe happens which fuels the final battle, which is excellent in execution and just balls to the wall fun. And that’s what the movie mainly is; fun. If you can allow yourself to enjoy it, then you will. But if you go in hyper critical of a movie that you want to have philosophical themes and violence that is ultimately necessary, then okay, maybe not for you. I enjoyed it because I loved the first one. And the second one is just more of the same, but offers better characters in the framework. And a lot of violence that will make you go “OOOOOOO” in your own personal agony if it ever happened to you.
Kick-Ass 2 is a superhero movie that demonstrates there are consequences to taking justice into your own hands. The movie is like 75% dark action comedy, 25% action drama, using the aforementioned element as its core. Those who just want a flick that presses the matter of violence to the extreme for both hilarious and somewhat significant purposes will be fine here. Otherwise, stay away. Me? I found it to be ass kicking goodness.
Rating: 9/10.
