Kick-Ass 2 Review

Rated R (Strong Violence, Pervasive Language, Crude and Sexual Content, and Brief Nudity)

Running Time: 1 Hour & 43 Minutes

Cast-

Aaron Taylor-Johnson-David 'Dave' Lizewski/Kick-Ass

Chloë Grace Moretz-Mindy Macready/Hit-Girl

Christopher Mintz-Plasse-Chris D'Amico/The Mother F*cker

Morris Chestnut-Sergeant Marcus Williams

Jim Carrey-Sal Bertolinni/Colonel Stars and Stripes

Donald Faison-Doctor Gravity

Lindy Booth-Night Bitch

Robert Emms-Insect Man

Steven Mackintosh-Tommy's Dad

Monica Dolan-Tommy's Mom

Clark Duke-Marty Eisenberg/Battle Guy

Augustus Prew-Todd Haynes/Ass-Kicker

Olga Kurkulina-Mother Russia

Daniel Kaluuya-Black Death

Tom Wu-Genghis Carnage

Andy Nyman-The Tumor

John Leguizamo-Javier

Garrett M. Brown-James Lizewski

Lyndsy Fonseca-Katie Deauxma

Sophie Wu-Erika Cho

Claudia Lee-Brooke

Iain Glen-Ralph D'Amico

Directed by Jeff Wadlow

The battle to end all battles: Kick-Ass vs. The Mother F*cker!

Note: Screened on Wednesday, July 31, 2013 at AMC Loews 34th Street 14.

Superheroes have always existed in the realm of fantasy. Even the most grounded characters like Batman or Iron Man still require at least some suspension of disbelief but what if superheroes really did walk amongst us in all their costumed glory? Writer Mark Millar and illustrator John Romita, Jr. tackle this very question in their 2008 limited series Kick-Ass, published by Marvel under their imprint Icon Comics. Full of profanity and gruesome violence, it was adapted into a film with Matthew Vaughn as director and released in 2010 amidst a wave of controversy, largely stemming from the casting of eleven-year-old Chloë Grace Moretz as the foul-mouthed vigilante 'Hit-Girl.' Roger Ebert even went so far as to call the film 'morally reprehensible' and awarded it one star (out of four) in his review. Most critics however had a positive reaction and it currently has a 76% on Rotten Tomatoes. Box office wise, "Kick-Ass" was only a mild success despite the intense fanboy hype and Lionsgate's aggressive marketing campaign. Fortunately, the film managed to do very well on the home market, which allowed the sequel (set for release on August 16) to become financially viable. Ironically, the lazily-named "Kick-Ass 2" is once again faced with controversy as actor Jim Carrey has publically withdrawn his support for the film due to its excessive violence in the wake of last year's Sandy Hook massacre. While I applaud him for sticking with his beliefs, this is ultimately just a movie and not meant to be taken seriously. As for the film itself, "Kick-Ass 2" is just as gleefully violent and profane as its predecessor but the Jeff Wadlow-directed follow-up ultimately lacks the freshness and pitch-perfect pacing of the original.

After taking down crime boss Frank D'Amico (by blasting him out the window with a bazooka), David 'Dave' Lizewski (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Mindy Macready (Chloë Grace Moretz) decide to hang up their costumes in favor of leading a normal life. Dave, however, quickly grows restless and feeling compelled to be Kick-Ass once more, he convinces Mindy to train him to be a better crime-fighter. Unfortunately, Mindy gets busted for sneaking out as Hit-Girl by her adoptive father, police officer Marcus Williams (Morris Chestnut), and is forced to retire. As she navigates the terrifying world of high school alone, Dave joins up with a team of similarly costumed superheroes known as 'Justice Forever.' Led by born-again ex-mobster Colonel Stars and Stripes (Jim Carrey), the core members include Doctor Gravity (Donald Faison), Night Bitch (Lindy Booth), Insect Man (Robert Emms), the husband-and-wife duo Remembering Tommy (Steven Mackintosh and Monica Dolan), and Battle-Guy (Clark Duke), who just so happens to be Dave's best friend Marty Eisenberg. Meanwhile, a vengeful Chris D'Amico (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) vows to kill Kick-Ass for what he did to his father and reinvents himself as 'The Mother F*cker,' the world's first super-villain. Assembling his own team of likeminded individuals and calling themselves the 'Toxic Mega Cunts,' the Mother F*cker prepares to wreak havoc upon an unsuspecting New York City, unless Kick-Ass can convince Mindy to return as Hit-Girl so that they can stop Chris' plans from coming to fruition.

Despite the change in directors (Matthew Vaughn is serving as producer this time around and handpicked Jeff Wadlow as his replacement), "Kick-Ass 2" isn't all that different from the original when it comes to style and tone but the sequel is definitely not as well-paced when compared to its 2010 predecessor. Part of the problem is its running time. At only 103 minutes, the film feels overstuffed as Wadlow awkwardly meshes the storylines of both the Hit-Girl and Kick-Ass 2 mini-series. It's here that Jane Goldman's touch is sorely missed. After the first act, Dave and Mindy have very little interaction until the final showdown with the Toxic Mega Cunts so those hoping for more Hit-Girl action will come away disappointed. In addition, certain subplots feel too stretched out and draggy, particularly Chris D'Amico's. It takes him well over an hour before he finally forms his own team and starts wreaking havoc. Perhaps the biggest flaw is the fact that it's a sequel. The original "Kick-Ass" had that off-kilter weirdness that allowed the film to become the cult hit it is today and as much as Wadlow tries, he never quite recaptures that feeling. "Kick-Ass 2" is certainly bigger but not necessarily better.

With all that being said, "Kick-Ass 2" is not a terrible film. In fact, it's a frequently entertaining one but what really stuck out for me is the way the story examines the consequences of having a bunch of costumed freaks running around in New York City. Detractors of the original "Kick-Ass" accused it of lacking a social message, which is simply not true. In that film, Dave and his friend Todd are mugged in broad daylight and although there are witnesses, they do nothing to help. Amidst all the stylized violence and profanity, Vaughn asked one question: Anyone can make a difference…so why don't you? When the sequel begins, Kick-Ass has become something of an inspirational figure and once Dave joins Justice Forever, he finally feels like he's doing some good. He volunteers in soup kitchens, shuts down a prostitution ring, and even gets laid with Night Bitch! Life is good for him. Then the Mother F*cker shows up and it all starts to fall apart for Dave. The police start targeting everyone in a costume while Chris goes after his father (Garrett M. Brown), forcing Dave to reevaluate if it was really worth it to become Kick-Ass in the first place. While this is going on, Mindy is struggling with high school and finds herself targeted by Queen Bee Brooke (Claudia Lee). There's a big laugh when Mindy, on the advice of Dave, decides to beat Brooke at her own game and zaps her with an experimental 'sick stick' (yes, like in 2002's "Minority Report"), causing her to vomit and have diarrhea at the same time. It's funny but Mindy's subplot can't help feeling like an R-rated version of "Mean Girls." As for Chris, he tries to go the Batman route and train so that he can kill Kick-Ass. Of course, he fails miserably and ends up paying a bunch of people to play dress up with the help of his 'Alfred,' Javier (John Leguizamo).

The action in "Kick-Ass 2" is every bit as violent as the first one, perhaps even more so. Some of the more 'controversial' aspects of the comic have been toned down and frankly, I'm glad. At one point, the Mother F*cker and his henchmen go after Night Bitch in her home (in the comic, it was Katie Deauxma), where he attempts to rape her. The scene is largely played for laughs as he fails to get an erection and tries to cover himself by saying, 'I'm just not in the mood!' However, it's what happens outside the house that you should be paying attention to as the Mother F*cker's personal bodyguard Mother Russia (played by bodybuilder Olga Kurkulina) takes on a whole squad of police officers without even breaking a sweat! She even kills two of them by using a lawnmower. The battle between Justice Forever and the Toxic Mega Cunts has been moved to the latter's lair instead of taking place in Times Square, most likely due to budget reasons. Still, it's every bit as chaotic as it was in the comic, with Hit-Girl going toe-to-toe with Mother Russia in a brutal fight that may be too much for more sensitive viewers. If there's one thing "Kick-Ass 2" manages to recapture, it's the original's gleeful violence. Some of the green-screen looks rather amateurish though, specifically when Mindy rescues Dave during the van chase.   

Reprising his role as the titular Kick-Ass is Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who lends the character a surprising amount of depth as Dave is forced to deal with the consequences of what he began in the first film and comes to question whether being a real-life superhero is doing more damage than good. Chloë Grace Moretz doesn't steal the film like she did in the original as the novelty of seeing a little girl cuss while slicing and dicing groups of thugs has worn off. Moretz is also hardly a 'little girl' anymore given that she's now sixteen. Similar to the Hit-Girl mini-series, Mindy finds herself denying who she truly is in order to 'fit in' with the other girls in high school and Moretz handles this internal conflict—her need to be a hero vs. her wanting a normal life—very well. Christopher Mintz-Plasse is just hilarious and it's clear he genuinely relished playing a much more sadistic Chris D'Amico. Ironically, the one person who decided not to do any publicity ends up being the film's most memorable aspect. Jim Carrey, complete with prosthetics, throws himself into the role as the possibly unhinged Colonel Stars and Stripes. He is the one that steals the film, not Moretz, and it's a damn shame his screen-time isn't longer.

"Kick-Ass 2" won't be released until August 16, 2013 so this is pretty much the first review you're going to read. Given some of its flaws, I don't see this sequel receiving the same amount of praise as the original and the buzz seems quieter this time around. Will it make more at the box office compared to its predecessor? Honestly, I don't see that happening either since this August is unusually crowded. I'll be surprised if it surpasses the first film's domestic gross of $48.1 million. "Kick-Ass 2" suffers from the same issues that plague most sequels: failing to recapture the special spark that made the original so memorable yet it remains an entertaining late-summer thrill ride. If you loved "Kick-Ass," you'll definitely enjoy this one even if it doesn't quite measure up.

Final Rating: 3.5 out of 5

"No! No! People WANT to win the lottery. People WANT to f*ck Scarlett Johansson. No one WANTS to risk their life so some moron can walk through the projects at night!"

Make sure to stay all the way through the end credits for a very funny scene!