Kick Ass was a fun take on the superhero genre. It simultaneously lampooned and embraced the tropes of a superhero film to craft something fresh and biting. So, naturally, there had to be a sequel. Kick Ass 2 never gets near the level of its predecessor, but it still manages to have some fun while trying to go deeper down the violence rabbit hole. This comic book film is only for of-age nerds.
Since the end of Kick-Ass, the three leads have gone in different directions. Dave Liszewski (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) has mostly gone back to his high school self, but more bored. Mindy Macready (Chloe Grace-Moretz) has chosen to moonlight her Hit Girl persona against the wishes of her guardian Marcus (Morris Chestnut). And poor Chris D’Amico (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) is so obsessed with getting rid of Kick-Ass that he decides to become the world’s first supervillain. Just as Dave decides to don the Kick-Ass costume again, Mindy decides to retire and goes back to high school. Rudderless without his Robin, Dave finds a new group of heroes led by Colonel Stars and Stripes (Jim Carrey), who cite Kick-Ass as their inspiration.
Kick-Ass got criticized for its excessive violence, especially involving the young girl. Since she’s more grown up here, Kick-Ass 2 tries to up the ante with some truly disturbing scenes which aren’t really funny and mostly low hanging fruit. Because of the wild less controlled shifts in tone, the audience is never sure if the violence is a threat or a joke. Kick-Ass 2 has one of the worst executed rape jokes that is not funny and downright demeaning to all involved, as well as some bowel related humor that has minimal payoff due to the direction of the story.
The story’s main thrust is action sequences, which are mostly well choreographed and executed. Like the first Kick-Ass, Kick-Ass 2 on a minimal budget does some cool things with the final battle and use of a super-Russian soldier. Where Kick-Ass 2 could have been more compelling were the side stories. Identity is brought up more than once, and Dave and (especially) Mindy have important decisions to make as the movie goes along. Mindy’s insertion into a girl clique in school has some nice social commentary and compelling ideas about a superhero coming back to a world bound by rules; however, the subplot’s payoff is mediocre at best ruining some really compelling ideas about dual identities.
The acting credits range cover the acting spectrum. Since this is mostly Hit Girl’s movie, Chloe Grace-Moretz gets more screen time: a good decision, because she beautifully walks the comedy/drama line. Any scene with Moretz is usually a very good one. Aaron Johnson is again solid as Kick-Ass, but he is just not as interesting a character as written. Jim Carrey is unrecognizable as Colonel Stars and Stripes and makes nice work of the scenes he is in. On the bad end, Christopher Mintz-Plasse is so unhinged that I’m surprised his head didn’t move like a Pez dispenser. His story would have been great in the hands of a more complex actor, and Mintz-Plasse just isn’t there yet.
Kick-Ass 2 doesn’t have time to be subtle. It beats you into the ground with its fists and comic book references. When not trying so hard there is some interesting ideas, but who cares when a 14-year-old girl can fight a Russian tank of a woman? Can’t believe I’m saying this, but I missed Nicholas Cage a lot.