You know what the difference between two stars and two-and-a-half stars is? Two-and-a-half stars means if you missed the first five minutes, you go back at some point and see them for the sake of closure. I don’t really need to see the first five minutes of Kick-Ass 2. I’ll live.
I’m put off by the contrast between comic and reality in the Kick-Ass world. On the one hand, you have people who aren’t really heroes into Halloween 24/7. It’s funny because they’re delusional or just like playing dress-up. You know when Clark Duke suits up as a superhero, you can’t really take anything seriously. On the other hand, you have real death – throat slitting, mob hits, mortuary gun battles – that sort of thing. It’s just a matter of time before the kids get really hurt, isn’t it?
Kick-Ass Dave (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) is back, this time facing down the son of the vanquished foe from the first. For those who missed it, that son is Chris D’Amico (Christopher Mintz-Plasse, is this a first in movie history — the hero and villain both played by hyphenated actors?), who has changed from Red Mist to The Motherfucker. I’m sure that sounded a lot funnier in the pitch meeting. The Motherfucker’s super power is not summoning Samuel L. Jackson. Awwww. It is, instead, buying other supervillains. One in particular, Mother Russia (Olga Kurkulina) is a real find. Yes, the film does do the self-aware thing of telling us two villains both have “Mother” in their titles. Again, I think it was funnier in the pitch meeting.
The best character in the series remains Hit-Girl (Chloë Grace Moretz). We get to see her beat up Dave for a bit and then battle some local punks. Hit-Girl is the true super of the group – not only does she fight about 17 times better than the next best champion for justice, she also has absolutely no clue about social norms. Cutting off a guy’s hand might merit something other than a reflection on one’s punch line to other people. Step-dad (Morris Chestnut) catches her crime-fighting and decides to lay down the law *GASP* and suddenly Hit-Girl faces her toughest foes yet – Mean Girls. I think there were some wasted opportunities with Kick-Ass and Hit-Girl attending the same high school. Their peer interactions seem forced as if the pair cared only for crime-fighting. Even if
true, these guys are teens; can’t we let them behave like teens from time-to-time?
The Bechdel police will be overjoyed to note that the two strongest (by far) fighters are both women, and, quite frankly, their tales are far more interesting than, for the most part, their male counterparts. Jim Carrey as Colonel Stars ‘n’ Stripes has his second consecutive outstanding supporting role. He’s not gonna get recognition for this or Burt Wonderstone, but I’m very happy with the turn his career has taken.
Your pals are back for some action
To obtain reasonable satisfaction
Bashing some foes
To stave off woes
Instead of physical attraction
Rated R, 103 Minutes
D: Jeff Wadlow
W: Jeff Wadlow
Genre: Not-so-super hero
Type of person most likely to enjoy this film: Wannabes
Type of person least likely to enjoy this film: Law enforcement officials
