Review of Kick-Ass 2 (2013) by Bruce722 — 19 Aug 2013

Kick-Ass 2 is a very good movie but it fails to capture the essence of the first film. The first movie was successful for two main reasons. For one, the brutality and in-your-face factor was incredibly high and created a certain "shock and awe" that left a lasting impression on the audience.

The second was the film's refreshing take on the superhero concept. Both of these elements were either lost or severely diminished in this sequel. To cover the shock and awe, it just didn't have it. There were nowhere near as many scenes that made your peel away and get engaged at the same time.

I think a big reason for this was the diminished role of Hit Girl. That's not to say that Chloe Grace Moretz' character, Mindy Macready, doesn't get appropriate screen time. If anything, the opposite is true.

At times it almost felt as though she was the main character and the driving force of the film. The problem is that Mindy Macready, though Moretz is a fantastic young actress, is not refreshing or profane enough to deliver the effect Hit Girl does.

As for the superhero perspective, while the first film felt refreshing, this film almost felt "spoofy" at times. In both cases, I think the directorial and screenplay change from the first film are at fault.

Jeff Wadlow clearly had a different vision than many fans, including myself. One last negative, I hated the break in continuity from the movies by changing two characters, albeit they are fairly minor.

Detective Marcus Williams (the black cop and friend of Big Daddy who becomes Mindy's care-taker at the end of the first film) and Todd (the less-important friend of Dave) are both played by different actors and neither feels right.

Overall though, I hope it doesn't sound like I didn't enjoy this film. Moretz was amazing and Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Christopher Mintz-Plasse both do adequate jobs in the more tradition protagonist and antagonist roles, respectively.

The action was really cool and the plot had tons of potential and largely lived up to it with the exception of the aforementioned flaws, in my opinion. If you loved the first film, you'll still probably enjoy this one quite a bit.

If you found the first movie offensive, that feeling will not change here.