Okay, there are some movies not meant to be liked by the critics. ‘Kick Ass 2’ is one of them. The original ‘Kick Ass’ was a cult hit that was based on a cult comic that explored the premise: out of all the millions of comic book fans, over several generations, isn’t it odd that no one has ever even tried to be a super-hero? ‘Kick Ass’ follows the life of nerdy teenager Dave Lizewski (Aaron Taylor Johnson) as he tries to live out his super hero fantasy. The film was a parody, as was the comic, and went for the laughs, but it was also an R- rated, ultra violent, painfully politically incorrect, and had a surprising amount of emotional depth for a film that portrayed itself as a joke. The film did a modest amount, but exploded on the DVD/Blu-ray market to gain cult status. Of course, in the movie business, success breeds sequels.
‘Kick Ass 2’ tries to recapture the magic, but falls short of the first one. ‘Kick Ass’ success was due, in part, to it’s uniqueness, but how does one replicate uniqueness (borders on being an oxymoron). That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy the film and I am no where near as disillusioned with it as the critics. I felt this was a valid attempt and I had fun, even though it is a shadow of the previous one.
We revisit Kick Ass after he has hung up his tights and is trying to survive his senior year in high school. His mentor/side kick Hit Girl (the delightful Chloe Grace Moretz who hit a growth spurt since the last film) has given up her father’s dream for her to be a super hero and is attempting to integrate into something that she finds more frightening than mafia criminals; becoming a high school freshman. Their roles reverse and Dave becomes Hit Girl’s mentor in the savage land of high school. Both are bored with their high school life, but realize that they have to get on with their lives. To make their decision more difficult, costumed vigilantes, all who were inspired by Kick Ass and Hit Girl, start appearing and taking to the streets. The most notable of these is the intense Colonel Stars and Stripes, played by an almost unrecognizable Jim Carrey. He is both comedic and sympathetic. In fact, all of the heroes are ridiculous, but once their stories are revealed they are surprisingly moving.
The rise of of super heroes enrages Chris D’Amico (Christopher Mintz-Plasse [does everyone from the new generation have hyphenated names?]), whose gangster father Kick Ass killed in the last film. He decides to assemble his own team of super villains in response to the super hero teams forming. Once Kick Ass decides to return to being a super hero, Chris reveals himself as The Motherf****r’, the world’s first super villain. He is bent on avenging his father and killing all superheroes, especially Kick Ass.
The purpose of this film is to lampoon comic clichés, but it doesn’t sacrifice intensity, violence, and heart as the laughs roll out. They are edgy laughs that borders on uneasiness, but never fully crosses that line (I suppose much of that depends on your temperament). This movie is designed for comic fanboys as much of the humor relies on a comic book reader’s understanding on what exactly is being lampooned, but much of the humor is universal and if you are a person who doesn’t really connect with the super hero universes, it humorously validates one’s perception of the whole thing as ridiculous.
Overall, it is a sequel that doesn’t quite live up to the first one, but few sequels do. It is a good time for those who liked the first one. Be prepared to have your parody mixed with all the R-rated humor and violence that comes with those types of movies. Watching the trailers it has the appearance of a kid friendly movie, but it is far from it.
WARNING: EXPLICIT TRAILER
I give this film ** stars
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