What had made Kick-Ass so special was its ability to sustain an interesting story both for the audiences who are and who are not willing to delve into the deeper aspects of what makes a film truly shine. Kick-Ass 2, on the other hand, seemingly aimed only to satisfy those who are not willing to dig. (But not entirely; I will get into that later). Simply put, if you walk into movies to see action, blood, and a whole lot of style, you will absolutely love Kick-Ass 2. However, if you walk into movies to see interesting characters, a well paced story, and a whole lot of substance, you will still admire Kick-Ass 2, but forget about it very soon. While there are few aspects from the deeper end of the spectrum residing within this film, that does not mean that they do not stand out and impress. Hit-Girl was a blast to watch in the first film. But unfortunately, her new-found sensitivities in this film seem to do nothing but take away from what mattered the most about her character in the first place in exchange for a few scenes of unnecessary high-school drama for the sake of developing a character in all the wrong spots. In spite of this, one character who stood out in a great way was Colonel Stars and Stripes who, in his mere seven and a half minutes of screen time, was an enormous bundle of interesting. Sadly, behind this among few more redeeming qualities lies the issues that many will have a hard time ignoring. The antagonist, who is notoriously known as The Motherf%#$er, is someone I found to be very bland and out-of-place in the Kick-Ass film universe created by the first film. Among a handful of humorous scenes he shared with Javier lies something we see every day in teenage comedies. Something worth forgetting about. Overall, Kick-Ass 2 is a great film for reasons that a lot of audiences do not find a film great for. However, if you allow it to take you to the spot it would like you to be (Which is a different mindset than what you had while watching the first) you should be in for a nice ride.
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ktyson94265 December 2013I loved the first one and have been waiting for this with great anticipation! When I saw it on Comcast On-Demand I immediately rented it. Like most sequels, this wasn't as good as the first and it's hard not to make comparisons to the first movie.
The first thing I noticed was the lack of a good soundtrack that went with the first movie. Scenes like Hit-Girl whooping ass to Joan Jett's "Bad Reputation", or the old Banana Splits song "Tra La La" Song totally made the first one awesome for me. The soundtrack was as important as the characters.
As the movie was unfolding I kept waiting for some funny/rocking music to play. Unfortunately, I was pretty let down that they didn't spend the money to acquire some interesting/funny/rocking songs for this movie.
Then the plot was sort of handicapped by the fact the characters had matured. I felt the actors all did a good job, but the built in humor that came along with an innocent naive Kick-Ass character getting his butt beat, or the irony of a 10 year old foul mouthed girl killing someone with the same zeal she would pursue a boy band with was gone.
I think they spent a little to much time developing the idea of a group of super hero's and and not enough time developing Kick-Ass & Hit-Girl characters. Overall, I liked it, and I'm sure most will... It just wasn't as fresh and new as the original. -
KICK-ASS 2 is the inevitable follow-up to the surprise comic book hit, which mixed broad comedy with hard action to provide one of the freshest superhero movies in years. This sequel is more predictable, following a familiar action-movie template while mixing in some terrible humour along the way.
The tone of the film is uneven with a mix of genuinely good, well-choreographed action moments with cheesy interludes that wouldn't be amiss in a Z-grade movie. For instance, the final warehouse fight is large scale, hard-hitting and great fun, but the awful green-screen effects on that van fight really take you out of it. Some of the new supporting characters are pretty interesting, particularly the unstoppable Mother Russia, and John Leguizamo bags a very funny supporting role.
Unfortunately, Wadlow is a better director than he is a scriptwriter and he has little idea what to do with his leading characters. Taylor-Johnson is given little to do and feels like an extra in his own movie, while the whole sub-plot with Chloe Grace Moretz going to high school is just stupid, juvenile and needless. The humour is also more uneven this time around, reaching a real low with the ridiculous vomit and diarrhoea scenes.
As ever, KICK-ASS 2 gets by for the wealth of action alone, and the willingness to go one step further than most PG-13 rated Hollywood superhero flicks. Jim Carrey is the film's real ace, bagging the best role as Colonel Stars and Stripes. Carrey is unrecognisable throughout and his own brand of relentless energy marks a real high point. In reality, KICK-ASS 2 is a pretty superficial and unnecessary sequel, but fans of the first film are sure to enjoy it anyway. -
billygoat107116 August 2013Kick-Ass has defined itself as a superhero movie with heroes wearing silly costumes and little girls brutally beating up tough grown men. That piece of creativity has been appealed by many for smartly satirizing the genre, despite of some absurdity still existing and glorified in the action scenes. For that hype three years ago, here comes the sequel that still got the good old charms of its predecessor. The bigger difference now is the theme they are supposed to present seems tougher, but the action has also gotten strangely out of hand. While those upgraded elements can be a bit uneven, it's not really hard to enjoy the overall film since it's still quite hilarious and utterly entertaining. Although it only has little sincerity in its own message, there's no denying that Kick-Ass 2 is a lot of fun.
Kick-Ass 2 is somewhat like any sequel, it heightens the scale to look even more exciting than the first one. Other than that, the rest is mostly the same. As usual, the most entertaining parts are having fun with the characters and some superhero satires. Even if it takes a different direction, the tone surprisingly sticks to the picture which is a joy. Everything is just enjoyable and amusing, but we all know that these movies are more than being fun. It always takes some darker themes so it can come close to reality. The film suddenly becomes intriguing when it discusses about the consequences of being involved in crime fighting, but those elements didn't stray far enough.
The better surprise you're gonna see here is the performance of Chloë Moretz. She already stole the show in the first film, but here she has grown her Mindy Macready into a much mature character than just a simple violent crass as Hit-Girl is, and as Hit-Girl she is still pretty awesome. Aaron Johnson is charming as always as Kick-Ass. Jim Carrey is also delightful as Colonel Stars and Stripes. The villains are kind of caricatures, but the one who played their leader, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, brings both wimpy and menace to keep him from being too sinister.
Noticeably, the style of the last director was more inspired than the new one's. Though, the aesthetics are intact. What people might brag about is how preposterous the action scenes are. I understand it's supposed to be tongue-in-cheek and faithful to the illustrations of the graphic novel, but the fact that they're trying to avoid these heroes and villains from being "Super", it seems they can't help to justify that and make it all incredibly badass anyway. Besides, everyone is only interested about how violent it is. I just wish it has more of those anti-hero parts to make it feel human. Otherwise, people will cheer on how awesome these set pieces are, because it's inevitable to call them awesome.
The ones who will likely enjoy Kick-Ass 2 more are the fans. It's almost too identical. Same entertainment quality, same amount of laughs, and got ironically ridiculous action scenes(from jetpack to lawnmower); while we get an impressive performance from Chloë Grace Moretz and a story that has potential of being compelling. It has the same pros and cons, but bigger. Although bigger, I think the original has smarter execution. I guess the film wants to focus more on its coolness than the morality and humanity it suggests. In other way, Kick-Ass 2 is good enough as a blockbuster and a competent sequel. -
IonicBreezeMachine12 March 2022Four years after the death of Frank D'Amico, Daze Lizewski (Aaron-Taylor Johnson) has retired from the role of Kick-Ass and returned to the tedium of high school. Mindy Macready (Chloe Grace Moretz) is now cared for by her father's former partner and her new guardian Detective Marcus Williams (Morris Chestnut) but she still operates as Hit-Girl and is soon rejoined by Dave as Kick-Ass. Following Marcus' discovery that Mindy is still doing operating as Hit-Girl he makes her promise to give up Hit-Girl which she does and gives High School life a try. Dave now having lost Hit-Girl and his girlfriend Katie (Lyndsy Fonseca) due to a misunderstanding, Dave seeks out other Superheroes who've been inspired by Kick-Ass leading him to the team Justice Forever lead by Colonel Stars and Stripes (Jim Carrey), a former mob enforcer turned born again Christian who does everything from feeding the homeless to raids on human traffickers. Meanwhile Chris D'Amico (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) still angry over the death of his father swears revenge on Kick-Ass and adopts the supervillain persona of The MFer and recruits a team of thugs giving them superhero names with his mission being to kill Kick-Ass, everyone he loves, and burn the city to the ground.
One of the most talked about films of 2010 was unquestionably the Mathew Vaughn helmed adaptation of the Mark Millar and John Romita Jr. Comic Kick-Ass which saw massive critical praise and okay if unspectacular box office that was dwarfed by its online footprint (being one of the most pirated movies of 2010). The production team made the movie unsure if it would even be distributed and following the lukewarm box office, doubt was cast there'd even be a sequel. In 2012 however a sequel was set with Universal picking up the distribution from Lionsgate and getting much of the principal cast from the previous film to return (with some recasting for characters like Dave's friend Todd or Marcus Williams). Matthew Vaughn and Jane Goldman were unavailable to return, but stayed on as producers and left the sequel in the hands of Cry Wolf and Never Back Down director Jeff Wadlow. The movie also had controversy with its release, however unlike the "indecency" cries from groups like the American Family Association, the protests came from Jim Carrey who in the wake of the Sandy Hook shooting withdrew his support for film no longer being able to "support that level of violence". Carrey's comments were met with respectful disagreement from his cast members like Chloe Grace-Moretz and Kick-Ass creator Mark Millar, and while the controversy probably wasn't a huge presence in people's minds, the top tier actor in your movie refusing to promote it probably didn't help. Upon release Kick-Ass 2 opened in fifth place behind Lee Daniels' The Butler and holdovers Elysium, We're the Millers, and Disney's Planes. The movie also lacked the critical support of the first movie with Kick-Ass 2 receiving mixed to negative reviews with fan reception also more lukewarm. Kick-Ass 2 does carry over some of the charm and violent fun of the first movie, but it also stumbles a few times and is lacking Vaughn's stylish direction as well as the sharpness of Vaughn and Goldman's writing.
One of the major missteps is definitely in the sidelining of Hit-Girl/Mindy, while the opening 20 minutes are a strong re-introduction for both her and Dave/Kick-Ass, the moment Marcus makes her promise to give up Hit-Girl and be an ordinary High School girl the movie essentially kneecaps itself by taking the break out character from the first movie and having that character dial back and conceal everything the audience loved about her. And what do they do with her? Basically have her go thrown sub-Meangirls high school satire that doesn't have the sharpness of Tina Fey and is instead written by the guy who gave you Never Back Down. The Mindy subplot is complete trash as Mindy hangs around with three interchangeable popular girl stereotypes who are all one note characters and aside from a scene where Mindy uses an illegal DARPA weapon to make the girls vomit and defecate themselves it's just filler whose only purpose is to keep the most popular character doing absolutely nothing.
In terms of the other parts of the movie, they're reasonably pretty solid. Despite Dave getting dumped by his love interest, Katie, from the first movie in a pretty stupid misunderstanding that he was having an affair with Mindy (in what feels like a retroactive attempt to bring the comic's take on Katie character which is a negative for me), the scenes with Dave as Kick-Ass meeting the eccentric team of Justice Forever consisting of gay superhero Insect-Man, husband and wife team Remembering Tommy (so named for their missing son whom they hope to see again), and of course the head of Justice Forever Colonel Stars and Stripes played by an almost unrecognizable Jim Carrey. Colonel Stars and Stripes is undeniably one of Kick-Ass 2's best new characters with his hard knuckle approach to crimefighting counterbalance by his contempt for vulgarity and profanity as well as a strict moral code that involves little things like escorting women home or volunteering a homeless shelters, the character feels like a more altruistic take on Vinnie Jones' character Big Chris for Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking barrels. It's honestly sad Carrey couldn't stand by this movie because it's a great performance from him and the character abhors violence when possible and carries an empty gun to make that point. What doesn't work as well is the replacement love interest for Dave in Lindy Booth's Night-B*tch who like Kick-Ass is also a costumed vigilante and dates Kick-Ass but only when the both of them are in costume and say what you will about Katie from the first movie, but she was a likable three dimensional character. Here Night-B*tch is more fantasy than fully formed character (a statement even shared by Mindy/Hit-Girl).
Christopher Mintz-Plasse is really good as Chris D'Amico/The MFer and is probably the one point I'll give to Jeff Wadlow over Vaughn and Goldman. While Vaughn and Goldman tried to humanize Chris by giving him remorse over betraying Kick-Ass and making his admiration of him genuine as opposed to the comic where Chris was all too happy to betray Kick-Ass, here Wadlow seems like he understands the character a bit more and Mintz-Plasse's performance is much stronger as a result. While his performance was good in the first Kick-Ass film, the uncertain approach Vaughn and Goldman took to the character left Chris somewhat lacking in definition so there wasn't solid ground for Mintz-Plasse to plant his feet on. Chris is much closer to his interpretation in the Mark Millar comic as this gleefully sadistic wannabe villain who's basically just an internet troll with mommy and daddy's money. He makes a solid antagonist and dark mirror image of Dave and its an absolute blast hating him. The MFer also surrounds himself with some solid allies such as an always welcome turn from John Leguizamo as Chris' bodyguard Javier who's really only tolerating Chris because "a job's a job" and yet still tries to keep Chris' delusions somewhat grounded and the interactions between Leguizamo and Mintz-Plasse are quite enjoyable. The crew of "supervillains" he assembles are also an eclectic bunch with the standout being Olga Kurkulina as Mother Russia an ex-KGB agent who supposedly ate her cellmate in Siberia. Kurkulina is an absolute blast playing the character like a female Ivan Drago From Rocky IV and she has the best action scene in the movie bar none.
Unfortunately the direction and action pales in comparison to the first film. Despite Kick-Ass and Kick-Ass 2 having very similar budgets, Kick-Ass 2 feels a lot cheaper and emptier in comparison to its predecessor. I think a big reasons is in the approach taken by Vaughn versus Wadlow. In the original film New York was pretty empty, but Vaughn worked around his limitations utilizing limited locations and smaller numbers of people to his advantage and also added some great energy to the action sequences with Big Daddy's Warehouse attack, Hit-Girl's night vision/strobe light scene, or the finale in Frank D'Amico's penthouse there's a lot stand-out moments in Kick-Ass. Kick-Ass 2 however, aside from that one scene where Mother Russia takes down 10 cops in suburbia most of the action is pretty generic and workman like. A scene with Kick-Ass and another superhero Dr. Gravity is loaded with shakey cam, and a freeway chase where Hit-Girl is finally allowed to be the character we love is filled with distracting compositing and greenscreen, and the finale takes place in what looks like a slightly dressed up warehouse with all these costumed individuals looking more like a riot at Comic-Con than a proper finale. There are some solid moments such as a scene where Chris tries to be villainous by committing rape only for his character to not be able to "perform" (which was apparently changed from actually happening in the comic so that's probably for the best) but everything feels really flat and reserved with a character death in the film clearly trying to aim for the same pathos as Big Daddy's death, but it fails to get the emotional resonance it's aiming for.
Kick-Ass 2 isn't bad, but it doesn't capture the magic of its predecessor. The movie makes some major missteps in benching its breakout character Hit-Girl for 70% of the movie and doing some really stupid "plot cleanup", and while we do get some good new additions with Leguizamo's Javier or Jim Carrey's Colonel Stars and Stripes they're underutilized. There's still some solid charm coming from the expansion of Kick-Ass's world of costumed eccentrics but with considerably less style on display with Wadlow's direction the budget makes itself more noticeable and there's fewer standout sequences as a result. If you're a fan of the first one watch it once, but it's a step down. -
hamza-torres94 January 2014Violence,Vulgarity,Humor and Suuperheroes.... What's there not to like? So we have Kick Ass(Aaron) and Hit Girl(Moretz) who had marked the presence of superheroes and started the revolution! Christopher Mintz- Plasse reprises his role and come back as a new super villain and now consolidating a team to take revenge. Hit girl tries to balance her life as a student which is a very realstick approach and I liked it a lot! There is a team of superheroes led by Colonel Stars and Stripes played by Jim Carrey who totally pulled it off! The movie had emotional scenes and intense elements just like previous part! If u liked Kick ass 1 , you will definitely love this fantabulous sequel! Truly , it is a stupendous sequel of a meritorious movie!
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john_jay198731 August 2013Pretty Impressive with the sequel of the movie, what impress me the most is the big improvement in Acting of Aaron, Chloe & Chris, compare to the 1st movie, good work there.
Packed with full action compare to the last 1, smooth movement, cool effect, though is more violent than the previous 1, but still is acceptable, well at least for me it is.
Too bad that cage didn't show up in the sequel, but hey Jim is here, his act impressed me, of course he does, its good to see him in this movie, I miss his acting, its been a while.
Hoping that there will be kick ass 3 coming soon, well done team, nice 1.
Voting this movie a solid 7 out of 10, good movie to watch to get a good laugh. -
Big_D_Box_Office_Score16 August 2013If there's one impression that Kick-Ass 2 left with me, it's this; This is one damn-fun movie, and a damn-fun franchise.
This movie is also pretty ambitious - there's a hell of a lot going on throughout this whole film, but they find a great way to balance all of the different angles going on, without overloading you at any time. Versatile is the word that comes to mind...let's run through the main points:
Pros:- Great casting, and solid acting. Don't expect any nominations, but it seems that every character has just the right actor for the job. Aaron Traylor-Johnson has clearly put a lot of work into this, because it looks like he's been working out with Chris Hemsworth and the rest of the Avengers. Chloë Grace Moretz is the perfect "Hit-Girl". Christopher Mintz-Plasse nails his character. Jim Carrey is great. John Leguizamo is in this! That guy deserves more work. And the movie deserves an award just for even coming up with a character named "Mother Russia".
- ACTION SEQUENCES. The 1st movie executed these to perfection, and the sequel follows suit. A great mix of high-level, slightly over-the-top martial arts action, lower-level brawling fights, gun play, high-speed chases, and even some explosions! And the soundtrack for these sequences deserves a mention. (When you have the previously-mentioned "Mother Russia" on a rampage, and a remix of the damn theme song from "Tetris" is playing in the background...you've won.)
- This movie is damn funny. You will laugh.
- Surprisingly emotional! There are a few scenes here and there that might just pull a heart string...they don't feel overly cheezy, and fit right in with the story...even the "Mean Girls" scenes.
Cons:- ........ ***thinking hard*** ...if I had to nit-pick, I could say that the movie almost goes too fast through a pretty major part. The movie is pretty fast paced throughout, but it might feel like a particular event may have deserved a bit more time to dwell on.
- Jim Carrey and John Leguizamo could have been utilized more. They were both great, but with so much going on here, it may have been tough to squeeze an extra scene or two for them.
Now, the inevitable comparison: how does it compare to the original? If I had to make a choice, I've got the take the original over this one. That's not a knock on this sequel - it's very worthy of the franchise. But the original was so epic, that matching it was always going to be a challenge. I'll say this though...the sequel comes pretty damn close, and which one you prefer may easily be different from my choice.
Overall, this is a damn good time at the movies...dammit. (I've just now noticed how many times I've used that word in this review...damn.) Get your popcorn and your snacks, get your seats, kick back, and kick some ass.
Kick-Ass 2 scores a 4.25 out of 5 on the BDBOS. Good job.
STAY THROUGH THE CREDITS!!! There's a bonus scene at the end that you will get a kick out out. Well..maybe "kick" isn't the right word to use...you'll see what I mean... :)
(Hey there. Thanks for reading all of this. Really. Having your eyeballs all over this means the world to me. Especially those sexy eyeballs of yours. They're spectacular. Do you work them out? It looks like it. Listen, I'm not just trying to sweet-talk you into thumb-upping my review, or talk you into stopping by my page (www.facebook.com/TheBDBOS), because that would be cheap. I'm just saying that if there was a sexy-eyeball pageant somewhere, you'd easily make the top 3. Have you ever thought about modeling? You should. You'd be great at it. In fact, I may know a guy...) -
SnoopyStyle1 August 2014Mindy Macready (Chloë Grace Moretz) promises her new guardian Detective Marcus Williams (Morris Chestnut) that she won't be Hit-Girl anymore. She tries to fit in but falls out with mean girl Brooke (Claudia Lee). Dave Lizewski (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) as Kick-Ass joins up with Dr. Gravity (Donald Faison), Colonel Stars and Stripes (Jim Carrey), Night Bitch (Lindy Booth), and others to battle street crime. He can't convince Hit-Girl to join. Chris D'Amico (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) wants to avenge his father's death and kill Kick-Ass. He becomes The-MotherFcker and hires a gang of supervillains.
This depends on what you thought about this franchise. The movie tries to up the carnage. It tries to be some sort of Dark Knight lite. But it also tries to be a high school drama with Hit-Girl faced with Mean Girls. The whole things leaves the movie underwhelmed and a little bit scattered in tone. Hit-Girl's story is somewhat interesting but it's not supported by the other characters. Lyndsy Fonseca returns just to break up with Dave. She's prime to be there for the high school drama but she disappears. She could have been one of the new superhero. There is a whole new gang of superheroes. Jim Carrey is taking the place of Nicolas Cage. The other problem is that the three main characters are scattered into their own separate stories. It keeps straining to make some connection between them. Lastly, both Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Chloë Grace Moretz are getting too old to play high school kids. -
Vartiainen31 January 2014If the first Kick-Ass movie was that cool cousin, who's a bit rough around the edges and definitely a badass, then this film is that young brat, who tries to imitate said cousin, but only partly succeeds.
The first Kick-Ass film had a few good things going for it. It had a completely new take on the superhero genre, it skillfully juggled both effective comedy and brutally violent action scenes, plus it had some pretty convincing characters and a dark storyline. The sequel, on the other hand, fails at the juggling part. The action scenes are still pretty brutal and effective, but the humour lacks that razor sharp edge that made the first one so believable despite its premise. Instead it relies on racial stereotypes and potty humour, which just isn't that funny.
Add in a lackluster storyline that honestly feels like watching tennis. First one character has a change of heart, then few minutes later he/she bounces back and another character decides to change his/her opinion, immediately after which the first one changes his/her stand. Rinse and repeat. A compelling and captivating story this does not make, especially when the villain generates mostly embarrassed facepalms and the final battle rejuvenates some of the first clichés the first film so artfully dodged.
That being said, the production values are still excellent, some of the new characters are pretty interesting (though there's way too many of them), I still like both Kick-Ass (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Hit-Girl (Chloë Grace Moretz) and they had some really good scenes together. If you liked the first film and want to see the storyline continued, this one is worth checking out if you're not expecting miracles. -
jonny-van14 August 2013I'm a huge fan of the first Kick Ass film and the comics, so I'm a tough fan to please but this film exceeded my expectations! In a year full of over-hyped superhero films Kick Ass 2 came along with a low budget, no contracted actors roped in and R rating and gave me the most entertaining hour and 40 minutes I've paid for all year!
Excellent acting all round especially from Jim Carrey and Chloe Moretz, this film doesn't copy and paste the first but stays close enough to it cinematically that the new director takeover isn't largely noticeable.
I don't understand why the film hasn't been rated better, 10 out of 10 from me. Super on all levels! -
vithiet30 December 2018Definitely not as good as the first one but entertaining. Hoping the next (and final?) one will be better.
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dandebs7 April 2014What an absolutely terrible film. Gone is the style, the wit, the intelligence of the first film. This is a paint-by-numbers sequel which missteps at every point. It glories in violence instead of critiquing it. The characters are boring caricatures of themselves, the supporting cast are cartoon characters - literally. Kick-Ass had real people in ridiculous circumstances - this sequel has ridiculous people doing ridiculous things for no apparent reason. Hit-Girl's story is a weird tired high school mean girls cliché which ends with Hit Girl getting revenge by making them vomit and poo. Huh? I could go on and on, but this film is just - weird, and a great big disappointment.
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CalRhys22 August 2013It seems like only yesterday that I watched Kick-Ass on the screen... but 3 years in reality, it definitely called for a sequel! Kick-Ass 2 is a fantastic sequel to the original Kick-Ass and in my opinion it is near enough up to scratch with the ratings with the original.
After the death of D'Amico in the first film, his son Chris decides to leave the life of Red Mist behind and make a new start with the alias The Motherf**ker with one aim, to kill Kick-Ass.
Kick-Ass is full of intense action and hilarious comedy, it is one of the best mixes and on par with other action-comedy films such as Hot Fuzz, 21 Jump Street and Tropic Thunder! From the variety of super heroes brought together by Jim Carrey's Captain Stars & Stripes to the frequent obscenities from 15-year old HitGirl, Kick-Ass is an enjoyable film for fans of comedy, action and the superhero films! A graphic yet hilarious adventure. -
blade39914 August 2013There's not much to say really, it just wasn't as good as the first.
(Spoilers will be marked)
The story felt disjointed and lacked that sense of being grounded within it's a world. The opening scenes were done well (spoiler) with Kick-Ass being trained by Hit-Girl. In particular the first fight scene of the movie, where Kick-Ass is acting as bait, had that bit of an edge which the first film carried throughout (spoiler end)
However, the bits that come in between and the high school "chick-flic" story that followed were good for the character but detrimental to the flow of the film. Wadlow seems to have a hard time grasping drama within this very eventful film and although the core sequences are done well (spoiler) Stars and Stripes being brutally murdered (spoiler end) there are many moments that just felt empty, such as (spoiler) Mr. Lizewski's death (spoiler end)
I'm not hating on Wadlow because he preformed strokes of genius in every scene that featured Chris D'Amico and can craft very good action sequences. But there was no edge. Everything felt like it ended too quickly which ultimately left me feeling like there was an hour or so missing from the film.
(SPOILERS)
Kick-Ass breaking up with Katie was a 5 second scene. There was literally nothing but a small comedic exchange. These moments of drama were weak. It felt like it was going on scene-to- scene with the dialogue being exactly the same.
"I don't wanna be Kick-Ass/Hit-Girl" "But Kick-Ass/Hit-Girl is who you really are!"
Bland.
The climax was the ultimate downer. Gone was the long build up from burning warehouse, to Red-Mist shooting Hit-Girl, to the torture scene, to the apartment shoot-out. GONE! Instead are a nice build up of evil events from "The Toxic Mega C***" that leads to a shallow stand off between the Heroes and Villains.
I know there's not much detail, but this review is ironically reminiscent of the film I watched 30 minutes ago. It feels like there's a lot missing and more to be explained.
From someone who hails the first film as my personal favourite, this was a let down and I wish Matthew were back to direct such brilliant actors (Hats off to Jim Carrey and Christopher MP on their outstanding performances)
7/10, thank you -
antmlfc14 August 2013For many people the first one was a bit out of the box,many thought the young star was exploited too much, well folks it is a sequel so it is worse. In the first movie there was and air of innocence about the main characters well this is thrown out the door in the first scene. The movie is full of violence, full of foul language and choc block of disturbing scenes everything that was said about the first one is doubled here it holds nothing back. The story is a revenge story but the revenge is twisted and really disturbing. The scenes involving Hit-Girl this time around are not for the faint hearted and the scenes involving The M*****F***** are disturbing but hilarious. This movie is so much fun. If you liked the first one well everything in this one is doubled as it is a sequel, but a special mention to Chloë Grace Moretz who in my opinion is a fantastic actresses every movie I have seen her in she has stole the show. Fun and Violence. 7/10
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mrxelement16 August 2013Following up to the successful hit "Kick-Ass" we get another Kick-Ass movie that is even more bloodier,hard-hitting, with lots of kick-ass moments. Hit-girl is back better than ever, Kick-Ass is back, and introducing our brand new super hero Jim Carrey who's hands down quite the badass just stealing the show! Bravo Jim Carrey simply a masterpiece that surprising to see Jim Carrey bash some skulls.
Now folks don't believe the critics. They simply can't take a hit or too. This movie is fun especially for the fight scenes it throws. If you like the first "Kick-Ass" movie then you're probably gonna like this one. Even though it kinda has a different tone to it, it still manages to keep a balance of entertainment. -
For those who have read the comic book series, you will have some expectations about this film. But for those who have seen Kick Ass, and read the comic it is based on you know that the film takes liberties and makes changes which are suitable for this media. Kick Ass 2 is not an exception. This is not a page for page, and panel for panel uplift from the comic, but rather a an adaptation which has taken the core elements and adapted it for the audience.
For those who know of the more gruesome elements of the comic, which shocked many in the comic book community, if you do not want them, hoorah, they have been adapted. Being more emotional, and even more humorous. With the scene involving Night Bitch and the Mother f***er being one of the best adaptations.
So what can I say about the film? Having been in the very first showing of this film in my local area on the opening day, I have been looking forward to this for a significant period of time since I heard it was to come, and saw the trailers. My girlfriend was per obligation brought along, and she is not the usual fan of comic book based films (though I am winning her round). The film has a brief, literally very brief outline of the first film, so it is almost essential to have seen the first film to understand how everything is connected. Character development has been progressed, especially with Mindy/Hit Girl storyline, and Dave/Kick Ass.
Yes there is moments where the pace slows, and yes there is now the infamous Union J scene, but it detracts little from the film, but has an almost natural course in showing Mindy's development. She has to choose between her legacy left from her father, and her new adopted father trying to give her a "normal" life, but what is normal. That is the main question asked in this film.
Jim Carrey, brings a heavy hitter to the film, just as Nicholas Cage did with the first. But the main stars of the show remains Aaron and Chloe. Both have developed, and both have a future in the film industry, though Chloe is definitely the rising star.
It has an almost rushed pace to the film, with some scenes in the trailer not appearing either at all or fully, so expect these to appear in the |R-rated uncut version of the DVD. The film, like the first leaves the ending open, just in case there is no Kick Ass 3. But I hope there is, the trilogy must be finished, and I would love to see how the potential romantic relationship between Mindy and Dave develops, especially as it likely that Kick Ass 3 will be filmed when Chloe Moretz is 18.
How would I rate this. Definitely a 9/10, not as good as the first. But not the worst sequel. What let it down? Definitely a rushed pace which suggests backroom cutting of scenes. But definitely well worth seeing, ignore the critics. Give it a try, you will not regret it. -
axfan6416 August 2013Kick-Ass 2 was definitely a film for the fans, if you aren't familiar with the Kick-Ass series then this movie wouldn't be for you. Having said that I am a fan of the comics and this movie was awesome. The fight scenes were crazy and Hit-Girl always runs the show. I hate that the critic scores are low but I honestly kind of figured they would be and I see why they made it so low, to a film's core this film wouldn't be looked at as a masterpiece, and they couldn't exactly retain the same shock factor the first one had because Hit-Girl was only 11 or 12 years old in it. But all things aside this was a pretty entertaining film and I think most people would really enjoy it.
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Bunuel197627 September 2013The original KICK-ASS (2010) had divided critics: I recall the late Roger Ebert deeming it offensive and awarding the film a measly *; this reprise seems to have gone one further in that objections were raised even by those who loved its predecessor! As for myself, I found it generally a fun ride – if obviously lacking in freshness: one thing the first movie had going for it was the shock factor, which never elicits the same response in a sequel anyway (and this, regrettably, does seem to up the ante on the nastiness!).
Once again, Chloe Grace Moretz as Mindy Macready/Hit-Girl comes off best: she is fast becoming the Jodie Foster of her generation (with a comparable penchant/knack for playing beyond her years); with this in mind, I am not very enthusiastic about her upcoming reboot (ironically, there is a jibe at this lazy current trend in the film under review!) of CARRIE even if she did undeniably score in another remake, LET ME IN (2010)! Indeed, despite the title, Aaron Taylor-Johnson pretty much takes a back-seat to her character development here, and to that of Christopher Mintz-Plasse's outrageous reinvention from "Red Mist" to "The Motherf***er" (though one never for a second buys him as a supervillain!). An attempt to create a relationship between Dave Lizewski/Kick-Ass and his ageing, unwise father emerges as not only weak but serves merely as a plot device to trigger the inevitable all-out showdown between the two costumed factions!
This also continues the tradition of the series in having a star act as a mentor to one of the protagonists and who eventually meets a horrible death at the hands of the bad guys. Jim Carrey (following in the footsteps of Nicolas Cage) subsequently, rather bafflingly, disowned the movie's glorification of violence – though I would say it is more of an ode to vigilantism. That said, the "Justice Forever" troupe is too anodyne to make much of a ripple in the public consciousness! Hit-Girl, too, gets another severe trashing before the character's nemesis receives her just desserts in crowd-pleasingly over-the-top fashion. With respect to the female lead, while I did not mind the high-school antagonism scenes (even if the "Sick Stick" joke went too far and was completely unwarranted!), her being constantly grounded by the cop protector eventually got tiresome (still, this does lead to a nice paraphrasing of that famous JAWS {1975} quote about "need{ing} a bigger boat", which film also worms its way into the climax)!
The brief post-credits sequence hints at a possible future entry in the saga; I think the film-makers should learn when to leave well enough alone (especially since Moretz will presumably have outgrown the part by that time)! I do not know how the film ended in the lap of, to me unknown, writer/director Wadlow – but I failed to see his individual vision amid the necessary (read: obligatory) adherence to a successful formula which is perhaps why the services of the original's helmer, Matthew Vaughn, were retained in a producing capacity! -
cathalokane15 December 2013Kick Ass is one of my favourite films. It's clever, funny, original and gets all of its various elements just right. It scores on every level and is in my view the very best superhero film there is. OK, it's not as good as the Dark Knight films but you know... it's different, it's self aware. It's the anti-superhero film par excellence.
This film is about as far from the original Kick Ass as it is possible to be. It should be called "Sucks Ass". I have no idea what happened in the writing and production of this film but they managed to lose almost every semblance of wit that was in the first film and they have replaced that with a load of over the top Tarantino-esque violence, and a few knob gags.
I had heard this film was not as good as the first, but nothing prepared me for the turgid awfulness of what I watched tonight. I was watching the diabolical end "fight" through my fingers as the sheer mind-numbing terribleness of it had me involuntarily face-palming. I'm not even going to bother mentioning the plot (was there one?), but let's just say this film veers haphazardly from mindless blockbuster action smash right through to cheesy teenage school chick flick and back without ever managing to entice a giggle.
Remember "With no power comes no responsibility"?! Yeah, that made me guffaw with laughter too. Even the opening suicide smash of the original Kick Ass has more humour than this entire film and all it's terrible "jerk off" jokes combined.
Awful awful awful. The only reason I'm giving it three stars instead of one is erm... well I don't even know. I guess the stuff that has been shamelessly copied still half works, such as the music (songs all used in exactly the same places etc) but aside from that there are almost no redeeming features.
I now see very clearly why Jim Carrey wanted to disassociate himself from this film. It wasn't because of the violence. It's because its a terrible, terrible film. -
Lyra-gp15 August 2013There are so many things I'd like to say about this movie that I'm finding it difficult to choose what to begin this review with. Let's start saying that Kick-Ass is my favourite movie ever. A precious jewel of wit and originality, like no other movies. So I was truly worried, I feared that this sequel would disappoint me. Well, I've just come back from theatre and I'm right now feeling the need to review this M-Ass-terpiece before going to bed. Because Kick-Ass 2 is the main reason why I'm freaking enthusiast with life, now.
How could I sum up the whole movie experience? Let's see...to put it in a simple way, Kick- Ass 2 is a dark, ingenious, freaking cinematographic extravaganza. I've seen lots and lots of movies this year, but none of them has stricken my heart so deeply like Kick-Ass 2 did. It's funny, dark, violent, vulgar, moving, surprising. Am I exaggerating, maybe? I can assure you I'm not. Because every freaking minute of this movie touches the chords of your heart and your sensibility in a great way.
Mattew Vaughn was right when he said that the Kick-Ass sequel was in good hands. I personally loved some of his works, Cry Wolf above all, and I was very curious to see what he was able to do. KA 2 is his first super-hero comic movie and, despite the fact that he hadn't experienced this movie field before, he did a very good job. If you're reading this review, Jeff, I want you to know that I am very glad you directed this movie. With his direction, the Kick- Ass atmosphere, differently from what some people might say, remains totally unaltered. This is just one reason why I think KA 2 is a worthy and deserving sequel.
In my opinion, Kick Ass represents one of the rare cases in which a movie is better than the comic it is inspired from. Sorry for Millar, but I found the KA 2 movie far more original and ingenious than the comic. It tells, more or less, the same story of the comic, but in a better way. This is due, above all, to Jeff Wadlow's script-writing efforts. Furthermore, the most violent and disturbing things about the comic have been left out, but, in return, the story is more gripping and the characters are very well developed.
As I said before, the characters in the movie present very deep psychological traits. Aaron Johnson, Chloe Moretz, Jim Carrey and, last but not least, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, they all did a great job. Their interpretations in the movie are superb, providing the watcher with a very convincing and fascinating portrayal of the characters. As the movie goes by, you get truly fond of all the characters, even of the MF'ER!!! But I won't spoil anything about it, so go to see the movie.
Kick-Ass 2 is going to be a cult. The movie talks about life, weaknesses, strength, love, in a totally new and different way. It's a beautiful stream of emotions that takes you away. In a 103 minutes run-time you take at heart the noble goals of the Justice Forever, you fall in love with hit-girl, you get to hate (and love) a wicked enemy, you really understand what being an adolescent means.
I loved Kick-Ass 2. Is, without any doubt, the best movie I've seen this year, one of the best movies I've seen in my entire life. Go to see it, you will not regret it. -
Rayvyn9 February 2014First let me say the first Kick-Ass movie was, well, kickass! But this movie, while pretty good, fell a bit short. This movie picks up with Katie being a teenage girl in high school. She's a freshman trying to fit in at school. That's part of the problem. In the comic books Katie is ten-years-old to eleven-years-old. Much of the entertainment value is derived from her being so young and being able to take out grown men and women who are gangsters. Kick-Ass is the same age and basically the same person.
The main problem is they should have stuck to the comic book. For one Mother Russia was more of a character and how Katie dealt with her was much better than what she did in the movie. Kick-Ass seems to be the same incompetent hero he was despite training by Wendy.
Another problem is with the ending, it totally departs from the comic book. The book ending shows Wendy heading off to jail and the movie ending shows her riding off on a motorcycle. In the comic book she utters a pretty funny line at the end.
If you have a choice, read the comic book first, then watch the movie. -
surlaroute15 August 2013There's a scene in Kick-Ass 2 where one of Dave's only friends who hasn't quite got into the whole "real life superheroes" act yet finally joins them in an outfit that is basically an inversion of Dave's yellow-and-green jumpsuit and tries to choose his name. All he can come up with is variations like "Ass Kick!" and "The Asskicker" to which Dave and his other friend understandably roll their eyes. He later changes sides completely.
Remember that awful movie that the Daily Mail reviewed and accidentally called Kick-Ass? That's what Kick-Ass 2 is really a sequel to. It's so much a pale interpretation of what some terrible people thought the first movie was (and I'm afraid one of those people may be the series' creator, Mark Millar, who quite famously reads the Daily Mail) that it may as well be titled one of those awful unimaginative names Dave's friends comes up with.
I was actually fine with the awful clangers early on in this movie the Austin Powers-esque, "she sure had some big guns" followed by a shot of someone carrying some actual big guns towards the camera, the blatant descriptive gags like "his baton is so much bigger than Kick-Ass's baton means cock, by the way " the desperate attempts to be current with Mother F**ker spouting his plans to basically tear the world down and then saying, "I gotta tweet about this!"
I could deal with all this because I didn't expect much from this movie except for Hit Girl to be awesome. I really thought they couldn't mess that up because she's such an indestructible character. There's an early line where she tells her foster father, "I've done more in 15 years of my life than most adults have done in all of theirs," and it should ring hard for anyone over 30. Even part of the sequence I'm about to talk about gives a fine glimpse of what Chloe Moretz's Carrie might be like – in short, it might work, she shows the kind of vulnerability I didn't ever expect to see in such a face – a face that, if I described honestly, I'd probably be taken in by Yewtree
But it's in that middle sequence, the bulk of Moretz's strangely short screen time (she was the highlight of the first movie and even the negative reviews of this one single her out – I'm afraid I can't even be that generous), where this movie really lost me entirely. It begins as a strange Mean Girls knock-off with Mindy (Hit Girl) quite inexplicably going along with a plan to make her "like other girls", passing through a strange slumber party scene where she basically gets horny for the first time watching a "Union J" video (I was surprised to find this cheesy looking band, looking as fake as everything else in this movie, is actually real – and Chloe Moretz is a fan, forcing me to assume it's her doing ), and proceeding to a clichéd looking jock taking her on her first date (her foster father, so protective, seems to be fine with this) that for a horrible second I thought was going to lead into some kind of rape (I forget if the other "rape" scene happens before or after this – I'm not even gonna talk about that 'cos it's been mentioned plenty elsewhere). Instead she is met by her fellow school pals and then deserted. HURTFUL! This whole middle act story ends with Mindy strolling into school dressed like all the other shallow girls and prodding them with an invention of Big Daddy from the first movie – a stick that makes them throw up and diarrhoea at the same time, which looks more like vanilla and chocolate pudding coming out of both ends. It was at this point that if you'd photographed me you'd have seen a face that looked a little like when Eric Cartman's funny bone broke in "South Park".
It's not that I'm offended by this stuff. If you know me, you know this. And I knew that under any other circumstance I would've found it tear-inducingly funny. There was just something about the way it was done, and the context, that kind of paralysed me. It was just so pointless.
Jim Carrey disowned this movie because of the violence after Sandy Hook etc. He'd've done better just saying he was embarrassed at how it turned out. I heard there was a post-credits scene at the end of Kick-Ass 2, but I left as soon as the screen went black and I wished for once I was the kind of person who leaves earlier sometimes. Frankly unless that post-credits scene was Ashton Kutcher saying "you've been punk'd!", I think at least I saved some of my time the day I saw this. It's not offensive, it's just embarrassing. The only good thing is that it'll make you realise just how classy the first movie was. Jane Goldman and Matthew Vaughn, you are sorely missed