Movie Review: Kick-Ass 2

Kick-Ass 2
Action, Comedy [M18]
Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Chloe Moretz
102 min

3 out of 5 stars

By: Tan Tam Mei

Over-the-top violence, bloody action scenes, and vulgar one-liners — Kick-Ass 2 may have retained the characteristics of its predecessor that made it a cult favourite, but lacks the same energy and wit that made it so radical and entertaining.

Picking up from where the first installment left off, nerdy Dave “Kick-Ass” Lizewski (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and potty-mouthed Mindy “Hit-Girl” Macready (Chloe Moretz) try to adjust to a normal high school life after giving up their superhero gig.

But in their way is spoilt brat Chris D’Amico (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), previously known as “Red Mist”, who’s back to avenge his father’s death. He returns as a super-villian, complete with a new name — The Motherf****r — and recruits an evil army to kill Kick-Ass.

While Dave gamely dons his Kick-Ass suit again, Mindy hesitates as she has her hands full grappling with issues of her own as a teenager.

Director Jeff Wadlow should be given some credit for fleshing out Hit-Girl’s character — but the whole plotting-revenge-on-the-Queen-Bee situation is overly reminiscent of Mean Girls, making it cheesy and unoriginal.

While the action scenes maintain the same amounts of violence and gore from Kick-Ass, they lack the first film’s energy and wit, leading to few memorable, epic action sequences.

Although Kick-Ass 2 doesn’t pack the same punch as the first movie, Wadlow introduces weightier issues that would appeal to more mature audiences.

The characters tackle more serious themes of identity, with Mindy questioning who she is and her place in the world while trying to juggle between high school and the role of Hit-Girl.

With these well-placed themes, viewers will likely enjoy Wadlow’s new direction for the Kick-Ass franchise instead of dismissing the film as senseless gore.

While far from being as groundbreaking as its predecessor, Kick-Ass 2 makes up for what it lacks in energy and humour with depth.