A Reel Review: KICK-ASS 2

 

Director Matthew Vaughn’s adaptation of the popular comic KICK-ASS was one of the pleasantly surprising hits of 2010. Telling the tale of a teenager who adapts a superhero-persona (without having any powers or skills at all), the film was a big ball of fun while poking fun at superhero clichés, and putting together a decent coming-of-age tale at the same time. Here in 2013, a new director (Jeff Wadlow) tackles the sequel/adaptation, KICK-ASS 2.

Set not long after the events of the first film, high school students Dave/Kick-Ass (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and his friend Mindy/Hit-Girl (Chloe Grace Moretz) continue to masquerade as costumed superheroes. They inspire others to do the same, including Col. Stars and Stripes (Jim Carrey). All is right with the world until their old classmate Chris (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) takes on the persona of a super-villain with the intentions of taking revenge on Kick Ass.

KICK-ASS 2 sets up a strong stage of teenage problems mixed with superhero issues and takes the characters to logical places from the first film. Once the stage is set however, the film dives into familiar territory that has been seen millions of times before. Where the first film made fun of the superhero cliché, KICK-ASS 2 embraces them and becomes a predictable, by-the-numbers super-film with characters struggling with their dual identities. Fans of the genre may enjoy it, but anyone looking for a bit more originality will be instantly bored.

Director Jeff Wadlow directs some fun action scenes and capitalizes on a lot of superhero themes, but for the most part he directs a narrative mess. The film is all over the place as it bounces from one character to another with no real connective tissue. Wadlow shows a shocking lack of cinematic maturity; not just because of the swearing, teenage-shit jokes and bloodshed…but because he has shot a film which looks like it could have been done by a high schooler. The pacing is uneven, the editing is sluggish, and the dialogue blurts out character traits instead of letting them develop naturally.

Acting is the high point of the film. Aaron Taylor-Johnson continues to impress and does some pretty good physical work here too. The real stars of the film are Jim Carrey and Chloe Grace-Moretz. Carrey lights up the screen every time he appears, but he is sadly underutilized. Chloe Grace-Moretz literally steals the show. Her scenes are fun and her character is the only one who goes through any sort of arc; It takes about ten minutes to realize that KICK-ASS 2 would have been better off as a Hit-Girl solo film.

KICK-ASS 2 seems to be relying upon everyone to have a really good time from all the zany violence, gore, harsh language, and ridiculous action sequences. Despite the intentions of any movie to be silly, it still needs to do its job of being a good movie. You can be silly-fun and tell a good story at the same time, but KICK-ASS 2 fumbles every opportunity. Fans of the comic will lap this up, but other than that, reserve this one for the 15-year old skateboarders who have hit their heads too many times.

BOTTOM LINE: Rent it