KICK-ASS 2 – The Review

So if Percy Jackson and the retired spies of RED can get follow-ups, why not that geeky non super-powered costumed crime-fighter Dave Lizewski AKA Kick-Ass? Well I know that Mindy MacReady AKA that pint-sized tornado of carnage Hit-Girl is worthy of a sequel, or better yet, a spin-off solo flick! So what happened? It was thought that the original from April of 2010, well, ummm…under performed at the box office. Well it looks like good overseas business and strong video sales made it worthwhile for the actors to don their masks and spandex once again. But after the box office bonanzas generated by PG-13 flicks based on the all-ages characters from DC and Marvel comics, will audiences respond more positively now to the dark, dirty, gritty, very R-rated world of these low-rent heroes? Suit up, let’s go on patrol through the mean streets of KICK-ASS 2.

Since the events of the first flick, Dave (Aaron Taylor-Johsnson) has inspired a lot of fellow New Yorkers to stitch together costumes and fight crime. He’s tossed his green and yellow togs in the back of the closet, but is itching to get back out there. After the death of her pop AKA Big Daddy, Mindy (Chloe Grace Moretz) got adopted by her father’s police detective buddy Marcus (Morris Chestnut). She’s promised to give up Hit-Girl and focus on her Freshman year of high school. But as soon as she’s dropped off in front the school, she hops in a cab and meets Dave at her dad’s old secret HQ to train him so he can hit the streets once more. Soon Dave as Kick-Ass is meeting up with another costumed vigilante, Dr. Gravity (Donald Faison) who introduces him to a team of heroes, Justice Forever, run by the born-again, ex-mob enforcer now known as Colonel Stars and Stripes (Jim Carrey). Meanwhile Dave’s ex-pal Chris D’Amico (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) yearns for revenge against Kick-Ass for killing his mobster dad with a bazooka. After another family tragedy, Chris inherits the family fortune and decides to become a super villain. But he doesn’t don his Red Mist outfit. Instead he becomes the black leather-clad nemesis, umm, er..The Mother F8%$#er! With the help of his family bodyguard Javier (John Leguizamo) he puts together his unstoppable own team. Can Dave, Mindy, and the JF defeat them before they destroy the Big Apple?

In the three-year interim the young actors have been adding to their resume. Taylor-Johnson has become quite the leading man with major roles in NOWHERE BOY, ALBERT HOBBS, SAVAGES, and as the object of Keira Knightly’s affections in ANNA KARENINA, but he’s still able to slip comfortably into Dave’s nerdy still-squeaky voice in this role. And even though he’s bulked up considerably since the first flick, he’s still prone to brutal beat-downs from the street punks. We get to see him enjoy his alter ego much more since he can hang out with other costumed cohorts. But none are as cool, or deadly, as Moretz as Hit-Girl. After roles in LET ME IN and DARK SHADOWS, she’s grown several inches and blossomed into a lovely young woman. There’s not the big shock of a tiny girl destroying the adult thugs (along with her salty language), but here Mindy truly gets to mature as she encounters, and becomes the target of, a group of slightly older girls who are reminiscent of “The Plastiques” from the classic MEAN GIRLS (perhaps a preview of Moretz’s next film role as Carrie White in a remake of the Stephen King classic). A slumber party scene where they introduce Mindy to the joys of boy band music videos is priceless. She seems to have the most difficulty separating herself from her alter ego, often seeing herself in the mask and purple wig when she glances at a mirror. Of course she desperately misses her Big Daddy as does the film itself. Nicholas Cage was a real shot of energy to the first movie, but Carney almost makes up for BD’s loss as the low-key, but still violent and vicious Colonel who won’t tolerate the smutty talk! His interrogation of a prostitution ring leader with the help of his faithful dog Eisenhower is a highlight. Unfortunately Mintz-Plasse doesn’t exude the same evil menace that Marc Gordon as D’Amico senior did in the first film. He just seems to be in constant screaming brat mode. Leguizamo makes a nice counter-part to  his boss’s manic screeching. Luckily body builder Olga Kurkulina make a very intimidating villainess as the killing machine, Mother Russia. Good guy stand-outs include Faison as the excitable, cheerful Gravity and Lindy Booth as the sultry Night Bitch.

New director and screenwriter Jeff Wadlow takes over the reins from Matthew Vaughn and retains much of the raunchy anarchic  spirit of the previous film. They are even a few nods to the flick’s graphic novel roots. Captions inform us of a new setting while foreign-speaking characters get English word balloons instead of subtitles. There’s even a few profile portraits from co-creator John Romita, Jr. Of course the surprise and novelty of the first film is gone (there’s been a few low-class hero flicks like DEFENDOR), but the new settings for the old characters (sure there have been loads of movies about high school bullies, but thrown in Hit-Girl and…) distance number two from the first. But make no mistake, this film earns that R-rating for the intense violence (that’s the reason Mr. Carrey is not promoting the film) although Mother Russia’s showdown with the suburban police almost reaches the cartoon excesses of Monty Python (think of the Black Knight). These heroes may not have the deep pockets of Bruce Wayne and Tony Stark, but they’re almost as entertaining, although on a more adult level. It may not quite hit the heights of the original, but KICK-ASS 2 should delight the fans of the former film and the original graphic novels. Maybe that purple-haired fem-fury can clean up a few other cities in her own franchise. Oh well, someday…

4 Out of 5