To some, the film has garnered much controversy, due to the level of violence. To others, it is merely a rocking good time, devoid of much save entertainment value. But upon viewing Kick-Ass 2, I stumbled upon a third option: A piece that thematically tries to explore what fascinates us about the superhero culture while at the same time grounding it completely in reality.
Kick-Ass 2 starts off 4 years after the first one (a smart move to account for the actors growing up. To have any other time jump would seem very odd). While Hit-Girl (Chloe Grace Moretz) is still roaming the steers, Kick-Ass (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) has given up on the hero dream, until boredom gets him back into it, and he soon joins a team, consisting of Colonel Stars and Stripes (Jim Carrey), Night Bitch (Lindy Booth) and other do-gooders with no skills or experience whatsoever. Meanwhile, Chris D’Amico (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) has sworn vengeance on Kick-Ass for killing his father, and starts constructing a team of his own.
Narratively, what makes the film work so well is knowing there needed to be dual focus, with not one, but two protagonists. Obviously Kick-Ass would be the first one (the film shares his name, after all), but Hit-Girl’s popularity meant that it would be the right move to incorporate her into the story in a way where she is more than just a supporting character. The film also smartly has both characters’ arc relate to each other—Kick-Ass goes back to being a superhero, only to find out it is not for him, while Hit-Girl stops being a superhero, only to understand that she can’t deny her true nature. Both Johnson and Moretz shine, with Moretz in particular stealing the show, partially due to the over-the-top nature of her character, and partially for how well that over-the-top character is humanized by her.
The film itself is funny, raunchy, and incredibly violent—it’s over the top
in every way, and makes no secret of it; it’s either your cup of tea or not. But what Jeff Wadlow does very well is that he makes all of characters’ physical actions over the top, while grounding their emotional ones. Every fight scene is violent, but it is done so in a video-game like style—no one would mistake this for reality. But a dramatic scene where a character goes to jail? Directed as seriously as an Oscar-winner. Having wrote both the script and directed the film, Wadlow shows he was up to the task. It may seem like a relatively simple feat at first, but Kick-Ass 2 has to walk the line between not being taken seriously and becoming too much of a parody of itself. And it walks that line quite well.
Where the film does have problems is some minor script issues—mainly, the themes and arcs are all over the place. Not in terms of content; the questions of identity and purpose are very relevant. But Hit-Girl’s arc meanders, almost coming to a complete conclusion at the middle of the film, leaving her nearly static for the second half. Kick-Ass comes to the conclusion that superheroes are not necessary because there are real heroes every day—a strong arc for the character, but completely subverted SPOILER when the last shot of the film contains a new Kick-Ass costume he is working on. END SPOILER
But the missteps are minor. If you’ve seen a trailer for the film, or watched the first one, you know exactly what to expect. And the film delivers. It’s not a masterpiece by any means, but definitely fun cinema.
Rating: Incredibly violent, incredibly offensive, and incredible fun (7.5/10)
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