Kick-Ass 2

Kick Ass 2 isn't as refreshing or as original as the the first, but it still succeeds in delivering lights, entertaining action and a surprising amount of emotion.

If 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.

I 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.

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.

The first Kick-Ass film is one of my favourite films so I was delighted when I heard there was going to be a sequel. I didn't think it would be able to live up to expectations but it certainly did, it is a brilliant sequel. Both films are at least on par with each other.

The action again is fast paced and in some parts really gory, the humour is still there and the characters are all portrayed extremely well again. This one had more super heroes in it which I thought was good and it was more straight to the point. As in the first one I think Chloë Grace Moretz as Hit-Girl is the standout performer, she is unbelievably good in this role.

Overall it was a worthy sequel, I would recommend it to anyone. Even if you don't normally like super hero films I think you may be pleasantly surprised, it is just a brilliant action film. This is probably going to be the best film of Summer 2013, I really hope there is a Kick-Ass 3 :)

9/10 - Must watch.