Kick-Ass 2 (UK/US 2013)

I'm gonna call all the characters in this film by their superhero names to make things easier for myself...so there. The whole plot notion about ordinary people taking to the streets as superheroes dressed in their daft looking homemade outfits just seems like a huge rip of the film 'Mystery Men'. I mentioned this in my 'Kick-Ass' review but this sequel takes the copying one step further with the incorporation of regular everyday citizens all getting dressed up stupidly, virtually identical. All that was missing was a recruitment montage accompanied by a fun music track.

Oh and that's the plot by the way, bunch of dweebs dressing up as superheroes to combat the new supervillain in town 'The Motherfucker'. He's the son of the main villain from the first film, so nothing special plot wise folks, its revenge on revenge.

So 'Hit-girl' is in high school being a regular kid, how does she manage to afford or keep a big secret training base chock full of weapons? I'm guessing all that stuff and the hideout was passed down from 'Big Daddy' right?. Oh wait she has her own top line motorbike too...errrr she has more money than me.

Anyway as the film kicks off why does Hit-girl treat 'Kick-Ass' like a newbie at the start? she knows he is in the game from the first film, so why does he have to beg to be her sidekick?. They should be working together in this film from the start, or she should have at least accepted him without the begging...he was Kick-Ass!.

I like how everybody is text, tweeting and using Facebook throughout, taking the piss out of modern day society and obsessions that younger folk utilize (well modern day multimedia obsessions in general). The Motherfucker robs his first general store and shoots it up, he's on an evil high...he then pauses and says to himself 'I gotta tweet about this'. Plus the fact he has tonnes of followers on Facebook is amusing, Facebook rules the world people. I also quite liked the numerous comic book character plugs throughout and the usage of lots of predictable stereotypical superhero names that at the same time are racist for the characters given them...in this modern PC era.

I also liked the mockery of young teenage girls, their pink princess-like attitudes and taste in all things sparkly...'Twilight', Channing Tatum, Union J etc...seen this kind of thing before, very cliched but well done. Nothing better than some bitchy, catty, spoilt princesses in tight clothes hehe. Ironically of course the leader of these brats doesn't look half as attractive as Hit-Girl who is undeniably cute, but her two sidekicks were pretty cute too. In fact there is waaaaay too much underage cuteness going on here, this film is dangerous! I need a cold shower.

I understand where the plot was going taking Hit-girl out of the main action and sticking her in high school battling girly bitches but the film suffers for it. We never really see much of Hit-girl and I found myself yearning for her kickassery. Most of the hero characters are pretty lame really (look lame too but I guess that was the idea) and they needed Hit-girl in the team to boost it. The film is only good with Kick-Ass and Hit-girl, 'Colonel Stars and Stripes' is the only other character that works. Although I liked 'Night-Bitch' purely for sexual reasons, yes I said it, sexual reasons only, am I alone here??.

The film is mega violent but it doesn't feel as satisfying or adult as the first. The first felt quite graphic and brutal whilst this felt more cartoony and dumb. The villain characters were just horrible and stupid looking, they actually looked like something out of a kids fantasy flick or childish comedy...but they killed people. 'Mother Russia' 'The Tumor' 'Genghis Carnage' and 'Black Death', they all looked ridiculous and out of place. Then you have The Motherfucker who is actually wearing a costume of bondage/S&M gear, now that's fine on a sexy female character, but on a young teenage boy it just looks kinda disturbing.

All the action simply felt very average and too silly, the finale just seemed like a 'Braveheart/West Side Story' moment for a whole load of comic con nerds in silly outfits. The demise of The Motherfucker I think anyone could see coming a mile away...plus it was lame and we saw nothing. Another example is the van sequence where Hit-Girl is trying to save Kick-Ass which is pretty darn terrible frankly, terrible bluescreen effects, obvious stunt double and utterly implausible. How the hell can the bad guys manage to miss her so often at near point blank range when she has nowhere to go!!. Example B would be Mother Russia taking out a stream of cops in a suburban area...its just crap looking, end of. The gritty edge has been lost here, too over the top.

Just a few things stuck out in my mind. The Motherfucker kills his mum accidentally in one scene, then the next scene he and his mums bodyguard (Leguizamo) are going through her stuff and chatting as if its no big deal, no follow up on it at all!. When the bitchy high school girls and jocks ditch Hit-Girl why do they do it in the middle of a forest in the middle of nowhere? seemed rather obscure. Of course acting isn't great either but do you really expect that in a film like this??, actually Moretz is a pretty bad actress from what I've seen here, but I guess she's young.

In its entirety this film is a lesser version of the original, lots of bad gags, childish moments of toilet humour, bad looking violence, average looking fights and action and none of that decent ironic dark humour from the first. In fact I think there is too much humour in this, too many attempts at trying to be clever with silly lines and puns, and unfortunately there is too much high school nonsense making it actually feel at times like a high school teen angst flick....with a liberal splattering of blood. This film has failed to recapture the essence of the first film I'm afraid.

5/10