Kick-Ass was a very special film, indeed. Part comedy, part action and all satirical; Matthew Vaughn managed wonders with a low budget and an excellent cast. The sequel, Kick-Ass 2, looks to build on that without Matthew Vaughn and instead with Jeff Wadlow as writer and director. I have to admit, I was a little worried when I heard this news, but I was wrong. His sequel is just as funny, just as gruesome and even more satirical.
Kick-Ass 2 is more of a character piece than it's predecessor. Hit-Girl, the brilliant pint-sized superhero played by the Chloe Grace Moretz; who that took everyone by surprised in the previous film, takes center stage in this film. We see Mindy adapting to life at school under her new guardian, Marcus Williams, while, at the same time, trying to stop the craving of once again becoming Hit-Girl. It's surprisingly compelling stuff and does a good job of making us care more about Mindy as well as Hit-Girl.
Meanwhile, Dave is still struggling along being Kick-Ass, but this time he's been trained by Hit-Girl and found a team known as Justice Forever. This is where most of the comedy comes from and it is genuinely funny. The characters who make up this team are brilliant and most importantly memorable. They're headed by Colonel Stars and Stripes played by the wonderful, Jim Carrey. Carrey puts in yet another brilliant comedic performance, yet brings something totally different to this character. He's a total nutcase.
What I loved about Kick-Ass 2, though, was it's tone. It never takes itself seriously, yet there are some genuinely serious moments which totally shock the audience. Because of the mix of genre, it puts in the audience into a state of relaxation so when a serious scene comes it really hits us right in the face and makes a bigger impact as a result, it's excellent film making. The juxtaposition between serious and slapstick is perfect. The film has some really cringey lines, yet in this, they're not cringey. I'm not sure how Wadlow has done it, but he's managed to make someone dressed up in S&M gear a genuine threat. He's managed to make an old couple superheroes without making me question why. The tone of the movie is just perfect, and I don't think it can ever be recreated by anyone.
The action isn't as good as the original's action, but that does have incredibly high standards. We still get Hit-Girl taking out at least 10 guys from on top of a moving van, we still get Mother Russia throwing a gas tanker into a police car and blowing it up and flying a lawnmower of the back of a police car into two policeman. It's excellent stuff and not bad for a 'comedy'. It's all excellently choreographed.
One fault I could give this film would be that it just retreads ground that was trodden in Kick-Ass, but who cares when it's this much fun? You could also say that the film suffers from the lack of a big villain. I was never that convinced by Christopher Mintz-Plasse - but maybe that's because he's usually a comedy actor and that the last film had Mark Strong, one of the best villainous actors in Hollywood (#Strong4Luthor).
Kick-Ass 2 isn't as good as the original, but it's pretty damn close. It's everything I could have wanted from this film.
8/10
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