Kick Ass 2

Kick Ass 2, the latest film from director Jeff Wadlow is not a bad movie. It's not necessarily a good one either. Kick Ass 2 is what it is and what it is is mindless entertainment. There is nothing epic about this movie, no true statements being made (unless you're in high school), and the original in my opinion is a far superior movie. That being said, I give Kick Ass 2 a bucket and a half of Killer Korn.











Jeff Wadlow is no Matthew Vaughn, I just want to get that out right up front. Matthew Vaughn was the director of the original Kick Ass, and while there were moments where that movie was over the top, there was a deep serious humanity to that film. Disgraced cop seeking revenge on the man that ruined his life, hitting the streets with his young daughter and robbing those they killed. Yeah, in Kick Ass Big Daddy and Hit Girl KILLED dealers and stole their cash in order to fund their little operation against Mark Strong's Frank D'Amico. Kick Ass was gritty, never taking itself too seriously, and it was incredibly violent. Kick Ass 2, the follow up by Jeff Wadlow is non stop over the top camp. There are moments of seriousness, but for the most part, it's just ridiculous.

Turn off that part of your brain that demands shit make sense, that common sense area, and this movie will STILL have you saying WTF? This time around Dave Lizewski/Kick Ass, played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson is looking to team up with the high school skipping Mindy Macready/Hit Girl character played by Chloe Grace Moretz. She's still training like the devil, all to keep a promise to her now deceased Big Daddy. So Mindy and Dave cut school and sneak off to train and there she shoots Dave, kicks his ass on a regular, and sends him out into the streets looking for trouble dressed as a pimp. Morris Chestnut has taken over the role of Detective Marcus Williams from actor Omari Hardwick, and at the end of Kick Ass, he becomes the legal guardian of Mindy. Now the end of Kick Ass would have led you to believe that Marcus would have taken on the Big Daddy persona, and that would have been a cool story to tell but Jeff Wadlow went in a different direction.

Jeff instead introduces us to other crime fighting people. In much the same way Batman inspires copycats in The Dark Knight, Kick Ass has inspired other would be crime fighters, and a few of them have formed the group Justice Forever, and some even have facebook pages. Led by the maniacal Colonel Stars and Stripes, played by Jim Carrey, Justice Forever takes to the streets looking to right the wrongs and bring justice to those who deserve it. On the other side of that coin, Chris D'Amico, played hilariously by Christopher Mintz-Plasse becomes The Motherfucker after his mother threw away his Red Mist costume, and he creates a gang of super villains. Well not really super, except Mother Russia, played somewhat frighteningly by Olga Kurkulina, who has the ability to rip car doors off police cars and break necks with her thighs. Marcus however wants Mindy to embrace her high school experience and to quit being Hit Girl once and for all. Mindy has a "Carrie", popular girls vs. high school outcast moment and then realizes her destiny is to be Hit Girl, but not before causing projectile vomiting and ridiculous diarrhea in the school cafeteria.

Where Matthew's fight sequences were smooth, choreographed and filmed almost like a dance, Jeff's were...just not that. Jerky hand held cameras that tried to get you in the middle of the action were a big fail. Not to mention this movie looked like it was filmed to be on TV, not a movie screen. Cinematographer Tim Maurice-Jones got some great aerial shots of NYC, but the lighting was horrible and everything looked like a set. The music was a collection of pop songs that were akin to nails on a chalkboard combined with an inspired score by Henry Jackman and Matthew Margeson. If they eliminated the wretched pop songs, the movie may have been slightly better. If you choose to skip Kick Ass 2, I can't blame you. If you're looking for mindless fun then check it out. If you're looking for a good movie then watch the original and leave Kick Ass 2 alone.
I'll see you at the theater.