Cert: 15
Release date: August 14th
Kick Ass 2 is an adaptation of a graphic novel series, created by Mark Millar and the film follows the lives of wet suit wearing hero, Kick Ass (Aaron Taylor Johnson) and Hit Girl (Chloe Grace Moretz). they have retired from the world of vigilante justice- but as you have probably guessed already, they are inevitably pulled back into the fray as Kick Ass’s old nemesis resurfaces under a new name, and with an obsessive vendetta against Kick Ass, brought on by the murder his father in the previous film. As Kick Ass hears that his enemy is gathering an army of super villains, he decides to once again don the green and yellow mask and see if he can join up with any of the vigilante groups that he has been hearing about.
He soon finds a group of like minded individuals, including Donald Faison (Scrubs) playing the part of Dr Gravity and Jim Carrey as the reformed mob enforcer, turned vigilante leader, Colonel Stars and Stripes. Unfortunately the majority of the supporting cast, is a bit weak with Jim Carrey has one of the best played parts of the film, which is unfortunately underused. Hit Girl and Kick Ass give good performances and the fight scene that takes place on a speeding van is brilliant but Kick Ass’s friends, turned vigilantes unfortunately give less interesting performances and they seem like they could have been written into better scenes with more interesting dialogue.
Kick Ass has a strange blend of comedy and relatively realistic violence which sometimes works and sometimes it just seems to be a strange mix and it seems that it can’t decide between slapstick comic book violence and the more realistic depiction of vigilante justice. Overall it is a good film but it does seem to rely a bit too much on shock factor and violence.
For the most part the film is quite unpredictable though and it’s definitely distinguishable from the majority of comic book films, with an interesting take on a familiar genre. It’s worth seeing, but not the end of the world if you miss it at the cinema.
7/10
