Kick-Ass 2 Movie Review

It's weird actually! Whenever a movie I like gets a ludicrously low rating on Rotten Tomatoes, I just seem to like the movie more and more. Here is my take on the anticipated sequel to Kick-Ass.

In Kick-Ass 2, we return to the lives of our favourite wannabe Super-heroes Kick Ass and Hit Girl- who are struggling with some real world problems. Life isn't a comic-book, people get injured and killed, that's just the reality of it. However, their actions in the first movie have inspired other ordinary citizens to become Super-heroes and to do good. That's our movie; I had a good time with it!

29% on Rotten Tomatoes is a joke, in my opinion. Kick-Ass 2 offered me one of the most enjoyable cinema experiences of the entire Summer! I'm a big fan of the first movie. It has good direction and a unique style. This movie does a good job at emulating that style as well as making you feel like you are watching a live-action comic book- through the use of translation speech bubbles and time phrases and text boxes, typical comic-book devices.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson does a very good job at playing the lead role. He's good at portraying a character which is clearly way younger than his actual age. He's a great protagonist but does not steal the show. However, a lot of scenes he was involved in did make me laugh so I can't help but praise him. Also, one scene he was involved in required unexpected emotional range and extra credit has to go for that! Really surprised me..

However, the show-stealer is of course Chloe Moretz as Hit Girl! In this movie, there is a sub-plot which involves her and I think it is a necessary sub plot for her character to develop. I don't know why, but I was a huge fan of this part of the movie. Plus, it's always nice for the High School "Queen" to get here comeuppance (even if it was in such a horrific, brutal way!). I also liked how although she had promised to give up being Hit Girl, she still finds real life activities, like cheerleading, to still be Hit Girl.

A lot of controversy has revolved around the release of this movie and cast member Jim Carrey. Pacifist or not, he rocks in this movie. It would have been so easy for the movie to make him the typical zany Jim Carrey character. But no! You can tell he's crazy but in a creepy, subtle kind of way that works for his character and the movie. Also, the other heroes in "Justice Forever" are all funny and work well together. Particular favourite was Doctor Gravity.

As for the villains - outrageous!! They are absolutely ludicrously over the top, too violent, you name it!  They have ridiculously racist and stereotypical names plus wear these over the top, crazy costumes. Every time they came on screen I couldn't help but laugh at their hilarious apparel.

Now - the violence! Yes, a movie with Kick-Ass in the title will have violence in it. Sequels are supposed to raise the bar from the first movie and Kick-Ass 2 does it with the violence. It's just so, gory, over the top, unnecessary.. and downright fantastic! There are some absurdly graphic moments in this movie where the audience members would squirm and I was just sat their loving it!! Call me sick, twisted, whatever. It was great! Although, if you don't like violence don't waste your time watching this movie.

The comedy in this movie is great! I loved it. There were some funny slapstick moments and sarcastic humour in there yet the best humour in the movie for me was the subtle humour. For example, in Kick-Ass 1, my favourite part was where Red Mist (or the Motherfucker, as he is now known) and Kick Ass are in that car dancing to the song "crazy". In this one, the funniest bit, amongst all the violence, was simply a photo of Nicolas Cage smiling. My laughter was uncontrollable!

Right now for some gripes. The GREEN SCREEN! I know you don't have a huge budget but come on! Sort it out, it is pretty bad!! Also, I think that the first Kick Ass is slightly better. They're not far apart but the original just edges it for me. Plus, the shaky cam. Lots of fight scenes in the movie use it, others don't. The better ones are without shaky cam. That should say it all really!

Also I found the plot to be too fast paced. Things happen way too quickly for my liking. Also, villainous characters and others seem to be involved in the first few acts of the movie yet do not appear towards the end or have any at all relevance to the plot. Kind of annoyed me when I thought about it.

However, Kick Ass 2 is one of the most enjoyable, fun Summer movies I've seen all Summer. It's exactly what you want. Rotten Tomatoes, you can hate it if you like. Doesn't change the fact that the more you gripe about it the more I love it! I said to myself while watching this movie "I am having a fantastic time", and this is why I would rate Kick-Ass 2 like this:


Rating - B+

1 sentence summary - Outrageous, gory, violent, over the top but a fun Summer movie!


Kick-Ass 2, successful sequel or dismally disappointing? Whatever you think, let me know if you like.

Summer is coming to an end and 2 more reviews will be with you in the next few days i.e.. before August ends.

Thanks for reading,
Matt