Film Review: Disappointing ‘Kick-Ass 2’ Replaces Style with Vulgarity

CHICAGO – More vulgar, violent, and generally vile than the first film, “Kick-Ass 2” is one of those incredibly annoying films that actually will mar the legacy of its predecessor by association. Writer/director Jeff Wadlow entirely misplaces the priorities of the first film, thinking that the sequel needs to be more extreme, even if that’s at the expense of style and intelligence. Only another totally game performance from Chloe Grace Moretz saves it from complete disaster but it comes damn close. One could argue that “Kick-Ass” was all style and no substance. “Kick-Ass 2” has absolutely none of either.

Rating: 1.5/5.0

As we’re reminded multiple times, “Kick-Ass 2” allegedly takes place in the “real world” (although none of the dialogue or comedic set-ups have the air of anything remotely genuine) as the revelation of real-life heroes at the end of Matthew Vaughn’s fun first flick opened up a universe for fill-in Wadlow to explore. While costumed superheroes roam the streets to little effect, Dave (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Mindy/Hit Girl (Chloe Grace Moretz) are forced back underground and into the halls of their high school. Dave doesn’t want to put those he loves, including his father (Garrett M. Brown), in jeopardy, while Mindy promised her dear departed dad (and her new guardian, played by Morris Chestnut) that she would hang up the tights. Of course, both are drawn back into the world of crimefighting.

Read Brian Tallerico’s full review of “Kick-Ass 2” in our reviews section. [17]

Mindy has been skipping school every day to train and Dave comes to her looking to bulk up his Clark Kent personality to make Kick-Ass more effective. After Mindy is forced back into hiding (and into a HORRENDOUS “Mean Girls” subplot that feels like rehearsal for her upcoming remake of “Carrie”), Dave seeks out others like him to make the streets a safer place. He finds a ragtag group of ordinary heroes, including Colonel Stars and Stripes (Jim Carrey), Dr. Gravity (Donald Faison), Night Bitch (Lindy Booth), Insect Man (Robert Emms), Battle Guy (Clark Duke), and “Remembering Tommy” (Steven Mackintosh & Monica Dolan). They vow to bring street justice to true criminals and even take down a sex trafficker.

Meanwhile, Red Mist (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) is tormented by the loss of his father at the end of the first film and seeking vengeance. When his mother dies in a tanning bed, he’s left in the guardianship of Javier (John Leguizamo), who becomes his Alfred (which might have been clever if Wadlow let it sink in instead of pointing the similarity), gathering a group of “ordinary villains” to join him, including The Tumor (Andy Nyman), Genghis Carnage (Tom Wu), Mother Russia (Olga Kurkulina), and more. Renaming himself “The Motherf**ker,” Red Mist and his gang of bad guys threaten to destroy everything Kick-Ass loves, forcing Hit-Girl back into action.

Continue reading for Brian Tallerico’s full “Kick-Ass 2” review. [17]

Kick-Ass 2
Photo credit: Universal