Geek Review: Kick-Ass 2 – an alternate opinion

I had a lot of high hopes for this movie, I have to admit. I really enjoyed the first one for its freshness, and it made me realize that Chloe Moretz owns the camera with her amazing presence.

So how did the sequel fare? I enjoyed it too, but it was a bittersweet feeling. I laughed a few times, the Hit Girl trying to fit into school sub plot that I looked forward to really worked well, but otherwise the movie just didn’t have that freshness the original did.

The plot didn’t seem to go anywhere or mean anything. The main character had no growth and was boring. The bad guys were just comic relief and didn’t have any real drive.

The main problem I think is the lack of a clear message. There were hints of “getting over a dead parent” (both Hit Girl and The Motherfucker lost their fathers in the first film) but it got quickly glossed over. There could’ve been an interesting message about reconciling a superhero life with real life but that was contained entirely in Hit Girl’s small subplot.

So what was the actual theme? It felt like it was about finding your true identity. If that sounds familiar then it’s because this was the theme of the first film. They recycled it, rendering all character growth in the original useless. It’s like they got rebooted. And it wasn’t anywhere near as well tackled in this movie.

Kick Ass whines about wanting to kick ass for 2 acts, gets shaken up for 10 minutes during the second plot point, and then reverts to wanting to kick ass. Nothing interesting here and you really don’t root for the protagonist at all. All the likeable optimism and idealism he had in the original is now replaced with a spoiled brat’s whining.

The big difference is the escalation. Much as things got bigger in The Dark Knight, this movie amps things up with more heroes and more super villains… Although the only real standouts are Captain Stars and Stripes, Mother Russia, and Night Bitch’s cleavage. The others are dull and quickly forgettable.

The action is also pumped up with some really painful acts of violence, but overall the scenes aren’t as memorable as the ones in the original – though Hit Girl versus the van of goons was pretty awesome.

I’m coming across as pretty negative, but I still think the movie warrants a look. It’s a solid 3 star movie, and I’m harsh on it because I loved the first so much and this had the seeds for a good sequel. Plus, the Mindy plot is very engaging and sympathetic.

Like my favorite football player Randy Moss, it just serves as an example of wasted talent and potential.