Right off the bat, I did not expect much of Kick Ass 2. Why? Because Mathew Vaughn, the director of the first Kick Ass, Layer Cake, X-Men:First Class and Star Light had opted to go for a producer role. The man is a talent - I did not think his tone or feel could be replicated.
I haven’t seen anything by Jeff Wadlow, the director of Kick Ass 2, although he co-wrote the first Kick Ass movie (with Mark Millar who created the source material). After scrolling through rotten tomatoes.com. all I got from it was the idea that this movie is not as fresh or competent as the first. Which is to be expected from most sequels, but, like the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, the Americans on rottentomatoes.com are wrong on this one.
Kick Ass 2 is like the Empire Strikes Back to the Star Wars series, like Terminator 2 to Terminator 1, like Spiderman 2 to the first outing of Spiderman, it’s like the superb X-Men 2 to the competent X-Men 1 - a sequel that builds on the foundations of the first and is able to reach new heights that the first film only hinted at.
The elements that made the first kick Ass are there - parodying comic books whilst also paying homage (check).
The new team is a parody of the comic book superhero team-ups we find in Avengers, Justice League etc. Jim Carrey’s Colonel Stars and Stripes can be seen as a parody of Captain America. They poke fun at Captain America whilst also showing why he is such a cool character. The film is filled with such nuggets - if you like comic books or comic book movies, you might appreciate it more for its depth on such use of intertextuality.
The gore and foul mouth of Hit Girl (check) limbs are hacked, driven over, chewed by dogs stabbed ,eaten up; the gore is there and Hit Girl still pulls those “did she just say what I heard?!” moments. Yet the film has a clever way of checking itself within it’s narrative so that it does not become something demented and awful, from the violence to the swearing. It’s handled so well, all for the betterment of the story.
Lighthearted (check) .... there’s a lot of fun to be had in this movie from crazy inside jokes around super-hero names, villians and their rationale to nuts scenarios that characters find themselves in.
The film has its fair share of laugh-out moments and some clever jokes thrown - they don't feel like lowest common denominator jokes. Even the social commentary is weaved into the joke so that you might laugh so hard that you actually miss it.
Yet it’s the 4th element - the self awareness that is taken to a whole other level. This affects plot,characters and motivations ... I can’t remember the last time I saw a movie that is so self aware of what it is - it’s aware of it's messaging and what the audience expects.
It embraces all that without coming across as superficial. This film has heart and gutso, it makes you feel, it excites you, it hurts you, it makes you laugh whilst being aware that it is a film that parodies and celebrates comic book movies. So you get the parody, the celebration but also you get a film, not something that’s just stringing gags along.
I did not know much about Jeff Wadlow, I have not seen much of his work but his script and directing on this film is superb. I hear the source material that the co-writer Mark Millar did for the comic books is quite bleak but this film straddles the line between shock and lighthearted very well.
The characters' story arcs for the major and minor characters are touching - nothing in the movie is there for the sake of being there. Nothing is wasted, everything is payed off so nicely and not just at the end but within the story as it builds.
I love how this film for once, as a comic book movie, gives the female lead such a meaty role and is not afraid of exploring her femininity and the issues that come with it, without coming across as a cheesy romantic comedy. Hit Girl is not about showing off your bum like what Avengers did with Scarlett Johansson.
This film is one of the best fliks I’ve seen this year - it's light years ahead of Avengers. I doubt if Avengers: Age of Ultron will have the depth or the wit of Kick Ass 2. I wonder if DC can produce a competent Justice League movie to match this one? This is one of those sequels that do the impossible it elevates the series to the next level and that’s why I feel that Kick Ass 2 deserves it’s hallowed place next to the great sequels like Star Wars Empire Strikes Back, Spiderman 2, X-Men 2, Terminator 2.
Some may not appreciate it due to the violence and gore but those who love a great story will know this is going to be yet another cult classic that deserves the Steers burgers slow clap ... What you waiting for? Stop clapping and go watch this movie Charlie!
