Written & Directed by Jeff Wadlow
Check it out in cinemas now!
Beware of spoilers!
Three years after the original ‘Kick-Ass’ took many a cinema-goer by surprise the cast a back a little older, somewhat taller and ready to take a stab at taking the success of the first film and turning it into a fully fledged franchise.
‘Kick-Ass’ was a critical and box office success but not one that came without controversy. Unless you’ve been living under a rock you will have picked up on the shock at the general levels of profanity and violence in the film but it was that ass kickings being handed out by Chloe Grace Moretz that caused the biggest stir. Particularly her use of a word beginning with C.
Three years later and Matthew Vaughn has taken a back seat to produce this movie and handed the reigns over to Jeff Wadlow whose previous directing credits include ‘Cry_Wolf’ and who now moves on to the Marvel universe to work on the upcoming ‘X-Force’.
Much like its predecessor ‘Kick-Ass 2’ stays relatively true to the source material but no doubt that a list of deviations – perhaps the ending being the biggest one – will soon appear on the Wikipedia.
There are strong ties to the comic format particularly in wide-establishing shots which feature comic text captions. Other films use these as a gimmick but ‘Kick-Ass 2’ uses them as a nice accent to the cinematography.
The profanity counter is undoubtedly through the roof on this sequel so here’s hoping the Blu-Ray comes with an accompanying f-bomb drinking game.
The violence in this film is standout. Action scenes are expertly choreographed and there’s a great sense of escalation as the film builds to its climax.
It’s Moretz who shoulders a lot of the action as she takes a lot of the focus away from Taylor-Johnson for much of the film. It’s worth noting that this film also takes inspiration from the ‘Hit Girl’ comic series as well as the ‘Kick-Ass’ title.
Both leads carry the film brilliantly and in comparison to the light-hearted action of the first film there’s an added level of drama here that adds a nice extra dimension to the characters and their world.
The film lets itself down in some of the character moments early on in the film. Later scenes pack much more of a punch than the opening act of the film but by no means is this a weak sequel. There’s a clear expectation that the script would balance the action and character from the outset but it takes a little time for the two to mix well.
Sadly this film doesn’t come without some controversy. Once again unless you’ve been under a rock for the last few months you will know that Jim Carrey withdrew his endorsement of the film in the wake of the Sandy Hook school shooting. It’s a shame because his role in this film is pivotal and he plays it brilliantly but it has brought a whole lot of attention to the film.
If you’ve not yet seen the film please heed my warning and hang around for the end credits as there is a scene waiting for you!
7/10
