Criminal kingpin, Frank D’Amico, may be out of the picture, but it’s still business as usual for Dave Lizewski (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), who continues to keep the streets safe as costumed superhero, Kick-Ass. With others inspired to don masks and help in the fight against crime, Kick-Ass now finds himself heading his own gang of vigilante do-gooders, with a team including sassy and sweary Hit-Girl (Chloe Moretz) and the punch-first-ask-questions-later, Colonel Stars and Stripes (Jim Carrey).
Meanwhile, Chris D’Amico (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), who has been left grieving his dead father, is out for revenge. Intent on taking down Kick-Ass and building his own criminal empire, Chris, in the guise of super villain The Motherfucker, gathers his own team of bad asses in a bid to take over the city.
Handing over the Kick-Ass reigns to Jeff Wadlow, the man behind the forgettable Cry Wolf and Never Back Down, seems like a rather odd move on Universal’s part, but nevertheless, Wadlow was given both writing and directing duties in the hopes that he could equal Matthew Vaughn’s first film. Not surprisingly, he couldn’t.
Too many subplots and not enough screen time for the better characters (namely everyone’s favourite c-word spouting Hit-Girl) are two of Kick-Ass 2’s biggest faults, and an uneven tone wavers between the manic and mocking vibe of the original and predictable stumbles into superhero cliché.
There are some nicely crafted action sequences sprinkled throughout (bad girl, Mother Russia leads an impressive attack during once stand-out sequence), and the uber-violent, foul-mouthed antics of Kick-Ass and co. will certainly make fans of the first film and the original comics feel right at home. But it does feel like Wadlow relies on the blood and blasphemy a little too much in his brawn-before-brains approach, and despite a great cast and terrific performances, Kick-Ass 2 feels a little flat.
Overall Verdict: Not quite as kick ass as the first film, but great performances and a few choice action sequences help mask a meandering plot.
Reviewer: Lee Griffiths