Super Duper Super Heroes
I'm gonna switch gears from my usual posts as of late and NOT talk about a scary movie this time! Instead we are going to talk about the majesty that is Kick-Ass 2!
THIS WILL INCLUDE SPOILERS! GO SEE THIS MOVIE!!
Ok so critics are not raving about this film. They say that it is a dumbed down red-headed step child compared to the first installment and who is to tell a professional film critic that they're wrong? I am, that's who. Sure, the first time we saw Kick-Ass on the silver screen, we were shocked and amazed by the brutality and gall and downright in-your-face rudeness of it. by that point, we had gotten the full spectrum of comic book movies from the silliness of the Tobey Macguire Spider-Man trilogy to the straight forward see of Watchmen. Kick-Ass kicked it up to a whole different level by tagging an R-rating onto a brightly colored superhero story. Granted, they wouldn't have been able to make that story any good without the rough language and gratuitous violence. That's the way the comic is. But not many people had heard of it, let alone read it at that point so it was completely unexpected! I mean, theaters didn't even want to put the poster up because it said "ass" on it.
Now, fast forward 3 years. Kick-Ass kicked it in its own release. Nerds everywhere rejoiced and raced off to buy the comic (technically a graphic novel) and now it is a known thing. We know it's violent. We know it's foul. So what were we expecting from the sequel?? The sequel novel came out shortly after the first film left theaters. I, sadly, didn't get my hands on it but I heard nothing but good things about it.
Now, about the movie. Yes, most of the characters are already established by the time it starts, yes you will probably be quite lost if you are jumping in at this point without seeing the first one. We are reintroduced to Dave (Kick-Ass) and Mindy (HitGirl) and pick up where thy left off: high school. Fond of the main complaints I've seen about this one is that the jokes are all old and rehashed from the first movie. This may be true to an extent, but that is true for every comedy sequel ever made. And they do add a lot to this go around. Chloe Mortiz (Mindy) is an amusing actress considering that she is only 16. She can convey so much emotion and heart into simple lines and scenes. She really is a much bigger focal point in this movie than the last one. In the first film, Hit Girl is more of a novelty than anything. Oh look! A cute little girl who swears and heaths the crap out of people and can take a bullet to the chest! By this point, Mindy has become a teenager and is trying to survive high school and all of its injustice. She truly carries most of the show on her own. Beyond that, the other characters are hit and miss. Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Dave) holds his own as the conflicted hero. Chris Mintz-Plasse (Chris D'Amico/Red Mist from the first movie) is still a whiney punk but does eventually learns how to become a real villain. Sort of. Then we've got the new characters. John Leguizamo plays an interestingly likable assistant to Chris. Donald Faison lives out his super hero dreams as one of Kick-Ass's compatriots. But the real star is Captain Stars-And-Stripes played by the indomnitable Jim Carrey. My roommate went and saw this one with me and he had NO idea that was who it was until the show was over! This isn't a Jim Carrey movie and thus he doesn't play the same old character we already know. In much the same way that Nick Cage was able wow us as Big Daddy, Carrey takes on a new personality that is nothing like him at all. Serious and down-to-earth, Captain Stars-and-Stripes is a nice, organized counterpoint to Kick-Ass's more chaotic style.
The action in this movie does not let up at all but it's not all fighting. Two words: Sick Stick. It is truly disgusting. And it isn't lacking in brutality, either. In the first fight Hit Girl gets into, she goes full Obi-Wan and cuts a dude's hand off! Also, Mother Russia (one of Chris's henchmen) is a monster. I don't know where they found that actress but she is seriously a beast. Her finishing move is to snap her opponent's neck with her thigh!!
I could go on and on about how much fun this movie is but you should just go see it instead. The dialogue is quick and witty. The physical humer is goofy (and sometimes downright nasty). The best joke in the movie is t even a spoken line! It's a shirt that Dave wears at one point. I'm not going to tell you what it says, just go see the freakin movie! You will not be disappointed. I promise!
THIS WILL INCLUDE SPOILERS! GO SEE THIS MOVIE!!
Ok so critics are not raving about this film. They say that it is a dumbed down red-headed step child compared to the first installment and who is to tell a professional film critic that they're wrong? I am, that's who. Sure, the first time we saw Kick-Ass on the silver screen, we were shocked and amazed by the brutality and gall and downright in-your-face rudeness of it. by that point, we had gotten the full spectrum of comic book movies from the silliness of the Tobey Macguire Spider-Man trilogy to the straight forward see of Watchmen. Kick-Ass kicked it up to a whole different level by tagging an R-rating onto a brightly colored superhero story. Granted, they wouldn't have been able to make that story any good without the rough language and gratuitous violence. That's the way the comic is. But not many people had heard of it, let alone read it at that point so it was completely unexpected! I mean, theaters didn't even want to put the poster up because it said "ass" on it.
Now, fast forward 3 years. Kick-Ass kicked it in its own release. Nerds everywhere rejoiced and raced off to buy the comic (technically a graphic novel) and now it is a known thing. We know it's violent. We know it's foul. So what were we expecting from the sequel?? The sequel novel came out shortly after the first film left theaters. I, sadly, didn't get my hands on it but I heard nothing but good things about it.
Now, about the movie. Yes, most of the characters are already established by the time it starts, yes you will probably be quite lost if you are jumping in at this point without seeing the first one. We are reintroduced to Dave (Kick-Ass) and Mindy (HitGirl) and pick up where thy left off: high school. Fond of the main complaints I've seen about this one is that the jokes are all old and rehashed from the first movie. This may be true to an extent, but that is true for every comedy sequel ever made. And they do add a lot to this go around. Chloe Mortiz (Mindy) is an amusing actress considering that she is only 16. She can convey so much emotion and heart into simple lines and scenes. She really is a much bigger focal point in this movie than the last one. In the first film, Hit Girl is more of a novelty than anything. Oh look! A cute little girl who swears and heaths the crap out of people and can take a bullet to the chest! By this point, Mindy has become a teenager and is trying to survive high school and all of its injustice. She truly carries most of the show on her own. Beyond that, the other characters are hit and miss. Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Dave) holds his own as the conflicted hero. Chris Mintz-Plasse (Chris D'Amico/Red Mist from the first movie) is still a whiney punk but does eventually learns how to become a real villain. Sort of. Then we've got the new characters. John Leguizamo plays an interestingly likable assistant to Chris. Donald Faison lives out his super hero dreams as one of Kick-Ass's compatriots. But the real star is Captain Stars-And-Stripes played by the indomnitable Jim Carrey. My roommate went and saw this one with me and he had NO idea that was who it was until the show was over! This isn't a Jim Carrey movie and thus he doesn't play the same old character we already know. In much the same way that Nick Cage was able wow us as Big Daddy, Carrey takes on a new personality that is nothing like him at all. Serious and down-to-earth, Captain Stars-and-Stripes is a nice, organized counterpoint to Kick-Ass's more chaotic style.
The action in this movie does not let up at all but it's not all fighting. Two words: Sick Stick. It is truly disgusting. And it isn't lacking in brutality, either. In the first fight Hit Girl gets into, she goes full Obi-Wan and cuts a dude's hand off! Also, Mother Russia (one of Chris's henchmen) is a monster. I don't know where they found that actress but she is seriously a beast. Her finishing move is to snap her opponent's neck with her thigh!!
I could go on and on about how much fun this movie is but you should just go see it instead. The dialogue is quick and witty. The physical humer is goofy (and sometimes downright nasty). The best joke in the movie is t even a spoken line! It's a shirt that Dave wears at one point. I'm not going to tell you what it says, just go see the freakin movie! You will not be disappointed. I promise!
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