Movie Review - Kick-Ass 2 - By Heath Chase

In 2010, the best superhero movie I had ever seen in my life was released in theaters. Its name was Kick-Ass. My overall time with the film was a profoundly satisfying one, and I was truly blown away by its sheer entertainment. After my initial viewing of the movie I can remember myself chanting in my head, "sequel, sequel." And, well, now we have the sequel and all I can really do now is wish that one was never made. This may sound like an incredibly bold statement but the original film was one that was very special to me. I can remember watching my blu-ray copy at least three times in the week after it first came out. I simply couldn't get enough kick-ass; it just had this flare to it.

But let's put my disappointments away for about a minute and let me explain what this sequel is all about. First off, it is much closer to the comic series than the first film was, following each issue almost to a T. The story opens up in the near future of the previous film; Chris D'Amico's mobster father was killed by teenage crime fighter, Kick-Ass (Aaron Taylor-Johnson)  after a huge fire fight at his main stronghold, thus ending the cat and mouse chase. That is, until Chris D'Amico (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) decides to avenge his father's death and start the chase all over again to kill Kick-Ass by uniting a super villain group. After Kick-Ass finds a superhero group of his own, lead by none other than Jim Carrey himself, he deems it necessary to put a stop to the forming crime all around him. But there is just one thing missing. Mindy Macready, aka. Hit Girl (Chloe Grace Moretz), still mourning her father's death in the first film, is attempting to lead a normal life and Kick-Ass will do anything to get her back on his team.

Now, on paper it doesn't sound too bad to me, but in reality the film feels extremely rushed (even within its lengthy hour and fifty minute mark) and just way too over the top. Now by no means was the first movie not over the top, but it did it in a smart and clever way and I really felt as if the film-makers put a lot of soul into its production. But with Kick-Ass 2, every character and problem that came into play just doesn't feel the way they did in the original. I'm sure the general population will have a great time with this flick, but for me--a huge fan of the franchise--things here just felt a bit stale.