Kick Ass 2

So before we get started on this review I would just like to say that I usually try to refrain from swearing in my posts but due to one of the character names in Kick Ass 2 there will be some. You probably don't care but I thought I better mention it! Anyway onto the review of the sequel of one of my favourite films; Kick Ass.

Kick Ass was a great action comedy that summed up what I wanted my life to be like. By the end of the film I wanted to join Kick Ass and Hit-Girl and be a superhero. In the sequel it seems a lot of people wanted to also do this, however by the end of this film I did not. For me Kick Ass 2 lost something special that the first film had the ability to give me goosebumps at the more emotionally heated moments whilst punching the air with my fist at the more action packed sequences, which pardon the pun, were kick ass! Kick Ass 2 just seemed to take away the fanboy dream the first one set up and turn everything on its head. There's still a lot of fun to be had with the over the top comic book violence and sweary cast members but just not as much.

The story follows Kick Ass and Hit-Girl as they try and fail to settle in to ordinary life. Events of the previous film have a brought a new bunch of people to the streets being superheroes. However the previously named Red Mist has now reinvented himself as the world's first super villain; The Motherfucker.

Kick Ass 2 is a lot darker and some of the more comedic moments don't always pay off with the tone of the film. Like an attempted rape played for laughs or watching a girl throwing up and literally crapping her pants. There are still enough laughs to class this as a comedy but it isn't as bright and witty as its predecessor. It's unfortunate but this is the first film that Christopher Mintz-Plasse hasn't been that funny in and I found most of the scenes with The Motherfucker in just to be a bit annoying.

Jim Carrey gets to don a costume in this film, even if he has now condemned the violence in it. He plays Colonel Stripes and Stars who steals every scene he is in. However he is only in a few scenes and feels much underused. That being said I haven't read the comic book this is based on and therefore realise that film was staying true to the source material however I would have liked to have seen more of him. 

I did still enjoy this film, especially the relationship between Kick Ass and Hit-Girl as Chloe Moretz and Aaron Taylor-Johnson have excellent chemistry in this film. It really is there film and they both steal the show, apart from those few scenes with Carrey in. The action is great also though again never seemed to live up to the first film. The comic style cinematography is still there and works well making it feel like the graphic novel is coming to life.

The first half of this film is great and I really enjoyed it, the second half starts to go a bit downhill but there is still a lot of fun to be had. Kick Ass was such an unexpected gem that really stuck with me as a film, unfortunately things just don't seem to be as good in the sequel, even the soundtrack wasn't as good! Maybe the shock factor has gone or expectations have been raised but the first film for me was a 5/5 film whereas I am giving Kick Ass 2 a rating of 3/5. It wasn't a bad film it just didn't always work. 

This just hasn't been the year for superhero films with most falling below expectations. Maybe Thor: The Dark World can turn this around.