MOVIE OF THE WEEK #2 (8/16/13) KICK-ASS 2
KEY CAST MEMBERS: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Chloë Grace Moretz, Christopher Mintz Plasse, John Leguizamo, Morris Chestnut, Jim Carrey, Garrett M. Brown, Lindy Booth, Claudia Lee, Donald Faison, Clarke Duke and Olga Kurkulina
WRITER(S): Jeff Wadlow (screenplay); Mark Millar and John S. Romita (comic book on which the film is based)
DIRECTOR(S): Jeff Wadlow
WEB SITE: www.kickass-themovie.com/
60 SECOND PLOT SYNOPSIS: Following the events of the original Kick-Ass, Kick-Ass 2 finds Dave Lizewski still living as a high school student by day, fighting crime by night – all while his dad (Garrett M. Brown), his best friend Marty (Clarke Duke) and their mutual buddy Todd (Augustus Prew) have no idea who he is. In fact, the only one who knows Dave's secret identity is Mindy Maccready (Chloë Grace Moretz), a.k.a. the foul-mouthed, take-no-prisoners crime fighter also known as "Hit-Girl."
Unfortunately for Mindy, not only she is still dealing with the death of her crime-fighting mentor/father Big Daddy (portrayed by Nicolas Cage in the original Kick-Ass), she's also hiding her undercover missions from her adoptive father/her late biological father's police buddy Marcus (Morris Chestnut) ... AND dealing with trying to be something she's not: A normal high school freshman being bullied by popular girls like Brooke (Claudia Lee). In any case, Dave's and Mindy's past actions have stirred up a new batch of costumed crime fighters attempting to take back the streets. This list of caped crusaders includes colorful people such as Dr. Gravity (Donald Faison), Night Bitch (Lindy Booth) and former Mafia-enforcer-turned-crime fighter Col. Stars and Stripes (Jim Carrey) who's trusted sidekick, his dog Eisenhower, is never too far behind. And for a little while, all is well ...
But what none of them know, however, is former superhero Chris D'Amico (Christopher Mintz Plasse) – a.k.a "Red Mist" – has been waiting for the moment to get his revenge for Kick-Ass killing his crime boss dad. And once he gets his right hand man Javier (John Leguizamo) to help him find some fellow baddies to wreak havoc – including the human wrecking ball that is the former KGB agent Chris has dubbed "Mother Russia" (bodybuilder Olga Kurkulina in her acting debut) – the super heroes Kick-Ass inspired are all in danger ...
But what will happen when you have one teenager trying to rise to the challenge of becoming a hero while another fights their destiny to live as one? You'll have to watch the movie to find out!
WHO WILL LIKE THIS FILM THE MOST?: Fans of the original comic book and/or film, Chloë Grace Moretz fans, fans of superheroes that mix in humor and hyper-violence, people who like underdog stories
Unfortunately for Mindy, not only she is still dealing with the death of her crime-fighting mentor/father Big Daddy (portrayed by Nicolas Cage in the original Kick-Ass), she's also hiding her undercover missions from her adoptive father/her late biological father's police buddy Marcus (Morris Chestnut) ... AND dealing with trying to be something she's not: A normal high school freshman being bullied by popular girls like Brooke (Claudia Lee). In any case, Dave's and Mindy's past actions have stirred up a new batch of costumed crime fighters attempting to take back the streets. This list of caped crusaders includes colorful people such as Dr. Gravity (Donald Faison), Night Bitch (Lindy Booth) and former Mafia-enforcer-turned-crime fighter Col. Stars and Stripes (Jim Carrey) who's trusted sidekick, his dog Eisenhower, is never too far behind. And for a little while, all is well ...
But what none of them know, however, is former superhero Chris D'Amico (Christopher Mintz Plasse) – a.k.a "Red Mist" – has been waiting for the moment to get his revenge for Kick-Ass killing his crime boss dad. And once he gets his right hand man Javier (John Leguizamo) to help him find some fellow baddies to wreak havoc – including the human wrecking ball that is the former KGB agent Chris has dubbed "Mother Russia" (bodybuilder Olga Kurkulina in her acting debut) – the super heroes Kick-Ass inspired are all in danger ...
But what will happen when you have one teenager trying to rise to the challenge of becoming a hero while another fights their destiny to live as one? You'll have to watch the movie to find out!
WHO WILL LIKE THIS FILM THE MOST?: Fans of the original comic book and/or film, Chloë Grace Moretz fans, fans of superheroes that mix in humor and hyper-violence, people who like underdog stories
WHO WON'T LIKE THIS FILM?: People who dislike excessive profanity and/or violence in film, people unfamiliar with the source material and/or what inspired it, people who did not see and/or enjoy the original Kick-Ass, those who prefer "grittier" superhero films now a'la Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy, people over the idea of super hero movies in general.
BOTTOM LINE – IS IT GOOD, GREAT, BAD OR DOWNRIGHT AWFUL? Good, but not as good as the first one ... And mostly just because of the inherent limitations of most comic book movie sequels.
WHAT'S GOOD (OR BAD) ABOUT IT?: Much like the first film, Kick-Ass 2, as they say in hip-hop, "stays in its lane" well, delivering a nice dose of the same uncouth language, raw humor that fights established constructs (both in the real and fictionalized worlds of high school and super heroes) and polished action sequences. Taylor-Johnson still delivers his highly effective mix of balanced nerdiness/maturing street vigilante bravado to great effect while Mintz-Plasse (it's a hyphenated last name fest!) doles out a great comedic performance as the over-the-top former Red Mist – his character's new moniker is NSFW – with Leguizamo providing a balance, almost like a foul-mouthed, violent Abbott & Costello. Carrey even shows flashes of the talent that once made him a top box office draw, taking over each scene he's in much like he did in this year's decent-but-forgotten The Incredible Burt Wonderstone.
Moretz, however, takes the top spot throughout the movie as Mindy/Hit-Girl, trying to come to grips with the life she feels destined to lead, the life she has in front of her and what the future holds. Like Taylor-Johnson, Moretz does a great mix of balancing teenage angst with a resolve well beyond her – and just about any boy her age – years. Sometimes, a child actor playing smarter than her peers feels forced (and can come off as annoying); in Moretz's case, its totally believable now as it was in 500 Days of Summer. She even helps Chestnut get a chance to flex an acting muscle that doesn't involve him romancing the next African-American actress that people are expecting to blow up ... And that's no minor feat given his IMDb history.
Long-but-not-really-long story short, Kick-Ass 2 isn't quite as good as the original – call it the limitations of superhero sequels (save for those without a new villain or a major character revolution/evolution like Spider-Man 2 or The Dark Knight Rises) – but is still fun for those who enjoy the world in which its characters exist. Whereas the first film was a bit more subversive in regards to skewering the superhero genre while still providing a great superhero movie itself, this one is even more character-centric about three distinct personalities heading towards a head. Thankfully, director Jeff Wadlow doesn't try to emulate Kick-Ass director Matthew Vaughn (who went on to direct X-Men: First Class and serve as a producer on this film), he simply keeps things moving in a straight forward fashion, so it works.
Thus, while Kick-Ass 2 doesn't kick as much as the first one, it still pans out as one of a lame summer's better cinematic efforts.
OVERALL RATING (OUT OF FOUR POSSIBLE BUCKETS OF POPCORN):
WHAT'S GOOD (OR BAD) ABOUT IT?: Much like the first film, Kick-Ass 2, as they say in hip-hop, "stays in its lane" well, delivering a nice dose of the same uncouth language, raw humor that fights established constructs (both in the real and fictionalized worlds of high school and super heroes) and polished action sequences. Taylor-Johnson still delivers his highly effective mix of balanced nerdiness/maturing street vigilante bravado to great effect while Mintz-Plasse (it's a hyphenated last name fest!) doles out a great comedic performance as the over-the-top former Red Mist – his character's new moniker is NSFW – with Leguizamo providing a balance, almost like a foul-mouthed, violent Abbott & Costello. Carrey even shows flashes of the talent that once made him a top box office draw, taking over each scene he's in much like he did in this year's decent-but-forgotten The Incredible Burt Wonderstone.
Moretz, however, takes the top spot throughout the movie as Mindy/Hit-Girl, trying to come to grips with the life she feels destined to lead, the life she has in front of her and what the future holds. Like Taylor-Johnson, Moretz does a great mix of balancing teenage angst with a resolve well beyond her – and just about any boy her age – years. Sometimes, a child actor playing smarter than her peers feels forced (and can come off as annoying); in Moretz's case, its totally believable now as it was in 500 Days of Summer. She even helps Chestnut get a chance to flex an acting muscle that doesn't involve him romancing the next African-American actress that people are expecting to blow up ... And that's no minor feat given his IMDb history.
Long-but-not-really-long story short, Kick-Ass 2 isn't quite as good as the original – call it the limitations of superhero sequels (save for those without a new villain or a major character revolution/evolution like Spider-Man 2 or The Dark Knight Rises) – but is still fun for those who enjoy the world in which its characters exist. Whereas the first film was a bit more subversive in regards to skewering the superhero genre while still providing a great superhero movie itself, this one is even more character-centric about three distinct personalities heading towards a head. Thankfully, director Jeff Wadlow doesn't try to emulate Kick-Ass director Matthew Vaughn (who went on to direct X-Men: First Class and serve as a producer on this film), he simply keeps things moving in a straight forward fashion, so it works.
Thus, while Kick-Ass 2 doesn't kick as much as the first one, it still pans out as one of a lame summer's better cinematic efforts.
OVERALL RATING (OUT OF FOUR POSSIBLE BUCKETS OF POPCORN):
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