#jeffwadlow

1 hour 43 minutes

Rated R (Strong Violence, Pervasive Language, Crude and Sexual Content, and Brief Nudity)

Directed by Jeff Wadlow

Starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Chloe Grace Moretz, and Jim Carrey

2 out of 4 stars

IN THEATERS NOW.

I've never understood what was "satirical" about Kick-Ass. Ok, so it's poking fun at how far people will go to be superheroes, but it never feels like a satire to me. It's just a really violent action movie. I enjoyed it solely because of Chloe Grace Moretz, an 11 year old who managed to be one of the coolest, most badass action stars ever onscreen. Her foul-mouthed character is outrageous, yet I've also never understood how people think Kick-Ass's violence is "outrageous" too. It's not. It's brutal and real. There's nothing outrageous about watching Hit-Girl get beat up by a grown man. There's nothing funny about watching Kick-Ass get tied to a chair and then a guy hits him in the nuts with a baseball bat. It's a pretty vile movie, even though Moretz gets the most laughs because of how young and vulgar her character was. Kick-Ass 2 is equally as brutal as its predecessor, except I guess it's not as offensive to watch Moretz get beat up because she's 15 in the movie. I guess...

She's still unbelievably kick-ass here and is getting prettier as she grows up. Too bad she's in a movie with an utterly boring script and listless feel that tears her down. There's not really a story in this sequel which may explain why there's so much more talking than action. Dave Lizewski (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), the nerdy guy who became a YouTube sensation after declaring his Kick-Ass agenda in the first movie, is still living with his widowed father (Garrett M. Brown). Having retired as a superhero, Dave decides to put the suit back on and try fighting crime again. He contacts Mindy Macready (Moretz), alias Hit-Girl, now a freshman at his school, and asks her to train him to be tougher since he was such a weakling in the first movie (this explains why all the trailers are giving away Taylor-Johnson's six-pack).

Mindy, however, has been forced to retire Hit-Girl at the request of her guardian, Marcus (Morris Chestnut). She tries to act normal at school by friending the popular clique and joining the dance team. With no one to turn to, Dave wanders the streets and runs into a fellow vigilante superhero named Doctor Gravity (Donald Faison). He's actually a member of a secret vigilante group called "Justice Forever," led by Colonel Stars and Stripes (Jim Carrey), who hurts people with a baseball bat and his German Shepherd. Also in the group are Night Bitch (Lindy Booth) and Dave's friend, Marty (Clark Duke), who now goes by Battle Guy. The group has trouble to face because Chris D'Amico (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), whose father was killed with a bazooka by Dave, is insane with rage and wants Kick-Ass dead. He's just accidentally killed his mother with a tanning bed and now he's finding the most dangerous people in the world to come together and take down Justice Forever. He was formerly known as Red Mist. Now he calls himself the Mother F*****r.

The last few action scenes in Kick-Ass, no matter how violent they were, were epic. When Hit-Girl enters that building and Joan Jett's "Bad Reputation" blares as she shoots every baddie you really are stunned by how awesome this character is. The finale in Kick-Ass 2, on the other hand, feels rushed and less exciting to watch, probably because the screenplay is so weak. You know a script lacks a flowing storyline when so much of a movie's running time consists of characters hanging around each other talking about random things. Taylor-Johnson is still a likably plucky hero and Moretz, like I said, is still incredible. Mintz-Plasse, however, overacts, while Carrey (who's a little unrecognizable here) isn't very funny because his character is so underwritten. The same goes for the other members of Justice Forever. I wanted to learn more about them but the movie's too interested in showing Mindy get revenge on the mean girls in school and having the group hang out and, well, do nothing, really.