Kick-Ass 2 Review (WARNING: Spoilers)

As I'm writing this on the bus ride home, I feel content. With all the crap released this past few weeks in theaters, I couldn't find a good excuse to go see a movie. Then again, it's hard to top the last thing I saw, which was the terrifying and entertaining horror film The Conjuring. Then Kick-Ass 2 came out. 

The sequel to 2010's Kick-Ass, it did not disappoint me. The story kicks off with Dave Lizewski/Kick-Ass natrrating how a new batch of superheroes have emerged, inspired by his heroics. He's retired, but he's quickly bored by this and decides to join the new superhero group known as Justice Forever, led by ex-mafia enforcer Colonel Stars and Stripes. Meanwhile, Mindy Macready/Hit Girl is trying to live a normal life after promising her guardian, a police officer who knew her father, that she'll give up crime fighting, which proves difficult when Chris D'Amico amerges as the new super villain The Motherfucker (no, seriously, that's his name.) and creates a team of the most brutal villains to exact his revenge on Kick-Ass for the death of his father.

Onto my favorite parts of the film. Of course the cast is stellar, especially the return of Jim Carrey as Colonel Stars and Stripes. It's a shame he wasn't in the movie for too long, even with his character in all the main posters, but he owns the screen whenever he's on, so much that I was shocked in his death scene. Aaron Johnson is again amazing as Dave/Kick-Ass, even more so in this sequel. As from my first review, it's evident I'm obsessed with Brits, so of course Johnson gets my praise. He's so convincing as a New Yorker, I didn't even know he was British. The character itself has gotten a real confidence boost since the last one, as he's actually able to kick ass and have awesome pecs. They're so awesome, not even Mindy/Kick-Ass could resist drooling over them. Which brings me to her character, which as always kicks the most ass. But it was her identity story arc that I enjoyed the most. While Kick-Ass is fighting crime, Mindy's trying to fit in with the popular girls. But like most trying to fit in arcs, they turn out to be bitches who want to embarrass her. That's where her revenge is the most creative and slightly disgusting display I've even seen, and I enjoyed it all the same (except my only nitpick is that practical effects could've been used instead of unrealistic CGI.) Christopher Mintz-Plasse was an adequate villain, as he had proper motivation, but he never really kicked ass as much as everyone else and was whiny at times. The real villain who stole the scene was the actress who played Mother Russia, an indestructible killing machine more threatening than anyone else. Her performance also reminded me of female Bond villain May Day from A View To a Kill, who had superhuman strength. The only difference is Mother Russia's body count was higher than May Day's. The supporting cast was great as well, but I can't go into detail into all of them, so I'll just list the ones I enjoyed the most. Donald Faison from Scrubs as Doctor Gravity, John Leguizamo as D'Amico's bodyguard Javier, Lindy Booth as Kick-Ass fellow comrade and lover Night Bitch, and Morris Chestnut as Mindy's guardian Marcus Williams.

The story was good, but at times felt rushed, as I wanted to feel more when the characters got serious, like Dave's father's funeral, which was immediately interrupted. One aspect of the story that I've seen some not comment on is Mindy and Dave's growing relationship. For the first film, they didn't interact much and when they did, they didn't seem like friends. They were mostly just allies working together, but in this film, they finally become good friends who train together, giving Dave more confidence and Mindy a friend to confide in. Also is the constant jokes of if they're together or not, which would've been a big no no in the first film ( she was nine, now she's fifteen going on sixteen). It's even the reason why Dave's girlfriend Katie from the first film broke up with him, although it was just an excuse for him to get with Night Bitch. But at the end, the friendship seems like it could blossom into something more, evident by Mindy eyeballing Dave with his shirt off and especially him being her first kiss before she leaves New York.

In conclusion, this film doesn't deserve the bad reviews or the 28% on Rottin Tomatoes, because this film is entertaining and a worthy sequel to the equally great original. Of course, it's not for everyone with its violence and gross out humor, but it's better than most movies out at the moment.