Kick-Ass 2

This is neither a superfluous sequel nor is it a failure of a sequel; this is just a sad example of what part one would have looked like if it had been filmed by a routine filmmaker with no style who saw the main assets of the material primarily (and exclusively) in all its perversity, controversy, rude words and violence for violence’s sake. Where part one was about children, but not for children, part two is about teenagers, and only for teenagers. (2013-08-23)

A mediocre teen flick that manages to parody and reference a large variety of genres, from superhero flicks to Mean Girls (really!), but unfortunately without a single over-the-top and memorable scene. Moretz is still great, but somehow gets ridiculously little space, and the promise of Jim Carrey's involvement resulted in the most useless and boring role of his career. It just doesn’t work without Vaughn, although the effort can't be denied. 60% (2016-11-03)

Well, I’m surprised. I was sceptical of the sequel to the sharp Kick-Ass, but Jeff Wadlow, or that “boring routine artists” and “video-clip maker devoid of fantasy”, as they “mandatorily” call him here, has nothing to be ashamed of. I would’ve easily believed that Matthew Vaughn remained in the director’s chair. It’s got drive, great action sequences, a fantastic soundtrack and good comedic timing. The only issues come from the script (and maybe also from the comic book), which balances worse between seriousness and detachment than in the previous movie. Otherwise, it’s more of the same, which in the case of Kick-Ass I don’t mind. (2013-08-26)

Spoiler. Without anger and bitterness. The start is solid - it honestly exploits the drive of the first film - but the entire film dies with Colonel Stars and Stripes (Jim Carrey). There is too much serious bullshit, the inconsistency of tone and the resulting self-purpose, and there are a few awkward serious scenes for a few punk scenes. The film has problems with things that the first film did with ease. About halfway through, the wheels totally fall off and the film only gets it’s groove back for a moment. Wadlow manages the details, but does not make the whole thing work. I will always love the first film for its audacity and civil pathos, but I have nothing to love or hate the second film for. He's not an evil badass mothafucka, he's just a forgettable hard-working transvestite. [50%] (2013-08-19)

The second part of the source material was at least a whole level worse than the first, and the film adaptation is heading in the same direction. And yet I have to support the adaptation because compared to the first one, it's not explicitly worse, but deliberately different. In the comic, Mark Millar sometimes went off the rails in the second act, exaggerated with brutality in some scenes, and saved himself with a fateful finale. Thanks to the incorporation of the Hit-Girl storyline, Jeff Wadlow can approach it much more calmly and give the story a more believable touch of humanity. It's hard to say if he would have succeeded if Chloë Grace Moretz and Aaron Taylor-Johnson weren't unexpectedly capable of playing any sincere interlude or over-the-top line with first-class delivery. But he succeeded, people still want to be superheroes, and the true superheroine actually wants to be human. I really hoped for Kick-Ass to get a worthy continuation and with it, a probable farewell. Mission accomplished – with flying colors. (2013-08-21)