And people you love and care for can be victims of that violence. He earns a hard R and reminds us that despite how violence looks on the big screen, it’s a painful, unpleasant business. He refrains from any of the sanitized violence Hollywood prefers to use so action films can get a PG-13 and bring in the younger kid demographic. Jeff Wadlow takes over the helm from Matthew Vaughn, and he’s not nearly as adept at mixing the ironic humor and violence. “Kick-Ass 2” tries to maintain the tone of the first film, which was an uncomfortable yet effective mix of pain and dark comedy. Universal Red Mist (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) rechristens himself The Motherf%&*^r in "kick-Ass 2." People get hurt, people close to you, and violence hurts and is messy. Although more overt in the comic, the first “Kick-Ass,” did suggest that trying to be a superhero and administer vigilante justice is both dumb and dangerous.
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It had a comic book look and feel, and definitely tapped into the superhero mythos but it delivered a tweaked superhero story. The first “Kick-Ass” was an anti-superhero film. He’s building an evil army and he’s hell-bent on getting revenge on Kick-Ass and Hit Girl for killing his dad. Their new archenemy is Red Mist (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) who has rechristened himself The Motherf%&*^r. There’s a motley crew of wannabe superheroes calling themselves Justice Forever and led by a born-again ex-mobster named Colonel Stars and Stripes (Jim Carrey with a larger nose and bad teeth). So they both don their costumes and masks yet again. They both feel like they should be doing more than attending classes and doing homework. “Kick-Ass 2” picks up with Dave and Mindy (Hit Girl’s real name) struggling to get by in high school. “Kick-Ass” ended with a showdown in which the bad guys get their just desserts, and dreams of being superheroes kind of get put on the back burner.
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Hit Girl works with Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage) but in the first film’s dark conclusion, Big Daddy is beaten and burned to death. The embarrassing thing is that one of them, Hit Girl (Chloe Grace Moretz), is a pint-sized, pre-pubescent, purple-wigged chick that can literally kick his ass. But some more competent crime fighters see him more of a sorry-ass and end up having to rescue him. He gets beaten, stabbed, hospitalized, and made into a YouTube star. He quickly discovers, however, that vigilante justice is no easy job. It gave us Dave Lizewski (played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson in the 2010 film), a teenager who decides to be a real life superhero. In case you’ve forgotten, “Kick-Ass” was a comic from Scottish writer Mark Millar.
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“ Kick-Ass 2” (opening August 16 throughout San Diego) does not equal or surpass its predecessor but it’s a solid follow up that continues the story in a logical manner.