Groan and bear it

'Kick-Ass 2' pales next to original sleeper hit

by Willie Krischke

In 2010, "Kick-Ass" was a surprise hit, overperforming at the box office in a tough month, which meant that a sequel was inevitable. I liked the first film, and looked forward to the second. But I think, in making "Kick Ass 2," its creators (writer Mark Millar and director Jeff Wadlow) may have misunderstood why the first movie was such a hit. They thought it was because of all the raunchy, over-the-top humor and the way the movie is both violent and a send-up of violent superhero movies.  All of that is back for a second round, but here's what they forgot: "Kick-Ass" also had an engaging, unpredictable plot. That part's nowhere to be found in "Kick Ass 2." After the first 20 minutes, I could tell you exactly what was going to happen in the last 20 minutes.

The central premise is borrowed wholesale from Batman comics and amounts to this: when a guy puts on a mask to fight crime, is he making the situation better or worse? Gotham has the craziest bunch of nutjob villains in the world, and the Joker has always been fond of asking Batman if they created him, or vice versa. This plays out exactly the same way in "Kick-Ass 2:" Our hero suits up to inspire everyday people to stand up for themselves, and that's happening, but bad guys are suiting up by the bushelful as well. Suddenly, everyone's running around in a silly costume carrying a deadly weapon. Is the city a better place?

After her daddy's death, Hit Girl (Chloe Grace-Moretz) makes a promise to never put on her costume and slice up bad guys with swords again. Meanwhile, Kick-Ass (Aaron Taylor-Johnson. Why does everyone in this film have three names?) is bored with high school, and puts together a team of superhero wannabes, led by Jim Carrey, a born-again, ex-mob enforcer. While Grace-Moretz tries to get the soulless cheerleaders to like her, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, formerly Red Mist, sets out to avenge his dead father. (His mother is also dead, but there's only so much revenge you can get from a tanning machine.) Now wearing his mother's bondage gear and calling himself something unprintable, he decides, after getting his ass kicked a few times that his superpower is being filthy, stinking rich. He hires a couple of people willing to look silly and bust stuff up for money, gives them terrible, racist supervillain names (like Mother Russia and Genghis Carnage), and comes after Kick Ass and friends.

With such a disposable plot, you're left with plenty of time to take in the tone, and its flaws become more and more apparent. It's  not just uneven; it's nothing short of schizophrenic. Grace-Moretz isn't a naive young girl dressed up as a psycho killer, and she's not the reverse of that either; we're supposed to believe that she's both. We're repeatedly invited – nay, begged – by the film to laugh at Mintz-Plasse's attempts to be a terrifying villain: everything about him is ridiculous and decidedly un-terrifying, from his terrible supervillain name, to his costume (and its origin), to the shark he buys for his batcave that appears to be dead. And then he goes and does terrifying things only villains do.  So which is it – is he an inept wannabe, or the real thing? Who can tell?

Further, it's not clear what the film wants to say about violence, or sexuality/gender roles. I am not a fan of analyzing summer blockbusters for their politics, because generally, they're not trying to be political, and it's an exercise in chasing shadows. But "Kick-Ass 2" clearly wants to say something, but seems to have no idea what or how to say it coherently (in that way, it truly is an adolescent film.) Is it misogynistic because of a rape scene, or empowering because of Hit Girl? Yes and yes. Does it glorify or criticize violent answers to problems? Yes and yes. It's a mess. It hurts my brain to try and sort through all of its messiness.

Tonally, "Kick-Ass 2" is sort of the superhero equivalent of raunchy comedies like "Superbad." There are a ton of sex jokes, of every variety imaginable. Also, there's a very groanworthy vomit joke – and it gets repeated later. Almost all of the humor (and a lot of the action) is transgressive, with a shotgun approach: let's shock the audience as often as possible, and maybe occasionally they'll laugh.

Sometimes it feels like "Mean Girls," then suddenly it's "American Pie." It lacks, however, the sweet, earnest core that made those movies watchable. If "Kick-Ass 2" has a heart, it's the same one as its bad guy. This is a film that breaks rules to feel giddy, and mistakes that for happiness.

Christopher Mintz-Plasse's fidgety, hysterical version of acting, from the first scene to the last, makes him look like he needs to go to the bathroom really bad. I am not a fan of Chloe Grace-Moretz; she rocketed to stardom after "Kick-Ass," and she brought a remarkable intensity to that role for such a young girl, but since then, all I seem to see is her annoying smirk. Jim Carrey, surprisingly, gives perhaps the best performance in the film, or at least the most unlikely; he plays a beefy, camo-clad patriotic superhero with a deep, growly voice and heavy Brooklyn accent. Ace Ventura is a thousand miles away, and a thousand years ago.

"Kick-Ass 2" will have its defenders – they were sitting behind me in the theater, laughing at every joke, and sometimes when there weren't any jokes – and as far as I'm concerned, they can have this one. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the first film. But this film is like what happens when you invite a comedian out for an encore – he's already delivered all his best material, and when the B-level jokes start flowing, you stop laughing, and start groaning. I was groaning a lot through this flick.