Film: Kick Ass 2

I loved the first Kick Ass, finding it amazing the way it was able to bring life back into overused superhero genre, with its ultra violence and swearing little girl. But I questioned whether this sequel could repeat the first film's success, when the original had already covered so much ground. I particularly feared for the addition of new superheroes and that they might take some of the limelight from Kick Ass and the superb Hit Girl. Thankfully the film recognises how great these two heroes are and the new members don't steal the show.

The sequel picks up a few months after the original, when Dave (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) has hung up his Kick Ass tights and settled back into boring teenage life. Mindy (Chloë Grace Moretz) has made a promise to her new guardian Marcus (Morris Chestnut), her dad's old partner, that she will give up her alter ego of Hit Girl, a promise she is constantly breaking. Dave asks Mindy for training so that he can become Kick Ass again, but this time doing it for real. Meanwhile, Red Mist (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) is out for revenge against Kick Ass for the death of his father, forming a super villain team and rebranding himself The Motherfucker.

Whereas in the first film, Dave became Kick Ass out of a desire to help others, the sequel goes into giving him reasons to put on the mask and want to stop The Motherfucker. Kick Ass becomes a lot more physical throughout the film, making it more believable that he can fight off bad guys. The story sees him join up with Justice Forever, a team of superheroes mostly emphasises by Colonel Stars and Stripes as played by Jim Carrey. Justice Forever becomes vital when The Motherfucker starts to attack with his army of super villains, the most terrifying of which is the unstoppable Mother Russia.

Chloë Grace Moretz once again rules the screen as Hit Girl, though this film takes the wise route of exploring who Mindy really is beyond the costume. Her adventures in high school play out as a Millar-esque take on Mean Girls, with her trying to get in with the cool girls, through watching performances of Union J (clearly they couldn't afford One Direction) and joining the cheerleading squad. Some of her story is a bit strange, particularly her falling out with Dave, who is just trying to remind her who she really is. But one great scene of lunchroom torture returns her to the Hit Girl we know and love, just in time to save Kick Ass' life.

The first film really showed what a powerhouse Chloë was, even at such a young age, and here she is able to stretch her acting talents further as she grapples with who she really is. While her story lacks a masterful action scene similar to the original's gun battle set to Bad Reputation she does get some of the film's best set pieces in her race home to Marcus and fight on top of a moving van, not to mention her role the climatic fight scene. She feels like the true star of the film, and we've got to wonder how long it will be before they just give her a spinoff.

Outside of the fantastic Hit Girl material, the film does have some disappointments. Dave's story for the most part is quite dull, with only a few scenes being of interest. It's hard to care too much about his new sluttier, girlfriend and he doesn't have much to make him standout against his new super friends. For example he takes on The Motherfucker in the final battle, who may be the film's villain but he is far weaker than his cronies never feeling like too credible a threat on his own. There are times when he feels like a true villain but these are undercut by his total ineptitude.

The film is fantastic in its portrayal of Hit Girl but a bit lacking in terms of it's figurehead and villain. You've really got to wonder why they just haven't made a Hit Girl film yet.