The long awaited sequel to the action comedy, Kick-Ass, finally arrived to theaters, August 16. Based on the comic book by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr., Kick-Ass 2 isn’t your typical story of good guy versus bad guy with a pretty lady to the side. It is exactly as its name describes it, punches, kicks, back flips, high speed chases, with lots of bloody action.

Kick-Ass 2 returns the three main characters – Aaron Taylor Johnson (Kick-Ass), Chloe Grace Moretz (Hit-Girl), Christopher Mintz-Plasse (he whose name can’t be printed)- and adds Jim Carrey (Colonel Stars and Stripes). The story continues from where it last left off, as Hit-Girl continues to fight crime just like she promised her father AKA Big Daddy. Dave /Kick-Ass, who had previously decided to give up crime fighting, asks to join her and the pair begin training together. However, Hit-Girl is forced to give up this life-style when her guardian, Detective Williams, makes her promise to live a normal life. Dave doesn’t understand Hit-Girl’s sudden change, but refuses to give up being a superhero and joins a crew called “Justice Forever”, a group of misfits led by Colonel Stars and Stripes (Carrey). Meanwhile, Chris D’Amico, previously known as Red Mist, changes his name to reflect his more extreme attitude and methods, and he bands a group of super villains to help him avenge his father’s death by destroying Kick-Ass.

As expected with a movie that is centered on crude violence there is bound to be controversy. Because of the movie’s violent nature Jim Carrey has chosen to disassociate himself from it, making a reference to the Sandy Hook shooting and even tweeted “I did Kickass a month b4 Sandy Hook and now in all good conscience I cannot support that level of violence.” It really all depends on you, but if you’re going to see an R rated movie, based on a violent comic book, you already know what to expect, as both an actor and a viewer.

Overall, the cast did fairly well by sticking to their characters and not making any dramatic changes to the personalities from the first movie. Chloe Moretz (Hit-Girl) managed to capture most of the spotlight, as her character went through a Mean Girls dilemma at her school trying to fit in with the cool kids. Jim Carrey (Colonel Stars and Stripes) did a good job fitting into his character of redeemed mobster but didn’t provoke as many laughs as expected. Meanwhile Johnson (Kick-Ass) was slightly edged to the side throughout the movie even though he was supposed to be one of the leading roles. Then there’s Mintz- Plasse’s character who was responsible for the few scenes that actually made the audience laugh. His quirky, awkward persona of a desperate teenager trying to prove himself worthy of his new name was by far my favorite.

This new installment of Kick-Ass had several themes going on at once. However, the one that stands out the most is that someone does not have to wear a costume to express who they really are, that superhero comes from within the person not through some flashy suit you got at Party City during Halloween season. In a way this theme also branches out to fitting in and no matter how much you try to change yourself to fit in with others, you can never really change who you are on the inside. On a moralistic level, this can help people see that one must not focus on a person’s exterior to know who they are.
Those with a thirst for action and a side order of comic relief will enjoy this film, and for those who are not familiar with the first one, there’s no need to worry, explanations about the first movie are provided. However, I do recommend you watch the first one so that you can compare them and draw your own conclusions about the movie. Kick-Ass 2 is rated R, so if you are amongst those who feel squeamish at the sight of blood and violence, a romantic comedy will be more suited to your taste.

Overall, I think this was a good movie, though not and excellent one, but still very entertaining as far as action comedies go. I would have to give this movie 7.5 /10. The actors were good, the action was great but in order for this to actually be an action comedy, there needs to be comedy involved.

Vanessa Salinas is a senior and an avid reader of fiction novels. During her free time she likes to knit scarves, attempt to draw and watch movies. She also likes watching Korean Dramas from time to time and no…she does not like long walks on the beach.