Kick Ass 2 lived up to expectations

I do not venture to the cinema so often these days, mainly because films get to DVD so quickly now, so it was a little strange to find myself back there watching Kick Ass 2 so soon after watching Red 2.

There are a lot of similarities between them, and some notable differences too. Both are based on comics (Red much less so) and both feature comic violence and comedy. Red is not Die Hard and Kick Ass is not Batman.

Both sequels copied the mood and style of their originals and, therefore, gave their fans just what they expected and what they wanted.

Whereas Red 2 just reused the characters from Red, Kick Ass 2 continued to retell the story of the comic. That made Kick Ass 2 more like Kick Ass Chapter 2 than a Second Kick Ass as it continued where Kick Ass finished off and took the main characters in some new directions, such as Mindy coming to terms with being an orphan and a teenage girl.

The story is a key part of Kick Ass 2 but I'll not say much about it because that's what spoilers do.

Otherwise it is much the same as Kick Ass with ludicrous violence, none of which feels remotely real, and strong language, though I only spotted one c-bomb and that was in Russian (with a helpful English text translation).

That there is more of a story this time around makes the film more gripping and engaging, there were several threads where I really cared about what happened next.

Jim Carrey is (almost) the only name actor in it, taking this role from Nicholas Cage who died in Kick Ass. Carrey is surprisingly good and un-Carrey-like, a view derived from only seeing him previously in films like The Mask and The Grinch. This Carrey may be a little weird but he is not wacky. There is also a brief spot for Iain Glen, which was a pleasant surprise having seen him on stage earlier this year staring in a Chekhov play.

Hit Girl provides some of the best moments as there is something enchanting and cute watching a young teenage girl cut a team of tough baddies in to shreds (literally).

Kick Ass 2 builds on Kick Ass with skill, flair and a story. That makes II better than I and raises the bar for III.