Real heroes in Kick-Ass 2

This profoundly daring sequel to the sensational Kick-Ass phenomenon is a delightful contemporary West Side story, minus the music, where gangsters and vigilantes get a super make over.

After Kick-Ass' (Aaron Taylor-Johnson from Anna Karenina) do-it-yourself bravery inspires a new wave of self-made masked crusaders, led by the badass Colonel Stars and Stripes (Jim Carrey), our hero joins them on patrol. When these amateur superheroes are hunted down by Red Mist (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) - reborn as super-villain The Motherf%&*?^r - only the blade-wielding Hit Girl (Chloë Grace Moretz) can prevent their annihilation. Following the cultish following director Matthew Vaugh implanted with Kick-Ass, he is now the producer, with writer-director Jeff Wadlow (Cry_Wolf, Never Back Down) serving apt justice to the comic book created by Mark Millar (Wanted, Kick-Ass) and John S Romita Jnr (Kick-Ass).

It's easy to root for your favourite masked crusader or comic-book superhero, but being one and trying to rid the world you live in from crime, is a totally different story. Kick-Ass 2 states that "being a superhero is turning pain into something good and right", and this meaningful quest pits friends against malevolent rogues, questioning significant contemporary moral and social issues. In Kick-Ass 2 the villains and heroes represent the archetypes of humanity, who have to fight for the world they believe in and bring justice to tragic events that have tainted their emotional response.

When you die, you're really dead

The film confronts the reality of death, showing that unlike a comic book story, when you die, you're really dead. The heroes question their actions and make it clear that you don't have to be a "bass-ass" to be a superhero, you just need to be brave.

Fans of its predecessor will not be disappointed with the imaginative and spectacular Kick-Ass 2; it definitely delivers what it promises, and more. There's some terrific action- and fight sequences, offering a spectacular visual feast. If you're not a fan, Kick-Ass 2 guarantees to strike a chord with discerning viewers looking for films with substance, where the content reveals insight into the human condition and challenges perceptions on crime, violence and the fantasy of a reality we mostly try to avoid. Although it seems to be an action-packed and violent gore fest, it most definitely is not. At its heart lies a gently romance of a modern-day Romeo and Juliet who are separated by social injustice, trying desperately to make sense of a world gone mad.

Kick-Ass 2 is also a significant celebration of self-expression and issues that corrupt our identity. Ultimately, Kick-Ass 2 is a about people, real people who want to make difference in the world and take control of their lives. It is fun being-superhero, but with the fantasy comes an important wake-up call to the realities of real life.

Behind the scenes

As he crafted the story, writer-director Jeff Wadlow wanted Kick-Ass 2 to give fans another chance to see three characters that they fell in love with, to see how they have grown and how they will continue to change. "I hope it resonates with audiences because it's not just a retread of the first movie. It's not one of those sequels that says: 'Hey! Remember how much you loved the first movie? Well, here's another version of that.'" If anything, his story does the exact opposite.

Wadlow added: "We say: 'Remember how much you loved those characters? Well, guess what? We're going to put them through a meat grinder.' We've sent them on this journey where they're going to grow and change in ways you can't imagine. We've pushed them further than you could in a first film because of all that screen time you needed to use getting to know them. We assume you already know and like them, and we're going to take all that time and push them even further."

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