As is often the case with sequels, the director of the original, Matthew Vaughn (Layer Cake, Stardust), has moved on and handed over the reins to a nobody the studio trusts to make exactly the kind of film that will lend itself well to merchandising sales. It won’t fill you with much comfort to learn that he is a producer as there are five of them.  

The film treads the same boards of the brilliant original, but with a limp in its step, not a spring, failing to replicate the delicate balance between humour and extreme violence.

Following the events of the first film, many people have been inspired by Kick-Ass (Taylor-Johnson) and decide to become masked vigilantes themselves. Kick-Ass has joined one such group, Justice Forever. Meanwhile, Mindy (Moretz) has given up her identity as Hit Girl because of a promise she made to her father, so instead she tries to fit in at high school. And Chris D’Amico (Mintz-Plasse), the son of the villain in the first film, now wants to avenge the death of his father.

Beyond the uninspired script and failure to repeat the magic formula of the original, the biggest problem with Kick-Ass 2 is one that did not overly affect the original: the protagonist is boring. Fortunately the supporting characters are very entertaining and include some comedic heavyweights, like Jim Carrey in an understated role as Colonel Stars and Stripes. The film should have spent more time with these more interesting characters.

Hit Girl’s storyline is basically what would happen if she were in the movie Mean Girls. It was clichéd but amusing, and it would have been great to follow her character’s development more than Kick-Ass’s.

Be warned: the violence depicted in this film is excessively graphic and many will find it cringe-inducing. But it must be conceded that while it’s unpleasant to watch, at least it’s more realistic than the non-consequential pummelling most other superhero films contain. This is essentially the only strength that the two films share: the realism (or at least, attempt at realism; it’s not really all that realistic in actuality).

But that won’t stop the fans of the original going to the cinema to get short-changed. It might have a 29 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but this will be one of the hits of the month.

Kick-Ass 2 (15)

Dir: Jeff Wadlow; US/UK action/comedy, 103 mins, 2013; Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Chloë Grace Moretz, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Jim Carrey
Premiered Aug 29; Playing nationwide