Some thoughts on Kick-Ass 2

I sent this to a friend as an e-mail, but I may as well use it here as well.

I've been wanting to drop you a line for a while now, chiefly because of a thought I'd had in regards to Kick-Ass 2. Now, I'm not sure if I've read the comic version of Kick-Ass, though I feel like I have if for no other reason than my familiarity with the art style, and any of your articles on the subject- and while I definitely haven't read Kick-Ass 2, that same feeling of having read it exists, given your articles on it, the movie, etc etc.

NOW, I'm a big fan of the first Kick-Ass movie, I thought it was essentially two very fun, though differently toned, movies mashed together- the movie about a young man that wants to do something positive for his community, and goes out as Kick-Ass, followed by the movie about a world that progressively warps into a cartoonish reality of super heroes, jet packs and bazookas. I had a blast with it! But it's also worth noting that there are at least two key changes in the movie that were overall of a cheerier aspect: first that Katie does end up going out with Kick-Ass, something I find more realistic, a girl, at the very least, being enamoured with a media darling super hero, makes more sense to me than the over the top cruelty of her cutting Dave down in the comic. He's the world's first super hero and everyone loves him- it makes complete sense that she'd be interested in that, in being let in on that world/secret.

And second, the movie keeps the backstory of Big Daddy's wife getting killed, and making it the actual story, as opposed to just the fiction of a delusional comic book fan. While the comic version is darkly funny in a sort of existentialist way, the movie is, crazy as it sounds, the happier version. In this go around, his origin was true, and everything he did made sense. A twisted sense, but more sense than the comic version.

So what's great about Kick-Ass 2, first, is how it sets up the movie to get more in line with how the first comic series ended, allowing them to run the movie based of the second series comic. So, Katie and Dave break up near the beginning, and there was a great line where Hit-Girl is thinking about her father and Kick-Ass just says "you know he was insane, right?" I'd be willing to bet anything that line comes directly from the Kick-Ass 2 comic.

It also follows the first movie's pattern of changing the source material to lighter effect- the two notable examples being how (and you'll, of course, forgive the apparent crudity on my part. The names are what they are.) Motherfucker does NOT kill Colonel Stars and Stripes's dog (with the funny lampshading line "I'm not THAT evil!"), nor does he rape Night Bitch. I'm glad they made these changes, and referring to the latter one, it has been noted that the actor was also glad about the changes.

Anyways, none of this was actually what I wanted to mention to you (whoops..), I had actually been thinking about how the movie didn't focus much on the eponymous Kick-Ass, it was mostly a Hit-Girl/Mean Girls crossover, but one thing we had been given was the scenes with Dave's father, and how he was always working out, and then Dave has that outburst about how it's pointless, no one cares, and that he's going to die un-noticed. A pretty harsh thing to say to ones father, but what eventually hit me was that everything he yelled at his father was far more applicable to himself- most of the movie for Dave is him working out, so he can go out in a secret identity that leaves him an unknown in perilous situations. When I made this connection the outburst was far more forgivable, Dave was, on a certain level, scared about the life he was living, and lashing out at his father.

Although I wish they had spent more time elaborating on this, well, as is the film was being... subtle! That's right- subtlety in a Kick-Ass movie!!

Okay, THAT'S what I wanted to share. Sorry to be long winded!

I hope everything is going well on your end, and enjoy the day!