Kick-Ass 2 (12/17/2013)

Rated R for strong violence, pervasive language, crude and sexual content, and brief nudity.

Starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jim Carrey, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Clark Duke, Lyndsy Fonseca, Morris Chestnut, John Leguizamo, Donald Faison and Lindy Booth

Directed by Jeff Wadlow (Never Back Down)

I didn’t think it was possible, but Kick-Ass 2 was actually worse than the first one.

After Kick-Ass’ insane bravery inspires a new wave of self-made masked crusaders, led by the defender Colonel Stars and Stripes, our hero joins them on patrol. When these amateur superheroes are hunted down by Red Mist — reborn as The Mother F%&*^r — only the blade-wielding Hit Girl can prevent their annihilation. When we last saw junior assassin Hit Girl and young vigilante Kick-Ass, they were trying to live as normal teenagers Mindy and Dave. With graduation looming and uncertain what to do, Dave decides to start the world’s first superhero team with Mindy. Unfortunately, when Mindy is busted for sneaking out as Hit Girl, she’s forced to retire; leaving her to navigate the terrifying world of high-school mean girls on her own. With no one left to turn to, Dave joins forces with Justice Forever, run by a born-again, ex-mobster named Colonel Stars and Stripes. Just as they start to make a real difference on the streets, the world’s first super villain, The Mother F%&*^r, assembles his team to take them out.

After the deadly shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Jim Carrey decided against promoting the film. After seeing the movie, I completely understand his decision. With sex, violence, profanity and jokes about all of those things, this movie shows us the ugliest side of Hollywood. On top of that, Kick-Ass 2 is marketed for our teenagers…and as a dad and a youth pastor, that really upsets me.

Most of what you need to know is in the SHOULD KIDS SEE IT? section, but here are a few thoughts on the film.

When I reviewed Kick-Ass a few years ago, I said the following, “The sad thing is that the story about an average teenager wanting to “Help his fellow man” is actually very admirable. I was frustrated for the entire film thinking how great this movie could have been. Instead they decided to take every low road imaginable…it’s a Coaster.” Well I’m not sure what’s worse than a “Coaster”…but this is it.

The filmmakers clearly went for the lowest hanging fruit including naming the villain Mother F’er. And if that wasn’t bad enough, they added a character who is a “born-again Christian.” It’s lazy and tasteless…and so many of our students are lining up to see it.

I hated every minute of this film, but I felt obligated to give you as much information about it as possible. This movie is worse than a “Coaster.”

SHOULD KIDS SEE IT?
If you’re a parent, there is a very strong possibility that your teenager wants to see this film. I would strongly recommend that you say, “No way!” and here’s why.

The movie makes a habit of making tasteless jokes about serious subject matter. For example, the villain wants to get revenge on Kick-Ass by raping his girlfriend, another villain holds her in place while he unzips his pants and then realizes that he hasn’t got an erection, the girl laughs at him and he says ‘I’m just not in the mood’. In another scene we see a young man sitting on his bed trying to zip up his costume and his father enters the room thinking that he is masturbating since he is turned away from him; the father tells his son that it is “perfectly normal” then leaves.

We see two women who are seen topless for about 5 seconds, later a man says “They’re not your sidekicks, they’re prostitutes.” There are also plenty of crude sexual conversations that cover everything from bondage to homosexuality.

The filmmakers would have us believe that all of the violence in this film is very comic like and done in a funny way with the exception of one or two more serious scenes. But I found all of it gratuitous and graphic.

Finally, there are around 45 F-words and a couple dozen other profanities.

CONVERSATION STARTER

1. Bullying is a serious issue and unfortunately it is found in every school nationwide. When was the last time you witnessed someone being bullied? What happened?


2. Please read this inspiring article that Jonathan wrote in 2010. https://thesource4ym.com/youthculturewindow/article.aspx?ID=164

   In the article, Jonathan gives us two action steps:

   
   1. Motivate your kids to take action. Let them know that they can make a difference in someone’s life.

   2. Equip your kids to reach out. Many of our kids may want to make a difference, but they don’t know how.



3. What do you think of those two steps?


4. What can you do to end bullying in your school?