VOD Spotlight: Kick-Ass 2

The film Kick-Ass 2 picks up several months after the events that unfolded in the first movie. The comic book series that serve as source material for the film are Kick-Ass 2 and Hit-Girl. The titles follow lead characters Mindy and Dave as they struggle to keep their identities as Hit Girl and Kick-Ass a secret while she trains him to be a better hero who can take a much-less-forgiving punch. Meanwhile, their nemesis Red Mist/Chris returns to the series with an increasingly psychotic new attitude and an unprintable name change to match. Forming a group of super-villains, Chris takes the deadly game to the next level as he attempts to exterminate the duo that killed his mafia boss father.

Twenty-four hours after its release, Kick-Ass 2, Issue 1 sold out, and the Hit-Girl companion title has since become the most popular comic book with a female lead in more than a decade.

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Co-creator Mark Millar describes the evolution of his creation: “Kick-Ass was about a guy deciding to become a superhero and influencing others to do the same. Kick-Ass 2 takes that idea and runs with it. Now we have this group of people who, inspired by the heroics of Kick-Ass, have formed a crime-fighting gang, Justice Forever. At the same time, Chris is embarking on the opposite journey. He has decided to become a self-proclaimed super-villain and is recruiting his own army. It takes something that was singular in the first movie and makes it into something more exciting. It’s that sense of escalation, of expansion, that you always want with a sequel.”

Director Jeff Wadlow says, “It’s about the juxtapositions of superheroes and the real world. With Dave’s story, we put him in a situation where he’s trying to relate to other superheroes who are dealing with their real-world problems. With Mindy’s story, we put her in high school. For Chris’, we have him trying to be a super-villain in a world where it’s not easy to be one.”

Wadlow continues, “My idea from the beginning was this notion that Dave, Mindy and Chris still don’t know who they really are. In the first film, they created these alter egos — Kick-Ass, Hit-Girl, Red Mist — but they hadn’t answered those larger questions that we all ask ourselves: ‘Who am I? What’s my place in this world? What am I going to do with my life?’ It’s one thing to try to be someone else, to be a superhero, but another to work out who you really are. I thought it would be interesting to have these characters ask themselves: ‘What’s behind that mask?’ Ultimately, the movie is about growing up.”

Kick-Ass 2 is available starting Dec. 13 on Video On Demand. Check your cable system for availability.

© 2013 Universal Studios Credit: Daniel Smith