Jim Carrey's performance as Sal Bertolinni/Colonel Stars and Stripes was one of the few positive things that Kick-Ass 2 had going for it. One of the few actors who truly embraced the kitschy nature of the movie, Carrey wasn't given the best dialogue, but he made good with what he was given. The problem with his character was that he was a clear replacement of the absent father-figure superhero after Big Daddy's death in the first film. And just like Big Daddy, he was murdered by the bad mafia guys so the good guys would have the proper fear of their enemies and the motivation to take them on. So why is Colonel Stars and Stripes on this list rather than Mr. Lizewski, the main character's dad? Because Mr. Lizewski's death broke from the earlier film's desire to point out the cliche of superhero movies, and instead ran to embrace it. Do you remember the scene in which Dave feigned righteous fury at his mother's funeral in a quick cutaway scene in the first movie? Well, they pretty much do that for real in Kick-Ass 2. Colonel Stars and Stripes death wasn't tragic in the straightforward sense, like the death in Wolf of Wall Street, but it was tragic because it signaled that Kick-Ass 2 was doomed to stay stuck in its self-imposed rut. The death of Carrey's character may have stayed true to the comic, but that didn't make the movie any more enjoyable.
Bryan Hickman is a WhatCulture contributor residing in Vancouver, British Columbia. Bryan's passions include film, television, basketball, and writing about himself in the third person.
