Kick-Ass 2 - 5 Changes From The Comic That Ruined The Film

Kick Ass 2 It's a treacherous road a filmmaker walks when adapting beloved source material. He has to satisfy the fanbase, an often mentally unhinged lot, ready to pull out their pitchforks and torches the moment a character's wardrobe changes color. Equally important is taking into account the needs of mainstream audiences, whose attention spans are often far more fish-like than the average comic fans'. The best movie adaptations are able to satisfy both bases. The worst satisfy neither. I went into Kick-Ass 2 with pretty high expectations, having been a huge fan of both the first movie and the comic series. But as I sat in the theater watching I couldn't shake the feeling that something was seriously wrong. Most of the scenes from the comic were there, but something just felt off. The unpleasant feeling started to creep up on me that I was watching a truly awful film. But why, I wondered, would a film that retains most of the scenes from the comic seem so different from its source. The answer? It lacks virtually everything that makes Kick-Ass, well, Kick-Ass. Often crude, inappropriate and perplexing, the movie retains many of the comic's scenes while leaving out their purpose. Worse, writer/director Jeff Wadlow seems content with appealing to the lowest common denominator and ripping out any integrity from the comic's characters. He imbues his film with none of Kick-Ass 1 director Matthew Vaughn's ingenuity, comic edge, or visual pleasure. Instead there's a gaping void where comic writer Mark Millar's original ideas were left to die. 5 changes in particular struck me as disrespectful towards both the material and movie audiences. Here are the 5 biggest changes that ruined Kick-Ass 2.
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I'm an all-around film enthusiast - always have been, always will be. When I'm not writing about movies I'm sitting in a dark room watching one on my laptop. You might also find me at the local movie theater watching Christopher Nolan's new movie for the 80th time. I'm the guy in the back wearing the "It kept spinning" t-shirt. I also just started a blog called "The Dream Factory," in which I post video reviews of the latest TV shows and movies. So hopefully if you like the way I write, you'll love the way I talk. You can check out the blog here: http://aaronbaron.wordpress.com/