Review Detail
9.1 9 10
(Updated: March 23, 2014)
Overall rating
8.8
Audio/Video Quality
8.0
Audio Editing
8.0
Visual Editing
8.0
Narrative
10.0
Enjoyment
10.0
'Kick-Ass 2' was a very average film, not a totally terrible one but it lacked the joyous spirit of the first film. I honestly doubted that a fanedit could fully rescue it, improve it sure... but fix it... no. Thankfully BionicBob proves me wrong, as I'm writing this with a massive grin still lingering on my face and with goosebumps on my arms from just having watched 'Justice Forever'!
First off, the few issues: There was a match-cut that didn't quite match, the colours were a bit off in some of new material, there were two moments in the new Sound-Mix that felt wrong (MF Store robbery and Hero montage), the Night-Bitch removal left a couple of continuity problems and the cut to black in Night-Bitches home didn't quite work.
However, all of the above things I noticed were in places where something was removed or something was added that transformed a bad scene into a great one, so I honestly couldn't have given a toss if the change was very slightly noticable from a technical point of view. Because I was too busy noticing the dramatic change that they made to improving the story!
BionicBob cleverly realised that it wasn't that the film was originally devoid of heart (Although the deleted material he has added, piles it on in spades), it was that the heartfelt moments were being constantly undercut by buzz-killing bad jokes, moments of questionable taste and out-right irritating lines. Here, I even cared for Chris aka The MF for the first hour, where as you just couldn't in the original cut. Heroic moments are now allowed to be heroic without having to trip them up with a bit of mean spirited sarcasm.
I'll give an example of how dramatic a single change in this edit can be. An early deleted scene is used about "one arm pull ups", this thematic device is used and reused throughout the film including the final crowd pleasing shot. Without the original scene the end was meaningless and Kick-Ass' character arc is all but redundant. The rest of the deleted material fleshed out the JF team's place at the center of the movie, making friendship feel like the core of the film rather than cheap crassness. Even the sadly underused Colonel Star and Stripes gets a little emotional callback at the end bringing him back emotionally if not physcially. He is now the moral father-figure to the young team and we too feel his loss.
This is all testiment to Orson Welles' assertion that great films aren't directed, they are edited. Turns out Director Jeff Wadlow did a great job behind the camera after all (And a good job with his script too), it's just that he failed to edit that material into the great film it could have been. Luckily BionicBob has given it new life, nobody should ever watch 'Kick-Ass 2' ever again, I know for me at least, there is now only 'Justice Forever'!
I second the other comments that an HD version would be very cool, if BionicBob thinks the positive feedback is enough to encourage him to undertake it at some point in the future.
First off, the few issues: There was a match-cut that didn't quite match, the colours were a bit off in some of new material, there were two moments in the new Sound-Mix that felt wrong (MF Store robbery and Hero montage), the Night-Bitch removal left a couple of continuity problems and the cut to black in Night-Bitches home didn't quite work.
However, all of the above things I noticed were in places where something was removed or something was added that transformed a bad scene into a great one, so I honestly couldn't have given a toss if the change was very slightly noticable from a technical point of view. Because I was too busy noticing the dramatic change that they made to improving the story!
BionicBob cleverly realised that it wasn't that the film was originally devoid of heart (Although the deleted material he has added, piles it on in spades), it was that the heartfelt moments were being constantly undercut by buzz-killing bad jokes, moments of questionable taste and out-right irritating lines. Here, I even cared for Chris aka The MF for the first hour, where as you just couldn't in the original cut. Heroic moments are now allowed to be heroic without having to trip them up with a bit of mean spirited sarcasm.
I'll give an example of how dramatic a single change in this edit can be. An early deleted scene is used about "one arm pull ups", this thematic device is used and reused throughout the film including the final crowd pleasing shot. Without the original scene the end was meaningless and Kick-Ass' character arc is all but redundant. The rest of the deleted material fleshed out the JF team's place at the center of the movie, making friendship feel like the core of the film rather than cheap crassness. Even the sadly underused Colonel Star and Stripes gets a little emotional callback at the end bringing him back emotionally if not physcially. He is now the moral father-figure to the young team and we too feel his loss.
This is all testiment to Orson Welles' assertion that great films aren't directed, they are edited. Turns out Director Jeff Wadlow did a great job behind the camera after all (And a good job with his script too), it's just that he failed to edit that material into the great film it could have been. Luckily BionicBob has given it new life, nobody should ever watch 'Kick-Ass 2' ever again, I know for me at least, there is now only 'Justice Forever'!
I second the other comments that an HD version would be very cool, if BionicBob thinks the positive feedback is enough to encourage him to undertake it at some point in the future.
User Review
Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
DVD
T