For the most part, yes. It’s at least as violent and satirical and funny as the original, and at times it’s actually more shocking. But rather than just remake the first film, Wadlow has done something a little different with Kick-Ass, producing a film that’s far more character-focused. It’s a risk, there’s no doubt about it, but it’s also necessary: Kick-Ass was a firework of a movie: bright and fast and ending just at the moment you were most impressed. Wadlow’s task was to turn the ashes of that into something new, and what Kick-Ass 2 lacks in spectacle, it makes up for in heart. There’s no question that Hit-Girl was the breakout star of the original, and her role is wisely beefed up this time around. The essence of the character has definitely changed, thanks to Moretz’s advancing years, but this allows her greater range. Originally a character with one (admittedly hilarious) note, the sequel sees a more subtly-written Hit-Girl, uncertain of her place in the world and pulled in multiple directions by her new, more complex obligations to both her friends and adopted parent. As she struggles to fit into high school, hers is an arc seen in a thousand teen movies – but the broad social satire that made the original Kick-Ass so identifiable is still there, preventing it from becoming trite or predictable. It’s still Dave’s superhero name in the title, though, and he’s continuing to fight the good fight, his enthusiasm buoyed by the imitators who’ve followed in his footsteps. He’s soon inducted into the super-team Justice Forever, a group of Kick-Ass-style heroes led by born-again Christian Captain Stars (Jim Carrey). The diverse characters can’t quite match the show-stealing genius of Hit-Girl and Big Daddy, but they’re still great fun to spend time with, thanks in no small part to the affable nature of Carrey, Lindy Booth (“Night-Bitch”) and Donald Faison (“Doctor Gravity”). While Kick-Ass 2 is certainly no less funny than the first, it is, by virtue of being a sequel, less novel. There are sequences which nod and reference the original – a scene featuring villainess Mother Russia (Olga Kurkulina) fighting to the folk song Korobeiniki is particularly overt in making a direct comparison with Hit-Girl’s mobster-rampage from the first – but Wadlow wisely avoids getting too close to the first for fear of making it into a retread. What this means is a sequel which takes the rare decision not to engage in a war of escalation with the first. The fights are bigger because there are more characters involved, but this means less space for the energy and stunt-work that made the originals so stunning. Still, if they’re largely less spectacular, then at least this time around you care about every punch that lands. Whether this is what the fans of Kick-Ass will want is another matter. There’s a danger that those who loved it the first time around will want it to be crazier, more violent, less grounded – but although they don’t deliver that, Wadlow and crew can be sure they’ve made a great sequel to one of the most original superhero concepts around, and done so in a way that’ll make anyone accusing them of delivering “more of the same” look foolish. It’s maybe not the sequel Kick-Ass fans will have wanted, but it’s the one that the story deserves. Kick-Ass 2 is out on the 14th August in the UK. Follow our Twitter feed for faster news and bad jokes right here. And be our Facebook chum here.