Why Chloë Grace Moretz was disappointed with ‘Kick-Ass 2’
Appearing under many acclaimed directors, such as Martin Scorsese and Tim Burton, Chloë Grace Moretz is one of Hollywood’s most promising young actors. Moretz, who began her film career with the 2005 remake of The Amityville Horror before appearing in many child roles through the mid-2000s, has worked her way through the ranks. In 2010, the start of a new era, Moretz transitioned to a more spotlight role in Kick-Ass as Hit-Girl. The film, a black comedy superhero flick directed by Matthew Vaughn, is based on the comic book of the same name by Mark Millar and John Romita, Jr. It also features Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Nicolas Cage.
The story is relatively similar to any other of its genre. An ordinary teenager, Dave Lizewski, sets his sights on becoming a real-life superhero, calling himself ‘Kick-Ass’. However, his attempts to save the day land him in an entanglement with Big Daddy, a former cop. Lizewski discovers that in his quest to bring down the crime boss and his son, Big Daddy has trained his 11-year-old daughter to be the ruthless vigilante Hit-Girl. After its release date in March 2010, Kick-Ass met with both acclaim and controversy – the former deriving from its effective humour and style, with the latter focusing on the violence performed by a child. After being released on DVD, the movie has gained a cult following.
A sequel, written and directed by Jeff Wadlow and produced by Vaughn, was released in August 2013, with Moretz reprising her role. In this follow-up, Lizewski enrols in a vigilante team called ‘Justice Forever’ as Hit-Girl tries living a regular life. Kick-Ass 2 outgrossed its $30 million budget, although it failed to meet expectations as critics deemed it inferior to its predecessor. In 2018, Vaughn announced his intentions to reboot the series. However, Moretz then confirmed her time with the superhero saga was over. This choice is partially due to the time between the first and second films, as Moretz had aged three years, transforming from an adolescent to a young woman.
Speaking at the Provincetown Film Festival in 2018, the star revealed her overall experience with the films and that she planned to move on from them. “I love the franchise, I think the first movie was really, really special,” the actor shared. “I wish the second one had been handled in a little bit of a different way. Because I think we were all kind of looking forward to something a little different than what happened with it all.” Moretz’s statement showcases that some of the cast even agree with the critics. They acknowledged that the sequel lacked some of what the first film thrived in.
Moretz adds: “As much as I love the character of Hit-Girl, I think she lives and survives in Kick-Ass, and I kind of want to keep her there. I kinda wanna keep everyone’s mind in Kick-Ass. So I don’t think there will be a Kick-Ass 3, at least I don’t think with Hit-Girl in it.” During her time as Hit-Girl, the actor also appeared in the second film adaptation of Stephen King’s Carrie in the leading role and another vigilante action flick, The Equalizer. After Kick-Ass 2 and the announcement she would be “re-assessing” her onscreen appearances, Moretz starred in Desiree Akhavan’s sentimental drama The Miseducation of Cameron Post and Neil Jordan’s thriller Greta.
The actor’s most recent film appearance was as Georgia in the post-apocalyptic thriller Mother/Android, directed by Mattson Tomlin for his feature directorial debut. Moretz is currently working on the upcoming animated sci-fi comedy Nimona, in which she voices the lead character alongside Riz Ahmed and Eugene Lee Yang as supporting voices. The film, directed by Nick Bruno and Troy Quane, is scheduled for a 2023 release on Netflix.
Check out Moretz’s work as Hit-Girl below.
