Review of Hit-Girl, Kick-Ass, MF'er - Kick-Ass 2 action figures

Introduction

I love the first Kick-Ass film. It's no surprise that my love is due in no small part to the exceptional job of Chloe Moretz as Hit-Girl, but this was also one of my favorite Nicholas Cage performances in several years.

When they announced a sequel, I was up for it, but sadly, it has not been getting the best of reviews. I ignore those that complain about the uber violence, since that's to be expected. And I won't be skipping it because of bad reviews, since God knows most film critics live in a very different world than I. But it does mean that this is probably the last time we'll get Hit-Girl kicking ass on screen, and that's a pity.

Mezco had the license for the first film, but that's switched to NECA for the sequel. The first series includes Kick-Ass of course, as well as Hit-Girl and MF'er. Yea, that's not his name - you know what it is, but I'm doing what I can to keep the review PG-13.

NECA had an uncensored set of packages at SDCC as an exclusive, which are otherwise identical to these three.

The next series is scheduled to include an unmasked Hit-Girl, armored Kick-Ass, and Colonel Stars and Stripes.

Packaging - ***
NECA has been using several different styles of package lately. While some lines, like Predator, have gone back to the typical card back and bubble style, these remain in the clam shell packages. This is a design that allows for extreme protection against shelf wear, storage wear or in store theft, but can be tough to open.

The interior artwork mimics the Kick-Ass emblem, and has some basic personalization. There's also only one twisty tie for each figure, always a big plus, and the packages have very little waste.

Sculpting - KA ***1/2; MF ***; Hit-Girl **1/2
Kick-Ass and Hit-Girl have grown up since the first, film, and it's apparent in both figures. Kick-Ass is stockier, more muscled, filling out the suit better. You can actually recognize the character through the eyes, which I suppose makes wearing a mask a tad worthless.

These are done in the usual 6 - 7" scale, and Kick-Ass comes in at about 6 3/4". Hit-Girl is slightly smaller of course, but not nearly as small as she was in the original film. Her figure here is about 6 1/2" tall, and the scale looks great between the characters.

MF'er has the most complex sculpt, especially with the intricate textures of the high gloss costume. The non-removable cloth cape has a series of feathers at the collar, which sounds better than it ends up looking. He also has a bit of a hunch, and the articulation doesn't really help you get the head back upright. While the hands are sculpted to work with the accessories, I had a very tough time getting him to remain standing, and he tended to have a lean when he did.

In person, Hit-Girl looks decent. But when you look at her up close, she's far less pretty than Ms. Moretz, and far less pretty than I suspect she is on screen. The nose is turned up almost pig-like, and the heavy curl in the upper lip is excessive. I wasn't happy with Mezco's version either, so I guess we'll have to wait for the unmasked version to finally get a great Hit-Girl.

If you have the Mezco figures from the first film, you'll be happy to know that these will fit in, scale-wise. NECA is very good about ensuring that when they take over a license, they keep things in scale from old to new.

Paint - KA, MF ***1/2; Hit-Girl ***
Generally, the paint is very, very clean. The eyes are particularly well done, all straight and even.

The suit details are good too, especially on MF'er, who has those silver buckles, zippers and snaps. That's a tough color to manage, especially against a gloss black background, but they pull it off well. There's a little slop here and there, but it's only noticeable on very close examination.

Kick-Ass also has solid work on his suit, as well as what you can see of his face. Unfortunately, Hit-Girl's face (not counting the eyes) isn't quite as clean, including the lips. There's also a few sloppy cut lines on her suit, although the issues are all fairly minor.

Articulation - KA ***1/2; MF, Hit-Girl ***
All of these have much greater articulation than the previous Mezco figures. Some joints work better than others, and while none of them are quite as nice as some of NECA's other recent releases, but it's a big improvement overall.

Kick-Ass has the best set up, with a decent ball jointed neck, ball shoulders, ankles, elbows, knees, and wrists, an ab-crunch, and hinge hips. The joints work well together to create a natural flow, and he stands great on his own. The ankles don't work quite as well as what we saw with the recent Dutch figures from the Predator line, but that's a minor issue.

MF'er has the ball neck too, but it's a bit restricted. He also has the ball shoulders - NECA style of course - as well as ball elbows, wrists, ankles and knees. He also has the hinge hips, as well as a cut waist. While he has similar articulation to KA, it doesn't work quite as well, and he tends to have a tougher time standing up and remaining up. His ankles are not as good as I'd hoped, considering the style of joint.

Hit-Girl changes things up slightly, but just slightly. She has the ball neck, NECA shoulders, ball elbows, wrists, and ankles, and ab-crunch, but she has ball hips and double pin knees, unlike the other two. Just like the other two, her ball ankles aren't quite all they could be.

Overall, the articulation works pretty well, but it's Kick-Ass that has the best meld of joints and sculpt, allowing for the best poses.

Accessories - Hit-Girl ***1/2; Kick-Ass , MF ***
All three get a decent number of weapons, but I was a little bummed that we didn't get any extra heads. I suppose the unmasked Hit-Girl coming in the next series wouldn't have been necessary if they'd done that.

Hit-Girl does have her double bladed weapon that comes apart at the center, turning into two weapons for the price of one. She also has two hand guns this time around, and six - count 'em, six - throwing knives. The knives fit nicely in the holsters on each hip, but there's no place to put the guns. She has a second set of hands, better designed to hold the guns.

She also has her cloth cape, and it's removable. I'm glad, because while the cape is a nice quality item, I much prefer the figure without it. 

Kick-Ass does not have as many extras, but does have two extra hands, as well as his fighting sticks. You can get the straps around the wrists with the sticks inside the hands, but it works easier if you remove the hands first. You can do it by unhooking the strap on one side as well, but then it can be tricky to get it closed once again.

MF'er is the lightest in this category of the three, with just his pearl handled guns. There are two holsters to hold them, but they are too tight to work very well. He can hold them in his hands nicely, however, and the sculpt and paint is great. His cape is not removable.

Fun Factor - ***
The articulation and accessories make these great toys, although with the R rating, extreme violence, and obscenity based naming, it's unlikely that many kids will ever play with these.

Value - **1/2
Expect to pay around $16 - $18, depending on the retailer and whether you buy the full set or not. That's a pretty average price these days, and with decent articulation and accessories, these are certainly an average value, maybe even a little better.

Things to Watch Out For -
Some of the accessories are very soft, especially Hit-Girl's double bladed weapon. They are soft enough that you can tear them, so take a little care putting them in their hands.

Overall - KA ***1/2; MF, Hit-Girl ***
It surprises me a bit, but Kick-Ass is the winner here. I'm surprised only because he has the least interesting costume, and while the movies might bear his name in the title, he's not the selling point. Hit-Girl is the real attraction, but this time around she's not quite as nice as her heroic counterpart.

That's not to say she isn't nice - she is, and she's an improvement over the original version. But she's just not quite as nice I'd hoped, particularly when it comes to the sculpt.

MF'er is unique, although the uncensored packaged version is likely to be the one most folks are interested in. It's tough to say whether or not the character will be all that interesting til we see the film, but I have my fingers crossed.

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***
Sculpting - KA ***1/2; MF ***; Hit-Girl **1/2
Paint - KA, MF ***1/2; Hit-Girl ***
Articulation - KA, MF ***1/2; Hit-Girl ***
Accessories - Hit-Girl ***1/2; MF, KA ***
Fun Factor - ***
Value - ***
Overall - KA ***1/2; MF, Hit-Girl ***

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Entertainment Earth has the set for $54, or singles for $17 each.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
Also from this second film is the cool prop replica of the Betsy Ross. I also reviewed the cool 12" figures and the 6" versions from Mezco based on the first film.

You should also hit the Search Reviews page, in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.

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