Aaron-Taylor Johnson
'Kick-Ass 2' stars Chloe Moretz and Aaron Taylor-Johnson have defended the film following Jim Carrey's claims it is too violent.
The veteran actor - who plays Colonel Stars and Stripes in the upcoming action flick - publicly withdrew his support of the movie earlier this year in light of the Sandy Hook school shootings last year, however, his co-stars insist it doesn't promote violence and is purely fictional.
Speaking to BANG Showbiz, Taylor-Johnson said: "He had a change of heart and everyone is entitled to their opinion, and I totally respect what he was saying.
"At the end of the day, it's a fictional piece. If you are a fan and you saw the first one, you don't want to see the second one and be like, 'Oh, f***ing hell, this is s**t.' It's got to be more ramped up. I'm a huge [Quentin] Tarantino fan and if I go see his movie, I'm expecting to see someone's head get sliced off and blood squirt out, and I find that funny. But grotesque violence, I don't like to watch. I mean there's a difference. When you see Hit-Girl, you know they're dressed up in gimp masks as superheroes - that's what kind of funny about it ... doing stupid s**t. I don't think it promotes violence or anything like that."
Carrey - who is a staunch anti-gun campaigner - denounced the film in June following the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, last December, in which 20 children and six adults were killed.
He wrote on Twitter at the time: "I did Kickass a month b4 Sandy Hook and now in all good conscience I cannot support that level of violence.
"My apologies to others involve with the film. I am not ashamed of it but recent events have caused a change in my heart. (sic)"
Moretz, 16, came under fire for using bad language in 2010's 'Kick-Ass', which was filmed when she was just 11, but the actress feels the film series' violence and vulgarity has no bearing on real life.
She explained: "It's a movie. If you're going to believe, and be affected by, an action movie you definitely shouldn't go and see 'Pocahontas' because you're going to think you're a Disney princess. If you're that easily swayed, you shouldn't be watching any film. You might go see 'Silence of the Lambs' and think you're a serial killer.
"It's a movie, it's fake, and I've known this since I was a kid so that's why I was allowed to do the movie. I don't run around trying to kill people and cuss. If anything, these roles teach you what not to do."
'Kick-Ass 2' is in cinemas on August 14.
Tagged in Jim Carrey Chloë Grace Moretz