First Look: ‘Kick-Ass 2’s’ violence good and bad

What: “Kick-Ass 2”

Cast: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Chloe Grace Moretz and Jim Carrey

Writer-director: Jeff Wadlow

The story: Homemade superhero Kick-Ass (Taylor-Johnson) returns, alongside Hit Girl (Moretz) and the villainous Red Mist (Mintz-Plasse), in this sequel to 2010’s violence- and profanity-laden sleeper hit.

The buzz: Most of the movie’s buzz has surrounded co-star Carrey and his refusal to support the film based on its level of violence. Mark Millar, who created the comic book on which it’s based, sounded thrilled, telling Digital Spy, “For your main actor to publicly say ‘This movie is too violent for me’ is like saying, ‘This porno has too much nudity. We’ll have to go and see this now.’ ”

— CHRISTOPHER LAWRENCE