"There were a lot of feelings about the violence," he said of Moretz's character in an interview with MTV. "I was concerned. I knew it was going to be something that was uncomfortable for me as an actor."
"My belief is that any art form — pop art or other — is by nature freedom of speech. It depends how you come into the movie and what your agenda is. Hopefully you won't have any agenda and you'll just go and see an rated-R movie and receive whatever it is the director wanted you to receive. But if you have an agenda going in and say, 'It's inappropriate,' you can pick that argument.
"Conversely, you can come out and say, 'Chloe Moretz's character is a pop icon of feminism strength'. Because women go to see this movie and they're really wowed by it. They love her character and how powerful she is. It's 'I am woman, hear me roar.'"
However, Cage was quick to say that his concerns have nothing to do with Moretz as an actress and had nothing but positive things to say about her. "I knew about her right away that she was marvelously charismatic and had her own unique sense of humor. I knew she had star presence."
Released in the UK for advanced screenings this coming Friday and in the US on April 16, the Matthew Vaughn-directed comic book adaptation also stars Aaron Johnson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Mark Strong.