Martin Scorsese has something to say about Marvel movies, and superhero fans might not like it. The famous director, producer, and sometimes actor recently explained his stance on the genre, saying that films like Avengers: Endgame “are not cinema.” He also thinks they’re like theme parks. Ouch!
Before you storm his Twitter account though, if he even has one, hear us out. Despite his apparent eagerness to anger millions of fanboys and girls with his opinion, he’s definitely earned the right to express it. The award-winning director of Raging Bull and Taxi Driver recently spoke with Empire while promoting his upcoming new Netflix pic The Irishman. He was asked about superhero movies and what he thought of them and as it turns out, he’s not really a fan, saying the following about Marvel films in particular:
“I don’t see them. I tried, you know? But that’s not cinema.”
At least he gave them a shot, right? Besides, it’s not exactly a surprise that he didn’t take to them. Just look at the differences between his films and the MCU/DCEU.
Scorsese then continued with an analogy that I’m not 100% on board with. But again, sometimes you just have to give respect where respect is due, and go back to watching your Justice League YouTube clips.
“Honestly, the closest I can think of them, as well made as they are, with actors doing the best they can under the circumstances, is theme parks. It isn’t the cinema of human beings trying to convey emotional, psychological experiences to another human being.”
The basic definition of cinema is as so: the art or technique of making motion pictures. Scorsese has been churning out amazing films since 1959, so of course his view of what cinema truly means is going to be different than the Russo Brothers or Zack Snyder. Still, it’s obvious that many Marvel fans see the comic book genre as being as cinematic as anything Scorsese has made. So, it’s probably best that the two sides agree to disagree on this one.
All opinions aside though, make sure you check out Martin Scorsese’s new movie, The Irishman, when it arrives on Netflix on November 27th.