Martin Scorsese, the acclaimed director of Hollywood hits such as The Departed and Casino, recently set the internet ablaze when he claimed that the films set within the Marvel Cinematic Universe aren’t proper cinema.
Now, the famed auteur was, indeed, just sharing his opinion when asked about it during promotion for his upcoming Netflix movie, The Irishman, but even so, it rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. Fans have been up in arms about the comments since the moment they were uttered and social media has been inundated with arguments for the MCU, with many having turned nasty.
Even people like Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn, and the original Avengers architect, Joss Whedon, have stepped up to defend comic book productions. The overriding idea is that Scorsese, while obviously a legend, is quite wrong and out of touch with modern sensibilities.
Now though, former MCU poster boy, Robert Downey Jr. has weighed in on the topic. During an interview with Howard Stern, the erstwhile Iron Man stated the following:
It’s his opinion. I mean it plays in theaters. I appreciate his opinion because I think it’s like anything. We need all of the different perspectives so we can come to center and move on. By the way, there’s a lot to be said about how these genre movies — and I was happy to be a part of the ‘problem,’ if there is one — denigrated the art form of cinema. When you come in like a stomping beast and you eliminate competition in such a demonstrative way, it’s phenomenal.
The success of Marvel was something no one in Hollywood saw coming. Certainly, comic book films were on the rise and they were getting better and better, but the cultural shift toward this type of cinema was both shocking and quick. The MCU irrevocably changed the model for how movies get made.
And, as Downey Jr. pointed out, “It’s his opinion.” He’s entitled to it, and while he’s a little too dismissive, there are some relevant issues. For instance, the rise of Marvel and the focus on blockbuster spectacle has effectively neutered mid-budget fare. This isn’t the fault of Spidey and his friends, but rather, an unfortunate side effect.
Regardless though, one disgruntled icon isn’t going to derail the Disney train. It’s safe to assume that superheroes are going to be in theaters for many years to come, whether Scorsese understands them or not.