Martin Scorsese said Marvel movies aren't real cinema. This is a shockingly ignorant thing to say, especially from a man whose been in the business for over 56 years. If he had just said he didn't care for them but appreciates the hard work and talent that goes into the making of these films, I'd be perfectly okay with it. Instead, he compared them to theme park rides and said they're invading cinema, leaving little to no room for original and artistic films. This is the kind of thing I expect Adam from YourMovieSucksDotOrg to say, not an Academy Award winning director with so many great films under his belt (Raging Bull, Goodfellas, The Departed, Taxi Driver, just to name a few). I expected better from a man his age because contrary to his ignorance, Marvel movies are just as much cinema as all of his movies. Allow me to explain in the following post.
A cinema's primary function in our society is to show audiences a movie for 90-150 minutes of their time. It has been like that since Day 1 of filmmaking, long before Scorsese was even born. Cinemas today have vastly changed since the early days Hollywood, not just in terms of the movies they show, but also in terms of hospitality. Regal Theaters (or at least the one closest to me) have comfortable seats, great service, plentiful snacks and reasonable showing times. I don't know what it's like in other theater chains, but Regal seems to be doing just fine even in today's entertainment climate. It is true though that people come in droves to see Marvel movies as well as other blockbusters, but to say they're not cinema really undermines the filmmakers behind these films.
Marvel movies (specifically the Marvel Cinematic Universe) have been on a role at the box office since 2008 and it's not just because they're spectacle. If that were the case, the franchise would've lost steam after The Avengers and we would not be here talking about these movies today. Contrary to what people like Scorsese think, the MCU tell great stories with amazing well rounded characters, well handled and topical themes and outstanding performances from the actors involved. These are the same qualities that make any movie great, including Martin Scorsese's. Some of the most revered moments in the MCU aren't always the action set pieces, but are more so the character moments and subtle artistic choice the director's themselves put in. The Shawarma post credit scene, Frigga's funeral, Tony's struggle with anxiety and PTSD, Groot's sacrifice, the entirety of Black Panther, the list goes on. It's moments like these that made the general movie going audience fall in love with these movies and keep coming back for more.
It also should be noted that it's because of big blockbusters like the MCU movies that cinema's are still in business. Not many people know this, but the amount of money a big budget film makes at the box office doesn't just go to the studio that made it. Theaters chains like AMC and Regal gain a third of the total grossing of a film. That means a financially successful year for Marvel is an equally successful year for movie theaters. This is also good news for other film studios that have their films showing around the same time as Marvel films. While they don't always make the same amount of money, they do get more people interested in seeing them then they would when a Marvel (or any blockbuster) film would be playing that month. It also should be worth noting that a film doesn't have to make over hundreds of millions of dollars to be successful. If a film was made for just $50 million, it just needs to make at least $100 million to make it's money back. With films that cost $100 million or more, they need to gross about 3x their budget in order to cover that and marketing. It's always a gamble making a movie that costs tens or hundreds of millions of dollars because at the end of the day nobody knows what everybody wants.
Martin Scorsese's comments regarding Marvel films seem to stem from a bias against big budget movies overshadowing independent works. The thing is though, many of the directors of big budget movies he detests started out working on smaller indie films. James Gunn, Zack Snyder, Scott Derrickson, Shane Black, Taika Wattiti, Ryan Coogler, Patty Jenkins, J.J. Abrams, just to name a few. It's baffling why he would say such an ignorant statement regarding Marvel movies when he could barely sit through them. He could've just said "I don't watch them. I get that they're popular now, but they're not for me" and just leave it at that. Nope, instead he decided to throw talented filmmakers under the bus by calling Marvel movies "not real cinema." I'm not mad, just very disappointed. In conclusion, Mr. Scorsese, if you're reading this (he's not, but let's pretend he is), as talented of a filmmaker you are, you completely dropped the ball with your ignorant and bias comments regarding Marvel movies. Like I always say: Your Opinion Is NOT Law -.-
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