We all know by now that Martin Scorsese has been making comments against Marvel movies, saying they’re “not cinema” and that theaters need to ‘step up’. But now another legendary filmmaker has taken up Scorsese’s cause. Francis Ford Coppola (who I’m sure needs no introduction) has now echoed Scorsese’s comments saying Marvel movies are,”Despicable” adding that he doesn’t understand how “anyone gets anything out of seeing the same movie over and over again.”
Well ever quick to respond to Scorsese, Marvel’s James Gunn has responded on Instagram in a lengthy post you can catch below. However here is the exact response.
“Many of our grandfathers thought all gangster movies were the same, often calling them ‘despicable.’ Some of our great grandfathers thought the same of westerns, and believed the films of John Ford, Sam Peckinpah, and Sergio Leone were all exactly the same. I remember a great uncle to whom I was raving about Star Wars. He responded by saying, ‘I saw that when it was called 2001, and, boy, was it boring!’ Superheroes are simply today’s gangsters/cowboys/outer space adventurers. Some superhero films are awful, some are beautiful. Like westerns and gangster movies (and before that, just MOVIES), not everyone will be able to appreciate them, even some geniuses. And that’s okay.”
Literally the perfect response for me from Gunn. When Scorsese and Coppola were younger, they were influenced by movies that were considered fluff by critics back in the day. The Godfather movies were seen as ‘just Gangster movies’ by many until they saw the final product. What is more, Coppola made two sequels to The Godfather and arguably was asking audiences to watch the same movie over and again himself. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love both The Godfather and The Godfather Part 2. Both movies are firmly inside my top five of all time, which as yet, no Marvel movie has managed on a personal level for me.
We also have a quote from Natalie Portman, who of course will be starring in Thor: Love and Thunder when it hits theaters in 2021. To be clear to Portman, she was responding to Scorsese’s comments and not Coppola, but the quote is still very relevant to me.
“I think there is room for all kinds of cinema,” she told THR at the 6th annual Los Angeles Dance Project Gala on Saturday. “There is no way to make art. I think Marvel movies are so popular because they are so entertaining and people want to have fun when they have a special moment after work, after facing their real-life difficulties.”
All in all, I just don’t see why Coppola and Scorsese have to keep commenting on this? If audiences were not happy with what they were getting, then they wouldn’t go watch the movies, would they?
RELATED: Martin Scorsese Clarifies Comments About Marvel Movies
I also take issue with Coppola assertion that Marvel movies are just the same thing on repeat. There may be an overriding theme or formula to be sure, but how can anyone say that Infinity War is just the same movie as Avengers? Or Captain America: The Winter Soldier is just the same movie as Thor: Ragnarok, or Guardians is just the same movie as Iron Man? There’s nothing either director could say which would convince me these are just the same movie, any more than Goodfellas is just the same movie as Casino or The Godfather.
I guess this story is going to run and run until these directors stop moaning, or maybe, you know they could actually watch the movies, because you get the feeling they simply haven’t. You guys usually have a lot to say on this subject, so have at it in the usual place below.
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SOURCE: James Gunn (via Instagram), THR
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