Earlier this week, Hollywood Legend Martin Scorsese claimed that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is "not cinema". Perhaps that is because Scorsese felt the films were disrespectful to people like him who have super powers. And I don't mean directing films. I mean Scorsese's psychic ability to form opinions about things he has not seen.
Actual footage of Martin Scorsese sharing his opinion on: the Hindenburg crash, the dark side of the moon, Atlantis, the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, and a plethora of other things he has never actually seen.
You see, Scorsese admitted that he had tried to watch the movies... but he failed.
Forming such a strong opinion about 23 films you have not even seen is no small feat. I strongly suggest no regular human try it. If they do not posses Scorsese's super human ability to judge things without actually experiencing them, a normal human may end up looking like an old curmudgeon who is suffering from sour grapes brought on by the fact that
nine of the MCU movies have each earned more than all of the movies directed by Scorsese combined (The combined box office of all the movies Scorsese has directed is just over $1 billion. Nine Marvel movies have made $1 billion... and End Game alone made almost $2.8 billion).
Am I saying that box office should be the ultimate judge of quality? Hell no. I am just saying quality should be the ultimate judge of quality... not a preconceived notion of quality.
Because I have actually seen at least 10 of Scorsese's films and all 23 Marvel films, I feel I am far more qualified than Scorsese to judge the two side by side.
Scorsese's main criticism seems to be that the Marvel movies are not "the cinema of human beings trying to convey emotional, psychological experiences to another human being."
I find this interesting considering some of my personal favorite Scorsese movies did not move my emotions one bit. Although Goodfellas is an absolute masterpiece and one of my favorite movies of all time, it had nothing to do with emotion. It had to do with a fascinating story told in an interesting way by excellent actors and an incredible use of music. Taxi Driver was a remarkable dive into the mind of a villain... but so was Infinity War, Age of Ultron and End Game.
But I digress. Scorsese's films are works of art. But he is clearly mistaken if he thinks that simply including the far fetched and super natural strips a story of anything worth while.
Has he ever read a Greek Myth? Does he understand the literary and cinematic importance of The Hero's Journey? Does he realize that portrayals of human emotion come in many different shapes and sizes? (And I don't just mean fat and skinny gangsters).
Hmmmm... the ultimate treasure turns out to be a mix tape a dying mother made for her young son as a way to remember her. Yeah old Martin is right. That definitely doesn't "convey emotional, psychological experiences".
Although I love much of Scorsese's work, it has never even come close to bringing me to tears. Conversely, I still get choked up by Guardians of the Galaxy and Endgame. If stories about loyalty, friendship, love, loss, family, duty, honor, heroes, and sacrifice don't count as "trying to convey emotional, psychological experiences to another human being" then I don't know what does.
Furthermore, I can't think of a single Scorsese movie that has ever brought a family together. But tonight, my wife, kids and I just watched Endgame for about the eighth time. Do you know how we all felt the second Thor's hammer lands in Captain America's hand? Emotional. It was the same feeling I shared with a theater filled with complete strangers six months ago.
I have two suggestions for Hollywood Legend Martin Scorsese:
At the very least, please take the time to watch Guardians of the Galaxy and Logan.
If you have not actually watched the work you are criticizing... please shut the F up.
Sources:
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/oct/04/martin-scorsese-says-marvel-movies-are-not-cinema
https://www.boxofficemojo.com/people/chart/?id=martinscorsese.htm