I agree with plenty on this thread: Scorcese is right in some aspects, wrong in others. Are there plenty of Justice Leagues, Suicide Squads, and Iron Man 2's out there that are dumb spectacle-driven fun? Yes. Do some of those bust out and become great movies even on that foundation like GotG or Thor: Ragnarok? Yes. Are there some Dark Knights, Logans, even Infinity Wars that have their roots in comics and a cinematic universe that can have Oscar-caliber performances, character-driven drama and suspense, and nigh-perfectly paced plotting and action? Sure. Do some comic book films juggle all of the above? Most definitely. Can I enjoy a Man of Steel as much as a Prisoners, a Winter Soldier just as much as I can an Interstellar? Yes, both pairs were among my favorite movies of 2013 and 2014, respectively.
I see where he's coming from with studios seeing comic book films as the latest cash cow, and it'd be a shame if movies like Blade Runner 2049 and La La Land don't get made anymore due to everyone chasing the next billion-dollar box-office gross superhero flick. If he is talking about the latest Batman v Superman or Captain Marvel, agreed.
The emotional resonance thing though...completely disagree. I felt Black Panther's rage and desire for revenge against Bucky, Thor's heartache when he bore his heart to Rocket, and got goosebumps when Cap wielded Mjolnir and Thor landed in Wakanda. I'll admit I shed some tears when Tony died, when Logan died, when Steve finally got to have his dance with Peggy, and when Billy Batson learned that his mother left him at the fair on purpose. Scorcese is off base there.
It's funny that the current comic book film that is turning the genre on its head, Joker, is primarily inspired by Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy, both Scorcese pictures.
__________________ Chicken Boo, what's the matter with you? You don't act like the other chickens do. You wear a disguise to look like human guys, but you're not a man you're a Chicken Boo.
Lost a bit of respect for Scorces after this, i mean hes passing alot of critical judgement on something which he cant be arsed to watch which comes of pompas and ignorant.
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Re: Martin Scorcese Slams Marvel
I understand what he is saying. I actually had the exact same reaction walking out of Endgame. While the film was a spectacle, it lacked any meaningful emotional core beyond punching bad guys in the face en masse. I personally like to think that all good films are rooted in an primary emotional conflict which drives the protagonists to create the plot by making emotionally reactive and ethically questionable decisions and deal with the consequences, highlighting said primary emotional conflict (such as the political machinations of GOT, which is a large macroscopic plot that is rooted in the emotional conflicts of it's characters, or similarly Breaking Bad and The Wire, often considered the best shosw of all time precisely because their entire plot is centered around the emotional and ethical dilemmas of it's characters).
With a lot of comic book films, especially MCU ones, there is a lack of this emotional core, as the film's plot is usually driven by a bland villain with nebulously evil goals. Emotional and ethical complexity is discarded and replaced with the childishly simple view that there is absolute good and evil and the best way to defeat said evil is by punching it. While the MCU seems to have an emotional core due to the emotional subplots given to the characters, these subplots are usually meaningless to the story in general and only serve to generate melodrama and thus superficial sympathy for the characters (such as Cap's relation with Agent Carter, Thor's relationship with his mom, and Tony's relationship with his daughter, all of which are meaningless to the story but empathetic to the chaarcters), alongside a lot of self-referential humor which, along with the spectacle, helps serve as a gimmick of the film, but not an emotional core.
Don't get me wrong. There are plenty of comic book films (such as the Dark Knight) and even MCU films (such as Dr. strange) that extend far beyond the standard popcorn flick and deliver amazing pieces of art. But, for the most part, comic book films are known for being simplistic in the exploration of it's themes, which is perfect when it comes to selling the franchise to kids and families, but somewhat unengaging for non-fanboy adult audiences beyond basic spectactle.
Completely agree with Scorsese. Marvel movies to cinema is what The Spice Girls are to music. Brainless "fun". Do they have their place? Of course, but dont try and pretend they are on the same level as true artistic films.
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Oct 6th, 2019 08:30 PM
