The Superhero Movie War

Are these films garbage? Junk? Are they even movies at all?

Action Figure Trash Can

2019

Any time spent studying how the entertainment world communicates with itself knows that success draw criticism, and that huge success always draws a backlash.

Scorsese continues his small war on Marvel superhero films, explains his rhetoric a little

Nov 4, 2019: Martin Scorsese strikes again at NY Times.

"...what’s my problem? Why not just let superhero films and other franchise films be? The reason is simple. In many places around this country and around the world, franchise films are now your primary choice if you want to see something on the big screen. It’s a perilous time in film exhibition, and there are fewer independent theaters than ever. The equation has flipped and streaming has become the primary delivery system. ...In the past 20 years, as we all know, the movie business has changed on all fronts. But the most ominous change has happened stealthily and under cover of night: the gradual but steady elimination of risk. Many films today are perfect products manufactured for immediate consumption..."

I feel sympathy with Scorsese because, in one particular way, his frustration is understandable: filmmakers want their projects to be shown on the big screen in a darkened theater, where movie-watching can become a near-hypnotic experience and total immersion in the story is possible. Instead, these more artistically inclined films are being pushed out to streaming platforms—an environment that is not ideal for cinema—due to the dominance of superhero films.

So where does this put the films intended to be "pure cinemea" experience? It means wtatching a film on with its significantly smaller screen, with significantly less-articulated audio, and the viewer is, perhaps from sheer habit, moving their eyes away from the movie to check their messages on their phone, tablet or laptop. Instead of the sheer physically-dominating event of a movie theater, the TV viewer is more of a master who can stop, pause, and rewind or forward the movie, can get up and leave and returns with snacks while the movie patiently waits for them. In a theatre the reverse is true and the submission of the consciousness of the viewer is more likely to be achieved, allowing for whatever qualities the movie possesses to make the most dramatic impression on the viewer.*

So where does this leave films that are intended to be a "pure cinema" experience? It means watching a film on a significantly smaller screen, with noticeably less sophisticated audio, while the viewer—perhaps out of sheer habit—shifts their attention away from the movie to check messages on a phone, tablet, or laptop. Instead of the physically dominating experience of a movie theater, the home viewer becomes more of a master of the film: able to pause, rewind, fast-forward, or walk away for snacks while the movie patiently waits. In a theater, the opposite is true—there, the viewer is more likely to surrender their full attention, allowing the film’s qualities to make their most powerful and dramatic impact.

Scorsese admits the obvious in his piece, which is that had he been born later, this reaction to Marvel's movies might have been radically different to the extent he might like to make one himself. But as it stands, he has tried to watch a few of them and has come away with an accusation that the films contain no real sense of risk or excitement to him, but are so carefully constructed for easy "consumption" that, though he doesn't make this explicit, he seems to be saying they're not really films coming from Marvel Entertainment, but just "product."

Scorsese acknowledges the obvious in his piece: had he been born later, his reaction to Marvel’s movies might have been radically different—perhaps to the extent that he would have wanted to make one himself. But as it stands, he has tried watching a few of them and has come away with the accusation that the films, to him, lack any real sense of risk or excitement. They are, in his view, so carefully constructed for easy "consumption" that—though he doesn't state it outright—he seems to be suggesting they aren't truly films in the artistic sense, but rather just "product" manufactured by Marvel Entertainment.

Footnote

*How many films have you seen in a theatre that impressed you, then seeing them again on a TV to discover the film has become boring?

Superhero movie punch-up

October 23, 2019: Director Francis Ford Coppola said:

"When Martin Scorsese says that the Marvel pictures are not cinema, he's right because we expect to learn something from cinema, we expect to gain something, some enlightenment, some knowledge, some inspiration," he said, according to the Agence France-Presse news agency and France 24.

"I don't know that anyone gets anything out of seeing the same movie over and over again. Martin was kind when he said it's not cinema," Coppola added. "He didn't say it's despicable, which I just say it is."

Story and quotes at Gamespot

Deadline Hollywood protests that Coppola is misquoted/translated.

More about this at Washington Post: Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola bashed superhero movies, but why should we care what they say anyway?

And, Cinemablend has a list of six directors who've all taken shots at superhero films.

Martin Scorsese said "Marvel movies are more like amusement parks than movies"

Superhero movies

: are drawn from the movie serial days of Hollywood, low-budget fare used to fill in time on screens before or between feature films in the days when a patron could sit in a theater all day on a single ticket. Structured as serialized stories, this technique of splitting up a tale into segments had already been heavily utilized for short films during the era of silent cinema. A more modern example would be the 1936 13-part Flash Gordon serial which was marketed primarily at youth (and based on the Alex Raymond newspaper comic strip). Since the 1979 Superman film, superhero movies have been able to branch out into gaining an adult audience, but it is still grounded in a kid's world of entertainment, heavily reliant on comic books for material (and success). Broad deviations from the original comic book stories usually leads to box office disaster.

Joe and Anthony Russo counter attack Scorsese

Nov 17, 2019: As noted for credentials in this article at Hollywood Reporter, Joe and Anthony Russo have "have directed two of the five highest-grossing films of all time."

A point the team-directors make is:

Scorsese has noted that he has tried to watch a few Marvel films, but quickly abandoned them. The Russos note it's challenging to have a dialogue about cinema if the acclaimed director hasn't seen the films he is talking about.

"Scorsese is right except when he's wrong"

November 7, 2019: The Washington Post weighs in on the Martin Scorsese vs. Marvel Superhero Movies debate.

Story at Washington Post

"For too long, the press — yes, including critics — has been prone to grade the Comic Book Industrial Complex on a curve, hungry for clicks, cowed by the genre’s popularity with readers and worn out by hyper-defensive fans."

This paradigm mentioned by the writer (Ann Hornaday) could be applied to a lot more than just the "Comic Book Industrial Complex." A distinguishing characteristic of today's media machine is the effort to simultaneously cajole, while being afraid of, "youths."

Disney's Bob Iger shoots back at Scorsese with "I Don't Think He's Ever Seen a Marvel Film"

Nov. 4, 2019: The question could be a set-up for a brutal response. More about the Hollywood infighting at Hollywood Reporter

And Roger Corman piles on (Disney) also at Hollywood Reporter

And Newsarama prepares a checklist for Scorsese so he can catch up on what the rest of the world has been buying tickets for lately.

Disney and Marvel:

Marvel Comics

The Crisis in Confidence at Marvel

Are the franchises dying? Star Wars

Disney approaches the crossroads – Summer of 2023

Disney vs its vassal companies – 2023

The Disney and Marvel future 2020 and beyond

Marvel summary of productions, November 2020

Marvel's plans mean expansion 2020

The Superhero Movie War 2019

Kicking Marvel in the kneecaps 2019

Alan Dean Foster vs. Disney

Disney Buys Marvel Comics for $4 billion - 2009 The House of Mouse buys the House of Ideas

Disney spends $71.3 billion to get 21st Century Fox - March 2019

Kirby Estate vs Marvel/Disney

Disney on the racks

Jack Kirby's Shorts 2010

Dungeons and Dragons Honor Among Thieves – a Film with antecedents – Harry Potter plus Guardians of the Galaxy plus Lord of the Rings, etc.

Fast review: Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

Dungeons and Dragons Honor Among Thieves – a Film with antecedents – Harry Potter plus Guardians of the Galaxy plus Lord of the Rings, etc.

You will see Amazon links on this web site because I am an Amazon affiliate. I earn from qualifying purchases.

Batman& Robin Vintage Tee – Amazon

Original page November 2019 | Updated June 19, 2025