The debate among filmmakers on whether or not Marvel and other comic book movies are “cinema” continues as James Gunn has chimed in on the matter.
In the wake of Francis Ford Coppola’s criticism of the superhero genre, the Guardians of the Galaxy took to Instagram to give an even-handed response that defended the MCU and said it’s okay for them to feel like that. He didn’t call out The Godfather director but did use the word “despicable”, which is what Coppola called the movies.
“Many of our grandfathers thought all gangster movies were the same, often calling them ‘despicable’,” wrote Gunn. “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.”
He continued, “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. ❤️”
This dramatic anti-Marvel saga began with Scorsese during an interview with Empire magazine for The Irishman when he said that he has tried unsuccessfully to watch Marvel movies. He continued to say “that’s not cinema.” This started a Twitter backlash from fans and even actors from the MCU like Robert Downey Jr. chimed in on the matter. Gunn also responded to Scorsese’s comments saying, “Martin Scorsese is one of my 5 favorite living filmmakers. I was outraged when people picketed The Last Temptation of Christ without having seen the film. I’m saddened that he’s now judging my films in the same way.”
Hopefully, Gunn’s remarks will put a bookend to all of this — but something tells me we haven’t heard the last of this debate.
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