Is Marvel cinema?

There’s been a lot of attention lately about some comments that director Martin Scorsese made a couple weeks ago stating that the Marvel films are not cinema, but are more like thrill rides.

“What has to be protected is the singular experience of experiencing a picture, ideally with an audience. But there’s room for so many others now, and so many other ways. There’s going to be crossovers, completely. The value of a film that’s like a theme park film, for example, the Marvel-type pictures, where the theaters become amusement parks, that’s a different experience. I was saying earlier, it’s not cinema, it’s something else. Whether you go for that or not.”

As much as I respect and admire Scorsese’ work, I can’t agree with him. I think I get what he was trying to say. He considers the Marvel films true escapism and popcorn where a drama such as his upcoming The Irishman is more of a movie that deals with story, emotion, strong writing & intellect. What’s great about the movies and going to the movies in a theater is the experience you want to take in. I go to the movies a lot and I love all kinds of genre. The cinema, as Scorsese still calls it covers many different kinds of genre and moviegoers can enjoy them all. The Marvel films are popcorn movies and if they’re escapism too, so what. They’re great movies that are very well made. They also contain some terrific acting and can cover lots of emotional range, esp. for the viewer when you’ve become so invested in some of these characters covering 23 films.

I believe that any genre can be considered cinema or great cinema as long as it’s done well. A piece of shit like “Battlefield Earth” or something of that ilk I would not consider good cinema. It’s garbage. Mainly because the movie is bad. But some people liked it, so for them I guess it’s a cinematic positive experience. Like any movie, it’s subjective and if it’s your thing, than you liked it. It worked for you. Listen, I’ve sat through a few of Scorsese movies that I thought were a boring slog. He’s a brilliant director, and I can’t wait to see “The Irishman”, but that doesn’t mean that he’s right about this topic. It’s his opinion and that’s ok, but I’m willing to bet that the gazillion people who went to see The Avengers End Game wouldn’t agree with him either.