I’m willing to bet that there are a lot of Marvel fans that would have loved to have been there when Martin Scorsese’s daughter Francesca presented his Christmas day gifts to him just to see his reaction. If the legendary director laughed and thought it was a good bit of fun you can’t blame him, as his beef with Marvel movies not being cinematic enough is well known at this point and has been seen to be seconded by other directors such as Frances Ford Coppola and Terry Gilliam as well as a few others that have stood in support of his views. But to think that his own daughter lovingly wrapped his Christmas presents in paper bearing the image of the heroes that he has basically thrown under the bus with his words is pretty funny since it’s almost like poetic justice, albeit the kind that won’t do much good. Still, the look on his face must have been priceless for a matter of seconds since just imagining what the reaction could have been, even if it was a laugh, would have been nice. Joey Paur of GeekTyrant would likely agree since Scorsese was the man that started this whole idea that Marvel movies aren’t ‘cinematic enough’.
It’s true that Marvel movies aren’t the same caliber as other movies like Taxi Driver, The Departed, or The Godfather, but they’re not meant to be is the point. The idea of cinema isn’t bound up in one them or genre, it’s an expansive and very versatile idea that is meant to envelop and nurture a great many genres in a way that people can enjoy and appreciate for their own unique manner. It’s very fair to say that Scorsese has his own opinion and is entitled to it, but many folks have taken this to heart and have decided to fight back against his, Coppola’s, and Gilliam’s opinions by, you guessed it, offering their own. It’s not enough to simply enjoy a story on your own terms is it? One thing that Scorsese will never change is that during this year along Disney has been massively dominant and Marvel has been a big reason why. So yeah, the movies aren’t exactly up to the same standard since they’re not quite as serious or rooted in reality, but that’s what people enjoy about Marvel.
Most of the content is so hard to believe that one has to suspend belief and just go with the fantasy, because otherwise the truth of the heroism and the effects of their weaponry and tactics would otherwise be horrifying and difficult to watch at best. Blake Harper of Fatherly has something else to say about this subject. Think about, a green rage monster that’s as likely to kill innocent bystanders when he loses control, a billionaire playboy flying around in an iron suit that defies a lot of common knowledge concerning human anatomy and the ability it has to withstand certain traumas, a god from the Norse pantheon whose abilities can do just as much damage as good and has to be brought around to the understanding that he causes just as much destruction as he tries to prevent, and a super soldier that tries to act for the greater good but is just as guilty as the rest of them when it comes to marching to his own beat. Oh, and let’s not forget the two normal humans, one an assassin and the other a hotheaded marksman that has no qualms about killing.
If we had to take Marvel heroes and villains as they would really be seen in real life then it would be horrifying and it would likely prompt a new wave of cinema that we might have already seen a time or two despite the fact that it hasn’t been as popular. Reality has no place in Marvel apart from the smaller, minor details that people will grouse about. After all the fantasy is what people go to see and the distance from the real world is what fans tend to like when they’re dealing with Marvel and any other superhero movie that tends to bend reality as is needed. Ever notice how Scorsese never seems to talk about DC though? George Edelman of No Film School has something to offer on this subject. Even Coppola and Gilliam haven’t managed to get that far it would seem, though Gilliam has been all over the movie Black Panther like a rash that just won’t be soothed. It’s kind of interesting to note that fact, but it’s even more fun to imagine Scorsese’s face when he had the chance to see how his presents were wrapped this year. Think that’s the equivalent of trying to troll the Grinch? Seriously though one can only hope that he managed to get a good, hearty laugh out of this and congratulated his daughter on being clever. Hopefully he’s the kind of guy that can shake off a joke and call it square.Terry Gilliam
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