Are Superhero Movies really BAD or is it just YOU ?

Some time ago, legendary movie director Martin Scorsese caused a bit of a uproar when he called superhero movies "Not Cinema".

The other week, movie director Ridley Scott also blasted Superhero as being "F..king Boring" and said they were poorly written because it was all about the special effects.

In the end also artfilm director Jane Campion said she would never do a superhero movie because she "hates them".

I did not respond immediately when Scorsese made his statement because in my opinion, he was just telling people what he thought. And yes, Scorsese is responsible for classics such as TAXI DRIVER and THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST, but he also made such boring films as RAGING BULL (technically this may be a very good film but I find boxing boring and this film too), THE KING OF COMEDY and THE AGE OF INNOCENCE, none of which were even interesting. 

It is getting to be a bit much however if, following on Scorsese, not just one famous director but also another elects to make similar statements. So now I would like to put up my two cents on this subject.

Martin Scorsese, Ridley Scott and Jane Campion obviously have no background in reading comics. For that reason I also do not feel threatened by their opinions. You see, if Scorsese says that the superhero films are not Cinema, and Scott says they are boring, they obviously have not bothered to check what the characters in these superhero movies represent. You see, when you read into the stories what the characters are all about and what they go thru, then you will see that these stories are also not about the superpowered fights.  It's about the people and the choices they make. And if Tony Stark decides to sacrifice himself in order to stop Thanos, this is definitely interesting story material. But you have to look beyond the superhero fights. 

Ridley Scott came into the movie business by way of advertising and this shows. He always makes his films look very good, even if they are boring in terms of story content. ALIEN, BLADE RUNNER and GLADIATOR, I will immediately agree, are classics in their genres but PROMETHEUS and ALIEN: COVENANT were not only dreadfully boring but also directly responsible for the failure of the Alien franchise. Thank you very much, Ridley. As for his recent movie, HOUSE OF GUCCI, I am sorry but this film does not appeal to me at all. Talk about boring!!

Jane Campion then tops it off by saying "I hate them" about superhero movies. Again, this is an opinion and I am not bothered by it. Campion is an arthouse filmmaker whose films may get a lot of awards, but honestly, after THE PIANO, I haven't seen a single one film of hers that I liked. 

But do I find all of these public exclamations as disturbing? No. They are just opinions and like Clint Eastwood said, "everybody's got one".

I grew reading super hero comic books and I learned how to read into the characters' personal stories in them. And yes, they may be superpowerful or whatever, but it is still the human characteristics that make these stories. The Death of Gwen Stacy was meaningful because before this event nobody ever had lost his love like this. The Death of Jean Grey was equally meaningful because if she had not been killed, she would have destroyed the universe.  Sure, AVENGERS ENDGAME seemed very much the superhero slugfest that Mssrs Scorsese and Scott are stating as uninteresting. But AVENGERS ENDGAME has been far more succesfull than any of the films of Mssrs Scorse and Scott together. And besides, on the personal level the film also succeeds because of the sacrifice that Anthony Stark makes for his friends, for his world. And if you can make it believable that your main character makes that kind of a sacrifice in a film, how on earth can you then call that "boring".

I am not interested in fighting over something like this. Everybody has an opinion. And opinions are personal. So, Mr. Scorsese, Mr. Scott, thank you for films like TAXI DRIVER and BLADE RUNNER. I hold these films both in high esteem. Jane Campion, THE PIANO is a great drama. Many thanks.

But I also LOVE the MARVEL Superhero movies. And again, that's just MY OPINION.