Martin Scorsese Thinks Marvel Movies Are ‘Not Cinema’ And Compared Them To Theme Parks

Black Panther may have been nominated for Best Picture (with Avengers: Endgame behind it), but Martin Scorsese thinks a Golden Ticket Award would have been more appropriate. In the latest issue of Empire magazine, the legendary filmmaker said Marvel movies are not “cinema” and compared the Marvel Cinematic Universe to a theme park.

“I don’t see them. I tried, you know But that’s not cinema,” Scorsese said. “Honestly, the closest I can think of them, as well made as they are, with actors doing the best they can under the circumstances, is theme parks. It isn’t the cinema of human beings trying to convey emotional, psychological experiences to another human being.” Scorsese isn’t slamming or throwing shade at Marvel movies or theme parks, for that matter; he’s, at pointed out by New York‘s Matt Zoller Seitz, “saying they are primarily visceral experiences and feats of engineering. It’s not that radical of an opinion. And he’s allowed to have it.” I’m sure famously level-headed Marvel fans will feel the same way.