Ant-Man Writer Has One Piece of Advice for Martin Scorsese After Marvel Comments

Martin Scorsese lit the Internet on fire when he made comments in an interview that Marvel movies aren’t cinema. Now, another person who has worked with Marvel Studios has stepped up to the plate to defend the company from those claims. Ant-Man writer Adam McKay has one crucial bit of advice for the veteran filmmaker. He believes that all the legend would have to do is go see one specific Marvel Cinematic Universe film and everything would click into place. Now, McKay has only written that one entry in the studio’s output, but he feels strongly that the films have their own merits. A lot of people online have been shouting down any attempts by detractors to minimize the standing of their favorite films. Both sides of this discussion have been stringent and neither one wants to budge in their estimation of the other’s argument. It looks like we should all be ready for this debate to stretch on through Christmas.

“I wrote one, Ant-Man, and I love ’em,” McKay told Deadline in an interview. “I felt like, c’mon Marty, what are you doing? You’re an all-time hero, and some of those movies are really good. To anyone who disses superhero movies, I always say, watch Thor: Ragnarok. That movie is awesome.”

McKay is hardly alone in his defense of Marvel Studios movies. The complaints went all the way to the top when Bob Iger recently defended Marvel’s work in an interview with BBC. Needless to say, he sided with the Disney subsidiary and pointed out a crucial flaw in Scorsese’s argument that has been a sticking point for tons of fans.

“Ouch!” Iger said to BBC. “Martin Scorsese is a great film-maker. I admire him immensely. He’s made some great films. I would debate him on this subject. First of all, Marvel’s making movies. They’re movies. That’s what Martin Scorsese makes. And they’re good movies.”

Iger would continue, the fact that Scorsese hasn’t seen any of the movies he’s critiquing was a sticking point. “I don’t think he’s ever seen a Marvel film. Anyone who’s seen a Marvel film could not in all truth make that statement,” continued Iger.

Coincidentally enough, Scorese actually penned an op-ed in the New York Times to clarify his statement. But, the damage has already been done. Those initial comments from an issue of Empire comparing the blockbusters to theme parks is all anyone can think about. “I don’t see them. I tried, you know? But that’s not cinema,” Scorsese explained. “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.”