Samuel L. Jackson Defends Marvel Movies in Response to Directors Criticizing Them, ‘Movies are Movies’
Directors have been criticizing superhero movies recently, causing a rupture between film buffs and comic book movie fanatics. One of the targets has been Marvel movies since the Marvel Cinematic Universe is the current king of the box office. Samuel L. Jackson, who plays Nick Fury in the MCU, has defended Marvel movies saying that these are the types of movies that people want to go see.
Famous directors have been slamming Marvel movies more frequently
In recent years, many older directors have shared their opinions on the future of the movie industry. Since Marvel movies dominate the industry, it’s an important topic to discuss. The discussion began with Martin Scorsese who, in a 2019 interview with Empire, compared Marvel movies and the superhero genre to a “theme park” and said they’re not “cinema.”
“I don’t see them,” Scorsese said. “I tried, you know? But that’s not cinema. 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.”
The Godfather director, Francis Ford Coppola, shared similar sentiments and actually said that Scorsese was being “kind” about it.
“I don’t know that anyone gets anything out of seeing the same movie over and over again. Martin was kind when he said it’s not cinema. He didn’t say it’s despicable, which I just say it is,” Coppola said, following his acceptance of the Prix Lumiere for his contribution to cinema.
Samuel L. Jackson disagrees with filmmakers who criticize Marvel movies
In a recent appearance on ABC’s The View, Jackson shared his thoughts on directors who condemn superhero movies. The Pulp Fiction star said that these are the types of movies that he would want to see when he was a kid and it’s what audiences want to see now.
“Movies are movies,” Jackson said. “Those are the movies that I went to see when I was a kid. And the artistry of making a movie is something that was a mystery for so long. Making movies is no longer a mystery. Kids know how to do it on their phones. So it’s easy for [directors] to dismiss it, only because people aren’t going to see their movie.”
“It’s like we’ve been dumbed down, but that’s always been the case,” Jackson continued. “When we were younger, people went to see cowboy movies, and they went to see superhero movies of another ilk, they had superheroes on television. When you told a serious story, yeah, you find a niche audience — same thing still happens. People go to the movies to make themselves feel better and to get out of their daily existence.”
Samuel L. Jackson is continuing to portray Nick Fury in Marvel projects
Jackson, 73, isn’t slowing down at all with playing Nick Fury in the MCU. Jackson first portrayed the role in a post-credit scene in Iron Man where he introduced Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) to the Avengers initiative. Since then, the Star Wars actor remains a centerpiece of the MCU, starring in Iron Man 2, The Avengers, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain Marvel, and Spider-Man: Far From Home.
He is reprising his role in The Marvels and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantummania and will have a lead role in the Secret Invasion series coming to Disney+. Right now, you can see Jackson in The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey, currently streaming on Apple TV+.
