Francis Ford Coppola Slams Marvel Movies As ‘Despicable’

Earlier this year, famed director Martin Scorsese offered his critique of Marvel films. He likened them to theme parks and said that they weren’t cinema. Several comic book filmmakers and actors offered their rebukes to Scorsese’s words. Now, fellow director Francis Ford Coppola is not only backing Scorsese, he’s going even further.

Via The Hollywood Reporter, the Agence France-Presse news agency and France 24 shared Ford’s support for Scorsese’s comments.

“When Martin Scorsese says that the Marvel pictures are not cinema, he’s right because we expect to learn something from cinema,” said Ford. We expect to gain something, some enlightenment, some knowledge, some inspiration. I don’t know that anyone gets anything out of seeing the same movie over and over again.”

Ford added that “Martin was kind when he said it’s not cinema. He didn’t say it’s despicable, which I just say it is.”

RELATED: James Gunn Fires Back At Martin Scorsese’s Marvel Comments

Although Ford is revered for The Godfather trilogy, Apocalypse Now, and other iconic films, his remarks immediately drew a strong response. James Gunn, the director of Guardians of the Galaxy and The Suicide Squad, pointed out that Scorsese and Ford’s films received similar criticism during their era.

 

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Many of our grandfathers thought all gangster movies were the same, often calling them “despicable”. Some of our great grandfathers thought the same of westerns, and believed the films of John Ford, Sam Peckinpah, and Sergio Leone were all exactly the same. I remember a great uncle to whom I was raving about Star Wars. He responded by saying, “I saw that when it was called 2001, and, boy, was it boring!” Superheroes are simply today’s gangsters/cowboys/outer space adventurers. Some superhero films are awful, some are beautiful. Like westerns and gangster movies (and before that, just MOVIES), not everyone will be able to appreciate them, even some geniuses. And that’s okay.

A post shared by James Gunn (@jamesgunn) on Oct 20, 2019 at 11:51am PDT

How do you feel about Coppola’s comments? Do you also think that Marvel movies are “despicable”? Let us know in the comment section below!

Photo Credit: Stephane Cardinale – Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images/Marvel Studios