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Scorsese has a point about Marvel ‘cinema’ and theme parks

Even if you’re the guy who directed “Goodfellas,” you can say something that will land you in hot water.

Recently, famed director Martin Scorsese told Empire magazine he doesn’t consider the Marvel Cinematic Universe to be 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,” Scorsese told Empire.“It isn’t the cinema of human beings trying to convey emotional, psychological experiences to another human being.”

And during a press conference this past weekend at the BFI London Film Festival, he doubled down and threw some of the blame on movie houses in general, saying, “Theaters have become amusement parks.”

MCU bigs such as Samuel L. Jackson and Robert Downey Jr. didn’t take too kindly to Scorsese’s words.

I get what he’s saying, though.

I love the first “Guardians of the Galaxy” movie, and “Infinity War” was such a downer in all the right ways. Who didn’t shed a tear when Spider-Man vanished into dust? But those moments are exceptions within a 23-film series that’s pretty meh and formulaic.

Marty’s an amazing director but he’s no golden goose. He’s had his share of overrated material. The Academy Award-winning “The Departed” is an OK remake of the 2004 Hong Kong crime thriller “Infernal Affairs.” As good as they are, “Goodfellas,” “Casino” and “The Wolf of Wall Street” all follow the same narrative style. And “Gangs of New York” was essentially a comic book movie, a pretty bad one at that.

It may sound diplomatic and on-the-fence, but I think the answer lies somewhere in the middle of fun and formulaic and artistic and innovative. My suggestion — Go see “Joker,” perfect mix of cinema and theme park.

Staff Writer Griffin Kelly covers arts and entertainment for Weekender.

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